Happy Holidays!

Click to enlarge. The Treeson cousins and I are wishing you peace whatever you’re celebrating wherever you are in the world.

They say they would be much happier if you would plant a tree in your workspace like this or somewhere outside. Urban Treeson in particular needs your help since he lives in the city where the air isn’t so good. Both indoor and outdoor trees help him and his neighbors a lot.

Using modern plant care methods, he has learned to use his black thumb in a green way. Would you please help him to spread the word this holiday season and in the coming year as well. Both of them thank you. Those you help maintain trees will thank you as well.

Holiday Gifts

Click to enlarge. Using “houseplant gardening” methods of installation and plant care, giving a so-called “houseplant” gift is a risky thing to do. The dreaded “drench and drain” watering method is tricky to learn for most people who have no ambition to become practiced gardeners.

Here are a couple of holiday gift ideas that make practical sense. Both plants are sub-irrigated in expanded clay pebble media, but the same method works with potting soil. The plants are growing in ordinary kitchen colanders inside decorative ceramic bowls. There is no need for finger poking, drainage holes or ugly saucers.

Both of these plants are hardy plants widely used around the world inside buildings. They are a staple of the commercial interior plantscaping business. With minimal care, they will last a lifetime.

In my Inbox

AeroGarden - pricey, but worth a look. More information here.

Boulder, Colorado Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - AeroGrow International, Inc. ("AeroGrow"), makers of the AeroGardenâ„¢ kitchen garden appliance, announced today that the AeroGarden has been scheduled to appear as a featured "Countdown to Christmas" holiday gift on the "Today Show" (today.msnbc.com) this Thursday morning. The Today Show has been the highest-rated, most-watched morning news and talk show in the world since December 1995 and recently registered more than 6 million daily viewers, a million more than the next highest ranking morning show. The Today Show is the second longest running series in television history. The AeroGarden will be introduced by celebrity chef and food writer Kathleen Daelemans (www.kathleendaelemans.com), named one of the country's "Top Ten Rising Star Chefs," as part of the Today Show's "Countdown to Christmas." Kathleen's recipes have been showcased in respected food and wine journals including Bon Appétit, Wine Spectator, Gourmet, Food & Wine, and EatingWell. The "Countdown to Christmas" segment is scheduled to air at 9:30 AM EST on NBC stations. Check local station listings for run times in your area. Time subject to change.

More fertilizer - Just what we need? Probably not. How about some new artificial lighting products.

Dear National Gardening Association Friend,

I'd like to ask you to participate in the 2006 National Gardening Association Container Gardening Fertilizer Survey. This short survey will take just a few minutes of your time, and will help us find out about your attitudes and opinions about a new product for fertilizing flowers and plants grown in containers.

As our way of saying "Thank You" for participating, everyone who completes the survey will be entered in a drawing to win a $100 Gift Certificate to the NGA Garden Shop. Please take a few moments to click on the link below, answer the survey questions, and then submit your answers.