With Christmas just a few short weeks away and economic times that are less than favorable, the issue of Christmas present buying gets a little shaky. I spoke with a friend recently who is employed by one of the larger retailers. In our conversation about her job she made a comment that really hit home. She said “you just can’t believe all the worthless stuff that people buy for Christmas presents.” Well . . . that’s what we do . . . consume, but I would suggest we pay more attention to what we consume and align it closer with our value system. I’m not suggesting we don’t have Christmas presents . . . just giving more thought to our purchases.
I remember speaking at a garden club a couple of years ago; one that I had invited our daughter, Leona, to go with me and participate by talking about our backyard birding experiences. She presented her information with much heart and it was terrific. When I am invited to speak, I typically get on my soapbox about how important it is to spend time with our children and grandchildren . . . and that usually works into a conversation about gardening and its natural extensions.
After Leona had spoken about birding, I began my presentation. As I was waxing about our current generation and how they need less media and more outdoor time, I invited Leona back up to the front to answer two questions to illustrate a point. Mind you, this was all unplanned and off the cuff. My questions to her were: “what did you get for Christmas this past year” and “what is your favorite tree to climb?” It had been four months since Christmas and I had a feeling that Leona might not remember . . . or at least nothing would be significant enough to stick out in her mind.
I could not have scripted her answers to be more appropriate to the point. She hemmed and hawed trying to remember what she got for Christmas just four months earlier, but she knew exactly what tree was her favorite and let every one know that that was her tree! Wow . . . , what a revelation. The “consumer stuff” had little to no effect on her and just think, after all the fretting we did!
Here is the point . . . : I’m not in anyway diminishing the fun and joy of Christmas gift giving—in fact, its just the opposite. Here are three suggestions that work long term to enhance the Christmas Spirit of giving:
• Refrain from dumping Christmas spending on credit cards. Pay with cash. This is tough for most families, but the long-term agony of paying off credit cards speaks for itself.
• Consider gifts with purpose. Family oriented board games can be used to develop skills and create family game nights in our homes. Growing food and flowers may prove to be one of the top leisure time activities this year, so plan it in your gift buying . . . , kids and adults alike. Garden tools, seeds, gloves, backyard birding paraphernalia, a cookbook with fresh vegetable recipes or a garden center gift card if you cannot decide.
• Give generously this year. I don’t know how to explain it, but when times are tough, people think and act more to benefit those who are less fortunate. When people give cheerfully from their hearts, miracles happen.
Have a blessed Christmas this year and remember the reason for the season . . . , the miracle of His birth.
Winter interest plants have much to offer on the cold gray days ahead. Here are some plants to consider when developing your gardens and landscapes to brighten things up.
• Twig Dogwoods provide some of the best winter color in the deciduous category. Several varieties of Red-twig, yellow-twig and even multi-color like Mid-winter Fire are available. The spring and summer interest is not overly exciting, but when they defoliate the real show begins. One tip on keeping the colors bright is to prune them back hard in late winter just as they start pushing new growth. The regeneration of growth keeps them to a manageable size and the new growth is always vivid and bright. A side benefit to twig dogwoods . . . they can take wet soil conditions quite nicely.
• Beauty Berry (Calicarpa bodinieri) comes with a welcome winter feature . . . clusters of purple berries. The fall color offers rich burgundy tones, but it’s the berries that you grow this one for. An otherwise gangly grower, keep this one cut back to shape. The plant seems to manufacture more berries when kept pruned back.
