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#1
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Is it just
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 |
#2
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Is it just
Gardenjunkie 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 One good thing, IMO, is that one can get some plants that can be hard to find. I just found some cranberry bushes in 1-qt containers. Since they were on the list of plants I want, I got them all. Also, little hollies. The problem with them is that there are only females for the obvious reason. I was kid-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? But yeah. I have been prowling the nurseries looking for normal things, and there is almost nothing right now. -- Jean B. |
#3
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Is it just
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 |
#4
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Is it just
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. |
#5
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Is it just
Gardenjunkie writes:
Is it just me getting old or is Christmas getting earlier evey year. It's not just you. 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. I think it's people in sales. I don't know what it is with them, but they compulsively push their products beyond all reason. My pet peeve is TV. They now run commericails for their other shows almost non-stop, right on the screen as another show is in progress. The commerical breaks weren't enough. This year we had Christmas stuff on the shelves in our supermarket before Halloween. |
#6
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Is it just
On Nov 28, 11:27*am, wrote:
Gardenjunkie writes: Is it just me getting old or is Christmas getting earlier evey year. It's not just you. 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. I think it's people in sales. *I don't know what it is with them, but they compulsively push their products beyond all reason. My pet peeve is TV. *They now run commericails for their other shows almost non-stop, right on the screen as another show is in progress. The commerical breaks weren't enough. This year we had Christmas stuff on the shelves in our supermarket before Halloween. I agree with all of you as I peek over the fence. It's the higher folks up in sales who have learned through all the time that has passed in the last few decades, that pushing things earlier might mean more sales for them. (for example, where I grew up, in Nashville, we had a few smart department stores who decided to have a small "Christmas in July" sale downtown where all the department stores used to be, for that small amount of people who actually did their Christmas shopping that early to get it out of the way. And then they had what they used to advertise city wide as NEVD (Nashville Extra Value Days) when ALL of the stores had HUGE savings because kids USED to return to school the day after Labor day, so the week or two before that, the whole city had that sale going on. it was as crazy with frenzied mom's as Black Friday was yesterday. I remember my own mom getting out the layaway clothes she'd been putting back during summer for my newer school attire. Shoes were purchased strictly during NEVD because of the huge savings mom could get. (and some department stores like Harvey's and J.C. Penny's and Little Sisters knocked off additional percentage of the layaway amount left to get mom's to get their stuff out sooner) Mom usually got my shoes at a place called the Family Bootery.LOL But me English husband noticed this year in one of the box stores that we frequented too often for home repair things needed, that they had really neat Halloween displays, around AUGUST!!! I remember he asked me if it was October already, why was it so bloody HOT?? I also noticed Christmas decorations going up and onto the shelves here in some places the second week of September.......it saddened me tremendously. Takes all the enjoyment of the season out for me personally let alone this long warm weather we've been having that has caused a lot of the local trees to not turn their leaves as quickly as others have here where we are now. And your pet peeve is MY pet peeve as well. I not only hate the CONTINUAL advertisements on up and coming programs, next month's programs, next weeks update on whatever, or even a sister channel's programming, but it's now all lumped into the whole visual thing so that I'm trying to see the actual program while trying to ignore the station's icon, the ad's running to the left of the screen, and the minuscule amount of actual program that they run before 10 minutes later it's another bloody commercial, but not one or two or even three commercials, but as many mini commercials and ads as they can! William Shatner did a brilliant song about that....I can't get behind that" off his album he did with Ben Folds. Awesome CD. It's not as bad on just regular T.V. it seems worse on cable and satellite programming. I counted nine commercials at the half hour mark on an "hour" program one night. sigh.......... back behind the bushes with me! Hope everyone had a very nice roast beast day for those who celebrate it. Garden note for those waiting for a gardening subject to pop out.....my holly bush has red berries on it.....there are still mum's blooming and my Black and Blue salvia still has flowers as well. Some glazed pots of sedums are blooming all over themselves but no bumblies to pollinate and enjoy the late bounty. All the California poppy seeds I sowed have germinated and have their fourth set of ferny leaves. Hens and chicks haven't hunkered down for winter, and as of now, November 28th, I still haven't brought inside the few cacti and succulents and tender African plants I have remaining for winter. They're sitting in their holding area sulking after the unexpected frost we got night before last (they were covered in several sheets......but cold concrete is still cold concrete regardless of sheltering by a roof and part of a house from just being totally exposed. (a covered car porch of sorts next to the actual house). madgardener gardening in zone 7 Sunset zone unknown yet ducking behind a crape myrtle |
#7
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Is it just
Madgarnener, I love you. That's all I want to say...I love you
and your wonderful rant. Donna in WA "madgardener" wrote in message ... On Nov 28, 11:27 am, wrote: Gardenjunkie writes: Is it just me getting old or is Christmas getting earlier evey year. It's not just you. 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. I think it's people in sales. I don't know what it is with them, but they compulsively push their products beyond all reason. My pet peeve is TV. They now run commericails for their other shows almost non-stop, right on the screen as another show is in progress. The commerical breaks weren't enough. This year we had Christmas stuff on the shelves in our supermarket before Halloween. I agree with all of you as I peek over the fence. It's the higher folks up in sales who have learned through all the time that has passed in the last few decades, that pushing things earlier might mean more sales for them. (for example, where I grew up, in Nashville, we had a few smart department stores who decided to have a small "Christmas in July" sale downtown where all the department stores used to be, for that small amount of people who actually did their Christmas shopping that early to get it out of the way. And then they had what they used to advertise city wide as NEVD (Nashville Extra Value Days) when ALL of the stores had HUGE savings because kids USED to return to school the day after Labor day, so the week or two before that, the whole city had that sale going on. it was as crazy with frenzied mom's as Black Friday was yesterday. I remember my own mom getting out the layaway clothes she'd been putting back during summer for my newer school attire. Shoes were purchased strictly during NEVD because of the huge savings mom could get. (and some department stores like Harvey's and J.C. Penny's and Little Sisters knocked off additional percentage of the layaway amount left to get mom's to get their stuff out sooner) Mom usually got my shoes at a place called the Family Bootery.LOL But me English husband noticed this year in one of the box stores that we frequented too often for home repair things needed, that they had really neat Halloween displays, around AUGUST!!! I remember he asked me if it was October already, why was it so bloody HOT?? I also noticed Christmas decorations going up and onto the shelves here in some places the second week of September.......it saddened me tremendously. Takes all the enjoyment of the season out for me personally let alone this long warm weather we've been having that has caused a lot of the local trees to not turn their leaves as quickly as others have here where we are now. And your pet peeve is MY pet peeve as well. I not only hate the CONTINUAL advertisements on up and coming programs, next month's programs, next weeks update on whatever, or even a sister channel's programming, but it's now all lumped into the whole visual thing so that I'm trying to see the actual program while trying to ignore the station's icon, the ad's running to the left of the screen, and the minuscule amount of actual program that they run before 10 minutes later it's another bloody commercial, but not one or two or even three commercials, but as many mini commercials and ads as they can! William Shatner did a brilliant song about that....I can't get behind that" off his album he did with Ben Folds. Awesome CD. It's not as bad on just regular T.V. it seems worse on cable and satellite programming. I counted nine commercials at the half hour mark on an "hour" program one night. sigh.......... back behind the bushes with me! Hope everyone had a very nice roast beast day for those who celebrate it. Garden note for those waiting for a gardening subject to pop out.....my holly bush has red berries on it.....there are still mum's blooming and my Black and Blue salvia still has flowers as well. Some glazed pots of sedums are blooming all over themselves but no bumblies to pollinate and enjoy the late bounty. All the California poppy seeds I sowed have germinated and have their fourth set of ferny leaves. Hens and chicks haven't hunkered down for winter, and as of now, November 28th, I still haven't brought inside the few cacti and succulents and tender African plants I have remaining for winter. They're sitting in their holding area sulking after the unexpected frost we got night before last (they were covered in several sheets......but cold concrete is still cold concrete regardless of sheltering by a roof and part of a house from just being totally exposed. (a covered car porch of sorts next to the actual house). madgardener gardening in zone 7 Sunset zone unknown yet ducking behind a crape myrtle |
#8
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Is it just
On Nov 28, 9:04*pm, "Lelandite" wrote:
Madgarnener, I love you. *That's all I want to say...I love you and your wonderful rant. Donna in WA "madgardener" wrote in message snipped for room (sounds of pruners, whacking and secaturs (me Englishman's word for hand pruners g) tearing out the excess wordage madgardener gardening in zone 7 Sunset zone unknown yet *ducking behind a crape myrtle Thanks Donna......(dragging toe in dirt) it's nice to comment on something that I feel about here after such a long absence. by the way, for garden junkie down below........it might be peak season over there in the UK where you're gardening, and your nurseries aren't overstocked with the seasonal schlock like we are here in the "colonies" but honey, over here, we're saturated with excesses of commercialism to the point of it sometimes feeling like it defeats the reason for the gathering and celebrations. And I'm not saying the religious aspect of it either. It's a time when we have a good reason to just be better than we have been to each other. not like we NEED a reason......personally? I'm a gardener, so I do just fine by my little corner of the world in the things that I do daily. I compost, I don't mindlessly kill insects unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't use hardly any pesticide, (sometimes you HAVE to use something for those damn ticks that drop outa the trees onto you! and we won't start on the skeeters that eat me poor Englishman like prime sirloin) I'm sure if some of the better stocked nurseries in some area's were to be scoured, you'd find garden things. I know there is an absolutely incredible nursery over in Knoxville, Tennessee that has anything a gardener would love to give someone else who gardens as really cool gifts, but I can't quite get there at this time and I tend to agree with the above comment. The local box stores aren't stocked with much for us gardeners. Oh SURE there's the usual poinsettia's, non-hardy evergreen trees and rosemary topiaries, and amaryllis by the pots full, all waiting for some amateur gardener to get for Christmas to try and get to live past the first week when they get it. I am curious when they went ape over those puffed up electric displays? I've seen houses around here that you can't see the house for the inflated displays...........and one neighbor's window had their Christmas tree up, lights on and shining like a beacon since three weeks before turkey day.....I mean, sheesh!! we're just kvetching about the general over kill of the season. now before I get flamed for talking further, I will slip back behind my holly and boxwood's. (the crape myrtle has lost all it's leaves and I'm very conspicuous! At least the boxwoods and Holly have foliage.....LOL) thanks Donna for the endearment. I love you too honey. I will holler every now and then when I see something worth spouting about, and I'm sure there will be rambles as house plants and such meander through my life where I am now. Good to be back after such a long absence. g maddie gardening in zone 7 (maybe even warmer?) and unknown Sunset zone (gotta find my Sunset book first) |
#9
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I scoured my local garden center in Homebase today. Guess what they had? Half a dozen skimmia and a couple of sad looking cyclaman. And oh yes, about 500 hundred Christmas trees. Oh and another thing. What about all these blasted phone calls. The lastest one was 7 this evening (Sunday). "Do I want to consolidate all my debts" - No I ******* well don't! (Sorry for the language) But come on, phone calls all hours of the day and night, insurance, kitchens, phones, savings, borrowing. Aggggggghhhhhh. I'm really winding myself up now. Need a cuppa and a slice of fruit cake. All the best Gardenjunkie SE England |
#10
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Is it just
madgardener writes:
my holly bush has red berries on it.....there are still mum's blooming and my Black and Blue salvia still has flowers as well. Some glazed pots of sedums are blooming all over themselves but no bumblies to pollinate and enjoy the late bounty. All the California poppy seeds I sowed have germinated and have their fourth set of ferny leaves. Hens and chicks haven't hunkered down for winter, and as of now, November 28th, I still haven't brought inside the few cacti and succulents and tender African plants I have remaining for winter. They're sitting in their holding area sulking after the unexpected frost we got night before last (they were covered in several sheets......but cold concrete is still cold concrete regardless of sheltering by a roof and part of a house from just being totally exposed. (a covered car porch of sorts next to the actual house). madgardener gardening in zone 7 Sunset zone unknown yet ducking behind a crape myrtle Here in NJ, the hollys have red berries but all the other leaves are on the ground. 1 day before Thanksgiving we had open flowers on the Christmas Cactus. See, even the Christmas Cactus is rushing the season. This fall, I found 4 holly tree volunteers all in one spot. I dug them up and moved them to a more protected spot. I've been putting Holly seeds in the ground over the last few years with no success so far. Still wondering why I found 4 at once, they were growing under a Dog Wood where I had some cedar mulch. |
#11
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Is it just
"Gardenjunkie" wrote in message
... And are Garden Centres now just retail outlets for seasonal goodies? 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. My local garden centre looks nothing like that. No decorations, no trees no sign of Christmas. But not a seed tray, pot or compost in sight. All those things are exactly where they should be in the ones I've been to. Perhaps you just live in the wrong hemisphere? Here it's peak planting time so there are seeds and seedlings in abundance, bags of fertilser of all varieties to be chosen from, pots and potting mixes ans plants, plants and more plants. All gardeners are busy planting and gardening and by doing that we keep the garden centres focussed on what they should be doing which is garden related stuff. |
#12
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Is it just
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#13
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#14
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I also have to raise the issue you have with piped music in garden centres. What is wrong with festive music playing whilst you shop? As long as it is not being played too loudly or being repeated over and over again I would prefer this to endless adverts for products in the garden centre. Are you anti Christmas altogether or just anti Garden Centres? We are in the middle of a recession and Garden Centres are being effected as much as everyone, if not more so. Garden Centres like ourselves have worked hard not to display tacky Christmas stiock and have spent a lot of time ensuring our customers experience is enhanced not disrupted. We have had nothing but wonderful comments. I agree that some garden centres start too early with the Christmas sales, but you can not tar everyone with the same brush |
#15
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Its just the way I see things and I have to say most of my friends are in agreement. I guess you have a vested interest in Garden Centers and possibly a biased view, which I do not have a problem with. You have the same rights as I have to say it as you see it. My defination of a Gareden Center is in the title "Garden Center". Now gardening to me doe's not include Christmas decorations, gifts, cards, Christmas trees, etc., etc. The worst point about the gifts Garden Centers display is they have absolutely nothing to do with gardening. So I rest my case and stick to my guns. I hope this has not upset you. All the best Gardenjunkie S. E. England |
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