• slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide
  • slide

Grow a Few Christmas Gifts

Help small children handle the anticipation and adults deal with the stress of the holidays while creating a few homegrown gifts.

Scour your basement, shed or garage and locate small containers or items that can be used as flowerpots.  Make sure they have drainage holes or add them if needed.  Otherwise, you’ll need to double pot the plants.

Clean the used containers with a one-part bleach and nine parts water solution and allow them to dry.  Then add a bit of color and pizzazz with paint, permanent markers, or other decorating materials.

Fill the container with a well-drained potting mix.  Plant colorful lettuce seeds for your health conscious friends, coleus and marigolds for the flower lovers in the family and cat grass for your favorite pet owner.

Keep the soil moist and the container in a warm place until the seeds sprout.  Then move to a sunny location and water thoroughly whenever the soil is slightly moist.

A bit more information:  Keep the beauty of decorative containers and preserve the health of your plants with double potting.  Select a pot with drainage holes that is slightly smaller than the decorative pot that lacks drainage.  Plant your seeds, cuttings, or plants in this container. Place a few pebbles in the bottom of the decorative container and set the planted pot inside.  The pebbles will elevate the plant above any water that collects in the decorative container.  Check and pour off excess water before it reaches the inside pot.

Upcoming Live Events
& Webinars


April 3, 2024
Garden Trends 

Franklin Public Library, Franklin, WI

April 10, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

Container Gardening Throughout the Year
Register now

April 11, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

7 Steps to Managing Water Where it Falls in Your Yard
Register now

April 17, 2024
Landscaping for Birds: 
A Gardener’s Perspective

Glendale, WI 

April 18, 2024
Be a Waterwise Gardener
Golden Rondelle Theater, Racine, WI
Register now

April 20, 2024
Pruning Hydrangeas and Other Shrubs 
Pasquesi Home & Gardens, Lake Bluff, IL

April 27, 2024
Ridges & Rivers Book Festival
Viroqua, WI

April 28, 2024
Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI

May 1, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

Ornamental Fruits and Vegetables
Register now

May 9, 2024
FREE WEBINAR

How to Plant Your Rain Garden
Register now

WATCH ON-DEMAND WEBINARS

Learn More

Book an Appearance

Learn More

Enter to Win The Birds & Blooms' Ultimate Gardening Guide !

ENTER NOW