All the Dirt on Gardening

This is the time of year when homes, stores and entire city blocks are decorated with snowflakes, stars, bells, garlands, poinsettia plants, evergreen trees, wreaths, and blooming Christmas cactus. Holiday wreaths, garlands and decorative boughs can be made of ordinary materials such as felt cutouts, ribbon and tree branches or precious items such as the diamond and ruby studded Christmas wreath that sold for over $4 million last Christmas. The circular shape of the Christmas wreath has the same significance as wedding bands, with the circle representing eternity or the unending circle of life. Evergreen tree branches, most often used to make wreaths symbolize growth and everlasting life. Jerry Clouse, owner of Twin Pines evergreen farm in Muskogee said, “We grow the French Scotch Pine and the Belgian Scotch Pine trees. They are called Legend Trees because the central stem signifies God and the second stalk is Jesus. Then the branches coming up are the five branches of ...

Decorating for the holiday season often includes both live and artificial plants such as evergreen boughs, wreaths, Christmas trees, and holly. Fresh greenery adds cheer and beauty but it is important to keep most live plants out of the mouths of children and pets. Chewing leaves and berries can cause stomach upset or worse. Keep your family and friends safe throughout the season by knowing the name of each plant you bring into the house and whether it is toxic. For example, Christmas cactus and African violets are completely safe.  Heavenly Bamboo berries Most plants with berries pose a danger, whether they are fresh or artificial. Berries from live greens are mostly toxic to children and small pets and plastic berries pose a choking hazard. Both live and plastic berries tend to fall onto the floor so they should be picked up at least once a day. If you have to call poison control, you will need to know the name of the plant the child ate so keep the information h...