On Nov 30, 2:31*am, traveler123
wrote:
Gardenjunkie;870672 Wrote:





Is it just me getting old or is Christmas getting earlier evey year.

And are Garden Centres now just retail outlets for seasonal goodies?

Every year shops display their Christmas wears for all to see earlier
and earlier. They put up their decorations, it seems like just after
Easter.

Go to a Garden Center for something to do with gardening and what do
you find. Millions of Christmas trees, no roots so you can't plant
them, rows of shelves full of Christmas decorations, stacks of tacky so
called Christmas presents.

But not a seed tray, pot or compost in sight.

And to top it all, piped Christmas carols and hymns, you know the ones
you really hate but are humming to youeself days after.
Aggggggghhhh!!!

Yup, I think its just me - getting old and sad.

All the best
Gardenjunkie

Your absolutely right. Christmas is getting eralier every year. I am
based in the UK and at this very moment it has just begun to snow. I
have so much gardening I need to do this week and I wont be able to get
any of it done if this snow lies. Your right though. Its the 1st of
December tomorrow but everywhere I go now all I see is Christmas
decorations and all I hear is Christmas music. Im starting to get into
the Christmas spirit now.

--
traveler123- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I don't know what to tell you :-) Here, where one can garden all
winter if they desire to do so (as I imagine can be done in much of
the UK), "real" garden centers (I'd not consider Homebase a "real"
garden center/retail nursery) offer lots of plants - trees, all manner
of broadleaf evergreen shrubs, groundcovers, hardy evergreen grasses
and perennials........hellebores are starting to appear by the dozens.
As well as all necessary gardening accoutrements. Sure, there are both
live and cut xmas trees as well as wreaths, greens and all the other
Christmas features but they are a seasonal offering just the same as
any other seasonal plant......like petunias and tomatoes.

Having been in retail sales for years, both in the plant world and
with regular mechandising, I don't think Christmas is getting any
earlier. In the US the trigger is our Thanksgiving holiday - that is
the official kick-off of the Christmas holiday season and any retail
shop that isn't dressed and ready for Christmas by that date will
simply lose out on sales. The box stores and mass discounters - like
Homebase - always tend to start the season earlier as it accounts for
a huge percentage of their winter sales. Not very much home
improvement OR gardening going on in December with them and gardening/
the sale of plants is a loss leader in their world anyway. If you want
to find plants now or gardening-related items, look in a real
nursery...someplace that is dedicated to gardening.

ps. Hi Maddie!! Good to hear from you! Send me an email :-)

csd wrote:
I was kind-of hacked off when I was told that the little trees
(junipers--for that matter, most of these things need labels)
could not be planted outside. So what is the point of getting a
living tree if that is the case?
--
Jean B.
The garden centers keep perpetuating this myth that junipers can be
grown indoors. Bonsai wannabes purchase them by the thousands, then
when the tree dies, they think they can't grow bonsai. Meanwhile, the
wholesalers are raking in the money & the garden center employees
don't know the difference. I assure you, junipers cannot be grown
indoors, except under very specialized conditions for a limited amount
of time.
Iris

Interestingly I saw another such thing and this one had more of a
label on it--still no scientific name, but stating they were hardy
down to -10F. I had a few things I am going to try to look into
online. Thanks for the reminder.

--
Jean B.