December 15, 2024

Shorter Days and Snowy Nights

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, whether spent with friends, family, or putting your garden to bed for the winter! After an unseasonably warm early November, we had our first snow flurries on Thanksgiving Day and cold temperatures ever since. The sun is relatively low on the horizon even at midday and our nights are long. But we know that the winter solstice is not far off, that the days will slowly begin to lengthen and, though months of winter remain, we are moving every day closer to springtime.

As we look towards 2025, it’s hard for some of us to believe that the break-through varieties of 1975 will soon be 50 years old - and that those from 1950 will be turning 75! And we celebrate the newest addition to the OHG crew: Marianne Imelda! Lydia welcomed her baby girl more than 10 days after her due date so she could finish the fall season - yes, she worked until the very last day. Lydia has been a star bulb picker for four years and shows her remarkable dedication to OHG and all bulb enthusiasts.

From all of us here at Old House Gardens, thanks for another wonderful year of friendship, support, and sharing our love of beautiful old flowers. You make everything we do here possible, and that’s an incredible gift. May your holidays be merry and every day of the new year bring you closer to the garden of your dreams.

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Warm a Gardener’s Heart with Our Gorgeous Gift Certificates and Bulbs!

The promise of spring makes an unbeatable gift, and what gardener wouldn’t love growing our fabulous flowers?

Holiday Gift Certificates – Pictured here, the holiday version of our gift certificate is merry and bright. For postal delivery, please order by Thursday, December 19 as we will be closed from December 20 through January 6.

Instant Gift Certificates – Can’t wait for the mail? Print a gift certificate to deliver in person, or deliver it instantly by email.

Bulbs for Spring Planting – Antique iris and daylilies, dahlias for bouquets, majestic lilies, graceful little glads, fragrant tuberoses, easy samplers, and more, all for delivery in April. And – from now through Dec. 19 only – we’ll send a card announcing your gift of bulbs for FREE!

Bulbs for Summer Planting - We now also ship our antique iris and daylilies in July, so if your gift recipient lives in a part of the country where spring comes late, this could be the perfect choice for them. And you guessed it – order by Dec. 19 if you’d like us to send your recipient a card for FREE!

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A Splendid Book to Savor this Season

Now that fall shipping and bulb planting are complete, we’ve had time to enjoy Lucy Bellamy’s new book A Year in Bloom, filled with glorious garden photos and bulb recommendations from contemporary landscape architects, international garden designers, and head gardeners - including Americans Frances Palmer and Margaret Roach! Bellamy’s love for bulbs shines through the book, as in her Introduction: “I love bulbs. I like them for their optimism, their resilience, and for their transcient beauty. I like the forms and colours of their flowers at every stage of their opening and, whenever I see a bulb in full flower, I am sure, in that moment, that it is my favourite.”.

Arranged in the order in which they bloom starting with early-spring’s Galanthus to fall-blooming crocus and paperwhites for winter forcing, you’re likely to find old friends as well as new acquaintances, particularly if you’ve been with us for several years since many of our varieties are highlighted. A handy chart near the end summarizes her favorites for pollinators, scent, naturalizing, cut flowers, and other uses. Whether you are looking for inspiration, information, or just a reprieve from the winter cold outside, you’ll enjoy whatever time you spend wandering through these pages!

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We’ll Be Taking a Winter Break, and Hope You’ll Enjoy One as Well!

As usual, we’ll be closed for two weeks starting Friday, December 20, so our hard-working OHG crew can take it easy and enjoy the holidays.

We’ll be back to work on Monday, January 6 and we’ll look forward to serving you then!

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