Ah ... the joys of the Holiday Season!  And the stresses too!  At Dig This, we want to make it easy for you.  That's why we have a wonderful selection of unique gifts with a garden theme, plus lots of gorgeous decorating ideas so you can dress your home up for the festivities to come.

Our Open Houses are the most relaxing way to shop - we have food, music, helpful staff, free gift wrapping, and loads of great ideas to help you find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.  This Thursday is Dig This Oak Bay's turn.  Please drop by - we know you'll enjoy yourself.

Elizabeth & the Staff at Dig This Oak Bay

If you missed the Open Houses at our other stores last month, there’s another opportunity this Thursday, December 4th at the Oak Bay store.

Like our other Open Houses, everything in the store is 10% off that evening, and there will be in-store specials including gorgeous glass hummingbird feeders for only $9.99.  Enter to win a $250 Gift Certificate - winning that will surely make things easier!

December 4th is also the night of Oak Bay’s popular Art Gallery Walk, so stop by Dig This, nibble some cheese or fruit, and warm up with a glass of mulled apple juice, before heading on to the next gallery.

The colour and and fragrance brought by seasonal plants are a traditional part of my holiday home decorating.

Paperwhites, with their lovely blooms and fragrance, and stunning Amaryllis are the stars of the Christmas flowers. You still have time to grow paperwhites in time for Christmas, and many of our Amaryllis varieties are ready to bloom too.

One old favorite indoor flowering tropical is of course the Zygocactus, commonly known as the Christmas cactus. I have seen many lavender, purple, pink, red, white and red with white flowers showing off as the cooler temperatures arrive and the evenings lengthen.

Do not forget to let your zygocactus rest for 30 days after it has finished blooming. Only after the 30 days are through should you feed them with a gentle organic liquid fertilizer. You can also prune them after blooming to keep them bushy.

Poinsettias are another seasonal favourite. Over the years the color selection has increased to include burgundy’s, pinks, variegated, and spotted varieties only to mention a few. Do let your Poinsettia go dry between waterings, as they do not like to have moist roots all of the time. In our January edition, we’ll give you tips on how to keep your Poinsettias growing to rebloom next year.

One last family of plants, I have to mention this season, are succulents. Not your traditional Christmas plant, I know, but growers have done an amazing job using these trendy plants to make living wreathes that look stunning on the table as well as hung on a door.
 

Virginia Parkhurst, Dig This Broadmead

For many of us, the answer will be grab a seed catalogue or my garden journal or perhaps the latest issue of a favourite gardening magazine, and curl up before the fire dreaming of next year!

However, if the weather permits, here are some tasks you might want to consider:

• Spray peach trees to prevent leaf curl. For more information on how to prevent this disease see http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/tfipm/peachleafcurl.htm 
   
• Prepare trees and shrubs for winter storms.  Prune back long branches that might be damaged by wind storms.  When it snows on Vancouver Island, the snow is often heavy and wet, so it is wise to tie up loosely branched conifers to lessen the possibility of snow damage. Better yet, knock off the snow right away so it’s weight doesn’t bend or break branches.
   
• Clean, sharpen and oil your tools in preparation for the next gardening season.
   
• Tidy your potting shed and sort out your seed trays and pots. This will get you off to a good start in February and March when it is time to start growing vegetables, annuals and bedding plants.
   
• If it looks like we might get a prolonged cold spell, protect pots outside from freezing by wrapping them with bubble wrap plastic or sacking lined with straw, or simply cluster them all together in a sheltered corner on the patio or close to your house, this really helps to protect the roots against the frost.
   
• At the beginning of the month cut a few shoots from Jasminium nudiflorum, Winter jasmine. Put them in water and keep in a cool place indoors. The buds will begin to open and scented flowers can be used to add to Christmas table decorations.
   
• Continue to rake up leaves from lawns to be composted. Fallen leaves on soil can be left as mulch; the worms will take them down into the soil for you.
   
• Thoroughly clean the greenhouse, inside and out.  To avoid pests and diseases over-wintering, remove all plant debris.  A nice job for a sunny day.
   
• If you have plants over-wintering in the greenhouse, make sure you your portable heater is ready to go on nights that threaten to go below zero degrees Celsius.

Audrey Olinyk, Dig This Nanaimo
 

Paulette Brown of our Dig This Sidney store has held several classes on making Christmas wreaths.  Here is the gorgeous wreath created by Sandra Hoff.