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"I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."
—Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing
(Anglo-American writer, artist, and illustrator known for his wit; 1860-1935)
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Spark a Gardener’s Imagination with a Gift of Heirloom Flowers
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Gift Certificates
Warm someone you love all winter long with our unique, dream-inspiring gift certificates, starting at $40 to cover our minimum order amount and shipping. Choose your preferred delivery method…
Holiday Colors – A lovely card decorated with photos of red and white flowered heirlooms (pictured above), with your personal message handwritten inside. *
Print Your Own – Can’t wait for the mail? Now you can print your own gift certificate and deliver it in person. Or if you need it even quicker . . . .
Email Delivery – Last-minute shoppers rejoice! No matter how late it is, now you can deliver your gift certificate instantly by email- it’s even faster than by flying reindeer.
Holiday Card Announcing Fabulous Bulbs to Arrive in Spring!
Choose to have an email sent to the recipient on the date of your choice, print and deliver a card announcing the bulbs will arrive at planting time, or we can mail a card for an additional $2.50.*
Bulbs for Spring Planting – Luxurious dahlias, perennial iris, small-flowered glads, fragrant tuberoses, all-but-lost daylilies, easy samplers – including our Spring Intro to Heirlooms – and more, all for delivery in April.
* Note that physical card orders must be ordered before the end of the business day on Friday, December 19 to arrive by Christmas.
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Looking for Books to Read While Spending Winter Time Inside?
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While your garden may have slowed down over the winter, you might find yourself with more time to read. Here are some books to keep your gardening interests growing…
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Gardenista: The Low-Impact Garden by Kendra Wilson and the editors of Gardenista (2025)
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This new “Guide to Creating Sustainable Outdoor Spaces” is full of ideas for low-impact, nature-based gardening across a wide range of environments. Its photographs highlight how beautifully style and ecology can work together.
The book’s guiding manifesto for low-impact gardening emphasizes minimizing hardscape; feeding the garden with its own waste; retaining fallen branches; viewing shrubs as living shelters for birds and insects; providing fresh water; increasing the use of indigenous plants; growing from seed; and taking the time to appreciate the process.
Reading this book has sparked creative ideas to kickstart my spring planning with inspiring photography. Having gardened in northern California and in southeast Michigan, I appreciated the diversity of low-impact styles and in the garden climates and settings that were covered. The expert advice sections were thought-provoking and informative. I look forward to trying some of the equipment ideas for lowering the environmental impact and increasing the beauty and wildlife of the garden. My favorite “Ask the Expert” advice, from Edwina von Gal: “Don’t get rid of anything unfamiliar until you’ve identified it.” My plant ID app is one of my most used apps!
Gardenista is a beautiful handbook for creating environmentally friendly gardens and would make a wonderful gift for any gardener.
The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith (April 2020)
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From The Master Gardener’s Bookshelf review by Cindy Robertson (Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, 2023):
“In The Well-Gardened Mind, Stuart-Smith examines our historic relationship to gardens and demonstrates how gardening promotes mental health. She references archeology, literature, sociology, psychology, and neuroscience, among other fields. We learn, for example, that humans’ ties to gardening began earlier than thought, with late paleolithic foragers also weeding, diverting water, and transplanting plants. We also learn that simply working the soil with our bare hands has physiological benefits, including enhancing microbiome (beneficial bacteria) in our guts, and increasing levels of serotonin, a mood booster. Further, in as little as just 20 or 30 minutes in the garden, our stress hormone cortisol is reduced. Indeed, brain scans reveal that observing beauty lights up the same brain pathways as those for romantic love, endorphins, and dopamine, the “feel-good” brain chemicals.
“She begins with her own family and the therapeutic benefit of a horticulture program to her grandfather’s recovery as a prisoner of war. Stuart-Smith admits that, as a young adult, she viewed gardening as outdoor housework. Only after marrying a landscape designer and spending time transforming their home gardens, did she truly understand first-hand how creating and caring for a garden has many health benefits. She noticed that gardening, as an immersive, outdoor activity, results in an almost magical feeling of calm invigoration. This led Stuart-Smith to question how gardening might help us find our place in a high-tech and increasingly urbanized world, and ultimately led to her write this book.”
Reading this book during the pandemic has sparked my interest in the therapeutic benefits of horticulture. If you have ideas for those winter months, in any hardiness zone, please let us know. We will feature therapeutic, mindful garden activities in upcoming winter newsletters to keep those “feel-good” brain chemicals going until those early spring bulbs start to bloom.
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Wishing Many Happy Garden Days to Amelia!
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Amelia has been a part of the incredible OHG crew for many years. She can remember the days of working in the OHG founder, Scott’s, house in Ann Arbor’s Old West Side; expanding into his garage; moving to the Washtenaw Food Hub in 2017 when Vanessa became the owner of the business; and finally helping with this fall’s shipping season from a brand-new, even larger barn.
Amelia’s thorough research, master gardener education, curiosity, active gardening, and experience at Old House Gardens have kept our newsletter filled with information, stories, and images to spark curiosity and encourage a continued love of gardening, nature, and flowers in those who read it. The newsletter will continue with Linda leading the way as our writer and researcher, bringing you interesting and inspiring gardening information.
When asked what she will do with more free time during spring and fall shipping seasons, her response was: “More gardening.”
Amelia, may your retirement be filled with sunshine, fresh soil, and beautiful blooms! Thank you for your cheerful, well-informed presence at Old House Gardens!
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Just in Time for the First Snowfall of the Season!
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Ellen (from Rochester, New York) received her bulbs just in time for the first snowfall and said, “No worries however. I had already dug out the area where the bulbs will be planted and filled it with leaves. So all that is needed is to remove the leaves, plant the bulbs, and replace the earth which I conveniently saved in containers in my basement so it would be pliable and not frozen when the bulbs arrived for planting. Thank you for providing these end-of-the-season bulbs. Imagining the beautiful sight they will be in a few months will keep me going through the long western NY winter.”
She also has the following ideas for those who live in places where the winters seem very long…
“I put one or two bulbs of several varieties in my fridge and will plant them in indoor pots on Christmas Day. As in Michigan, we in western NY have a fairly late spring blooming time and I find that a hyacinth or two, in pots in my south-facing window, brighten my late March/early April days before the early tulips and crocus burst into bloom outside.”
Thank you, Ellen, for your tips for your wintertime tips!
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