My Christmas gift list and gift ideas revolve around plant subject matter! Surprise huh!
RHS Gift Membership
The crux of the gardening community, the RHS, provides membership, which as they say, allows you to "treat someone to a whole year of gardening adventures". Need say no more!
Burncoose Gift Vouchers
Give the gift of choice with the Burncoose online plant nursery at your recipient's fingertips - and until Christmas save 15% when you buy them - giving your friend or loved one a little extra to spend without coughing it up yourself (they never have to know!)
Gardener's World Subscription
We never stop learning or fine-tuning those green fingers, so with five issues for five pounds... give the gift of gardening knowledge to others this Christmas!
Gift-a-plant
Quite literally! Great Christmas plant ideas with guidance to help you choose the right gift for different family members. Give something a little different this year, 'giftaplant'!
Books from Sutton's Seeds
Novel books like '100 flowers to knit & crochet' - for the creative type to create something beautiful from scraps of yarn!
Christmas Daffodils...mmm!
And that's not an edible 'mmm' just a mmm I love daffs so much! And what's wrong with a bit of cheery sunshine at Christmas time?! For many, a very unexpected gift! Well done Fentongollan.
And just for fun:
Gnome Soap on a Rope! courtesy of the RHS
Topiary Plant Pets! courtesy of T&M
Zombie Gnome (perhaps a tad freaky but certainly fun!) courtesy of find me a gift
Thursday 12 December 2013
Friday 6 December 2013
Christmas Mayhem
This is something I've most definitely been admiring from afar. Christmas chaos, mayhem, commotion... too many descriptives to ponder over.
I'm not a bah humbug or anything close, but taking a step back and watching the whirlwind of Christmas preparations get under way around me is quite astonishing and in a way mesmerising. It's not a negative experience. Being played out before me are deep rooted Christmas traditions that are shared by so many of us; and then handled in uniquely personal ways, defining our own experience of Christmas.
Take going out to choose the Christmas tree. Now this one is really about to kick off during the next couple of weeks. Many of us will make this traditional family outing to the garden centre or other local stockist, and spend close to HOURS choosing the RIGHT tree for the 'Smith' Household's Christmas 2013. We'll undergo competition with the 'Jones' Household to secure the BEST tree - even if that involves shoulder bashing and the hands of every family member to temporarily 'reserve' a tree, just in case there isn't another out of the hundreds of trees available that can trump it on shape, size, style, and numerous other factors taken into consideration when choosing 'THE' tree.
Image source: http://christmasstockimages.com/free/decorations/slides/tree_decorations.htm
Then take Christmas shopping. A time when even the calmest of shoppers suddenly become headless chickens, immersed in the Christmas craziness that is the world of retail. Traffic, queueing, the ability to get from A-B amongst a sea of shoppers - all challenges we face as the festive season draws close.
There is certainly something to be said for online shopping. But would I do it all online? Of course not! As frustrating and tiring as it can be at times, a little bit of the Christmas magic would be lost without the hustle and bustle of the shops at Christmas time.
There comes a time when one must stop admiring from afar, but bite the bullet and jump in head first to join the chaos, mayhem, commotion... For me, it will just be a little bit nearer to Christmas.
I'm not a bah humbug or anything close, but taking a step back and watching the whirlwind of Christmas preparations get under way around me is quite astonishing and in a way mesmerising. It's not a negative experience. Being played out before me are deep rooted Christmas traditions that are shared by so many of us; and then handled in uniquely personal ways, defining our own experience of Christmas.
Take going out to choose the Christmas tree. Now this one is really about to kick off during the next couple of weeks. Many of us will make this traditional family outing to the garden centre or other local stockist, and spend close to HOURS choosing the RIGHT tree for the 'Smith' Household's Christmas 2013. We'll undergo competition with the 'Jones' Household to secure the BEST tree - even if that involves shoulder bashing and the hands of every family member to temporarily 'reserve' a tree, just in case there isn't another out of the hundreds of trees available that can trump it on shape, size, style, and numerous other factors taken into consideration when choosing 'THE' tree.
Image source: http://christmasstockimages.com/free/decorations/slides/tree_decorations.htm
Then take Christmas shopping. A time when even the calmest of shoppers suddenly become headless chickens, immersed in the Christmas craziness that is the world of retail. Traffic, queueing, the ability to get from A-B amongst a sea of shoppers - all challenges we face as the festive season draws close.
There is certainly something to be said for online shopping. But would I do it all online? Of course not! As frustrating and tiring as it can be at times, a little bit of the Christmas magic would be lost without the hustle and bustle of the shops at Christmas time.
There comes a time when one must stop admiring from afar, but bite the bullet and jump in head first to join the chaos, mayhem, commotion... For me, it will just be a little bit nearer to Christmas.
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