Tony and I went to Winter Park to Christmas shop. It’s a lovely little downtown area all decorated with Christmas lights and seasonal decorations. I was expecting that. But the traditional complementary colors of red and green were not part of the container display. Instead there were planted pots of bright yellow and pale yellow poinsettias, bright yellow zinnia-like annuals, and white poinsettias. It was quite refreshing and unique take on holiday plants. I liked it but I noticed two individuals who weren’t quite sure of the new Christmas colors. It wasn’t what they were expecting.

This seems to be a year for thinking outside of our comfort zone. Doing something that maybe a few years (decades?) ago would never happen. The combinations of yellow and white still seemed like Christmas because they used holiday plants. It evoked a spirit of gold which is a traditional gift for a baby in a creche.

Winter came early this month. Hopefully, it’s still supposed to be a La Nina winter, wet and warm. I’ve outlined what to do in your landscape and it’s just enough to keep the garden neat and thriving. You’ll have plenty of time to visit with family and friends, or travel.

If you can’t decide what to get someone for Christmas, check out my Plant of the Month. It was an easy experience with Costa Farms and our family was thrilled with their gift.

Did you hear how Gerald the Turkey did over Thanksgiving? Lizzie shows off her vegetable garden and updates everyone on the #SaveGerald petition.

Thinking about wildlife… if you would like to select plants for your landscape that deer really don´t appreciate, check out my ¨Suggested Central Florida Plants Least Preferred by Deer.¨

My Landscape Malpractice Tip #32 happened a long time ago. It still makes an impression on me to warn against lazy contractors.

I love my design tip this month. You will see it next year in many different plants, clothing, furniture, and on walls. I’m interested in what you think of the choice.

Thank you for all the congratulations and warm wishes for continued success on our recent purchase of Art in Bloom Garden Tours. We will be registering for our newest trips to the Newport Flower Show in June in January. Tony and I are also scheduling trips in 2025 to the Garden Walk Buffalo, Scotland in August, Fall in Love with the Berkshires, Vermont Foliage Tour in October to be available soon. Let us know if you´re interested. Our trips fill up very quickly.

This month is going quickly and it will be a new year before we know it. It could be a year of trying new things in the garden. New techniques, new plants, new color combinations, and new learning. That’s what I am hoping for in 2025, a year of new experiences, new friendships, new optimism for the future. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I was inspired this month to “think outside of the box’ while working with a client. I get a lot of inspiration from visiting or working with clients who love to garden. Thinking outside the box meant that I could challenge everything that I had been taught to believe.

I was refreshing the older pool garden planters of bromeliads, (some of which were declining after blooming), crotons, blooming curcumas, tropical houseplants, including dracaena, corn plants, and two Cattleya orchids, planted in the dirt. Both orchids were very healthy and blooming magnificently.

I knew orchids were epiphytes and could hang in the air, but ‘hanging’ beautifully in the dirt went against everything I knew. The pool cage was partially shaded by an old, large, live oak tree. The exposure was south-eastern. The orchids had been in the planters for years and loved their location. In November, the largest Cattleya was proudly bragging with more than 25 flowers.

Orchids, not including terrestrial orchids, as a general rule, need to be situated in the air, hanging from trees, or in orchid baskets in a bark medium. I think the secret to these healthy Cattleyas was they didn’t have irrigation in the planters, just subsisting on rainfall and have almost been ignored. Cattleyas like well-drained medium/soil that alternates between moist and dry.

If you are in Zones 9b – 11, you might want to try thinking outside of the box into planters, trees, and outdoor walls, for your orchids.

Winged Sumac, Rhus copallinum

Are you looking for a shrub or tree that adds beauty and year-round interest to your garden. Check out my Plant of the Month Winged Sumac. Winged Sumac is easy to grow, pest-free, and doesn’t need a lot of water. It is excellent for Florida native gardens. Use as either a privacy plant, backdrop shrub, or as a small tree, Winged Sumacs provides four-season appeal with its’ ethereal foliage that turns brilliant red in the Fall. It does spread easily, making stands of winged sumac, and is well suited for filling in scrub habitat. Beneficial for gopher tortoises, wildlife, attracting butterflies, native bees and other pollinators; Important food source for migratory birds,

You can get Winged Sumac at Quality Green Specialists in Deland.