Garden Photo of the Day

Holiday Decorations From the Garden, Part 1

Check out these great ideas for holiday decorations

Today’s GPOD comes from Lilian Ho.

Seven Master Gardeners from Vancouver made some Christmas ornaments for Pearson Long Term Care facility. In Canada, most long term care facilities are funded by Medicare and they have certain budgets, so we brought our own containers and materials. We gathered the greens from the facility ground and our own gardens. This year somehow, there is a lack of red berries in the gardens. We made 20 Christmas ornaments in 2.5 hours. Attached are highlights of our work.

This is a dinner table centerpiece which needs a red candle in the center.

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Comments

  1. user-7007498 12/07/2017

    Lilian, it is so nice of you and the other Master Gardeners to create the wonderful arrangements. I am sure it will brighten the lives of the residents, as well as the staff working there. They look great.

  2. frankgreenhalgh 12/07/2017

    Hey Lilian - Wonderful arrangements for a wonderful cause. Great work by you and the 6 other Master Gardeners! Lovely gesture, especially at this time of the year. Cheers from Oz

    1. frankgreenhalgh 12/07/2017

      Lilian - Since you had trouble finding red berries perhaps I can add some red to the mix for the festive season. Pic.1 is of the flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), which is a large native deciduous tree. It drops its leaves and then the red flowers appear this time of the year. Pic.2 shows the current flowering of our little kurrajong (Brachychiton bidwillii), which is a very small tree. Both are drought tolerant. My friend is experimenting with grafting the flame tree onto little kurrajong seedlings to reduce the vigour of the flame tree and induce earlier flowering so that it could be used as a street tree adapted to the effects of climate change. Hope posting these pics. is OK with you, Lilian. Cheers from Oz

      1. user-7007498 12/07/2017

        Nice pictures, Frank. In the first photo, is the red flowers or leaves?
        I am really enjoying your frequent postings.

        1. frankgreenhalgh 12/07/2017

          Red flowers, Kev., which turn into interesting seed pods.

          1. user-7007498 12/07/2017

            Wow. Those are impressive seed pods.

      2. User avater
        LindaonWhidbey 12/07/2017

        Hi Frank, that red tree is so amazing. When we were in New Zealand st a garden, they mentioned that a huge tree was called the Christmas tree because of the red flowers at this time of year. It was almost done flowering when we saw it, but I’m wondering if it was the same tree. Thanks fir the photos.

        1. frankgreenhalgh 12/07/2017

          No a different tree, Linda, but it is also spectacular. Grows well here.

      3. sheila_schultz 12/07/2017

        Beautiful, Frank! Perfect for the holidays!

      4. user-6536305 12/08/2017

        So red for sure. Somehow I missed this post yesterday and I just found it now 0.5 hour from being to work. I somehow will read this all later.

  3. Maggieat11 12/07/2017

    Looks like you and your friends had a wonderful time creating. What a kind and thoughtful activity to share, also.

  4. tennisluv 12/07/2017

    Lillian, what a thoughtful and caring thing you and the other six master gardeners have done. I am sure that all the residents and their visitors at the Pearson Long Term Care facility will enjoy them very much, even with only a few red berries. Every arrangement is beautifully done.

  5. user-4691082 12/07/2017

    May God bless you and the others this Christmas season!

  6. User avater
    meander_michaele 12/07/2017

    What a lovely and caring use of time and effort. Lilian. The arrangements are delightful and certainly show the compatibility of the various greens and other plant elements. I'm sure these festive seasonal pops of color and scent elicit a lot of smiles from the facility residents, staff and visitors.

  7. User avater
    LindaonWhidbey 12/07/2017

    Good morning, Lilian. How great that you were able to bring some good smells and holiday cheer to those that don’t always get out much. You and your fellow Master Gardeners are very creative. Beautiful displays. Thanks for sharing them with us.

  8. cheryl_c 12/07/2017

    Lillian, Thanks for sharing these photos of your creative arrangements. As a frequent visitor to a local nursing home, I know what these efforts mean to the residents who often feel as though they are forgotten by most. You and the other Master Gardeners have shown a beautiful example of bringing beauty into lives. Our red berries that were profuse just two weeks ago (deciduous and evergreen Ilex) are now nearly gone also - eaten by the hungry hoards of migrating robins! Perhaps that is what happened to yours as well.

  9. Chris_N 12/07/2017

    How wonderful that you and the other master gardeners get together to make these beautiful displays for the long term care facility. As one who works at a continuing care retirement community I know they will brighten the day for the residents, visitors and staff who get to see them.

  10. sheila_schultz 12/07/2017

    What a perfect way to bring Holiday Cheer to the folks at Pearson. I'm sure your lovely decorations brought back many long lost memories!

  11. user-7008735 12/07/2017

    That's very kind work, Lilian. I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

  12. btucker9675 12/07/2017

    Joy!! What a lovely thing to do!

  13. maryannborcherding 12/07/2017

    What a wonderful idea to bring cheer. Every garden club should do something like this. I will put this into may memory bank for next year. I leave my hanging baskets up and just stick evergreen branches into the container. Very easy. Sometimes i place outdoor balls or decorative glass things.

  14. greengenes 12/08/2017

    Love these, Lilian! What a wonderful gesture for these great people! Iam sure they were so blessed! It looks like you had a great mixture to choose from too! Thanks for sharing!

  15. user-6536305 12/08/2017

    I somehow just see this post and thanks for your comments.

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