December Gardening Tips from Pike Family Nurseries

At this time of year, gardening activities are often put on the back burner as we prepare for the holiday season.  With all the hustle and bustle during the holidays, wouldn't it be nice to simplify your home decorating?  Well, you can!  Just turn to your landscape for decorating ideas and materials.  From pine boughs to holly cuttings, you can "deck your halls" for the holiday season with nature's bounty.

• Gather pine straw from your own back yard.  Although they are evergreens, pine trees often shed many of their older needles at this time of year.  This freshly fallen pine straw makes excellent mulch for your planting areas.
• Shrubs can be trimmed to maintain their shape, if necessary, but save major pruning jobs for later in the winter.  Do not prune spring flowering trees and shrubs now or you will sacrifice some of the flower buds.  For best results, prune spring flowering plants just after they finish blooming. 
• Clean up your perennial beds.  Cut back all spent perennials, like hosta and liriope, almost to ground level.  After the debris has been removed from the area, mulch the planting beds for the winter season. 
• If you have a fescue lawn, it may need to be mowed.  Fescue should not be allowed to grow taller than two inches during the winter months.  If it gets too tall, the blades may bend over and lay on the ground.  This makes them susceptible to rotting.  
• Red berries are the traditional complement to all your holiday decorating.  Look for colorful berries on hollies, pyracantha, nandina, abelia, cotoneaster and hawthorn.   
• When selecting a Christmas tree, check for freshness.  The tree should have a healthy green color.  Also, when you run your hand along a branch of the tree, the needles should hold fast and be flexible, not brittle. 
• Magnolia leaves make beautiful holiday wreaths and table decorations.  The large, glossy leaves can last up to a month or more.
• Trees of all kinds make great holiday gifts.  Not only do they benefit the environment, they provide lasting enjoyment for years, even generations to come.
• If space is a problem, use a Norfolk Island Pine as a mini Christmas tree.  This popular houseplant has widely spaced, parallel branches that are easy to decorate.
• Relieve holiday stress by doing a little yard work.  Take advantage of any mild days and rake some leaves or dig in the dirt.  Gardening provides enjoyment and a real sense of accomplishment.  It is also a great way to burn off some of those extra calories from the holiday parties and family dinners.