The Madman and the 2020 Christmas Season

            Today is December 1. Thanksgiving and Black Friday are behind us, as strange as they were this year. So now we get to look forward to the 2020 Christmas season. “You know, with everything else going on I haven’t even thought about Christmas,” the madman said. Come to think of it, I really haven’t heard the old Grinch complain about anything to do with Christmas. So unlike him!

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The season will come and with it you might you might like some suggestions of gifts for your gardening friends or relatives. Perhaps we can help. Last year at this time, we published a list of gift suggestions. After revisiting it, we decided that the list is still good, but this is by no means a normal year, so we are going to offer a few new suggestions.

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1. CSA membership

For those of you who are unfamiliar with these three letters, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The concept is simple. Local farmers offer shares of their farm production early in the season. The consumer buys into the farm and receives his share on a weekly basis. The size and type of shares vary among farms, but basically a shareholder gets fresh produce during the growing season. To find local CSAs, the madman says check out these two sites: CT portal and LocalHarvest.org.

Why would a gardener be interested in a CSA you may ask? After all, they grow their own, don’t they? At the beginning of the pandemic, Victory Gardens sprang up all over – some were successful, some were not, but people got to experience the joy of garden to table. We understand that not everyone can grow 50 tomato plants and have room left over for beets and carrots, but the farmer can. And, any gardener should be happy to supplement his production with more variety and a steady supply.

2. Local flowers

We understand that around here in December no one can walk outside to pick fresh flowers. Even the madman’s zinnias are long gone. But, there are lots of local florists and nurseries offering a nice selection of cut flowers and seasonal greens. Quite frankly, these local folks can use your business. Just the other day, friend Bill who has a love-hate relationship with gardening called to share a good experience. He wanted to get flowers for his mother’s 90-something birthday. Fear of COVID exposure made him shy away from high infection areas.

He ended up at Riverside, a local garden center and florist in Canton, but noticed only a few flowers in the freezer. He told the florist what he wanted and she said, “I’ve got you covered” and went to the back. Bill was amazed at what he got and his mother’s face lit up when she saw them. In this time of crisis, reactions like this make the gift a homerun. That’ why it’s number 2 on our list.

3. Flower subscription

Adding to the flowers thought, why not make an arrangement with your local florist to have a fresh selection of blooms on a regular (use any frequency you like) basis for you to either pick up or have delivered. This concept isn’t new – flower of the month clubs have been around for a long time, but it might be nice to try the local angle first. If that doesn’t work, we can offer a couple of large-scale suggestions. White Flower Farm, here in Connecticut, offers a monthly service and we have never been disappointed in anything from this well-known business.

Another company that has always given us good product is Gardeners’ Supply out of Vermont. This company offers a monthly bulb subscription. Your recipient can enjoy the blooms indoors, then plant them outside when the weather warms up.

You can find lots of others with a quick google search; make sure you read the reviews and remember, the madman says if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Remember, not everyone will find joy in flowers; there might be someone on your gift list who would prefer a plant instead of cut flowers. The madman suggests taking a look at Succulent Studios; he did and he was really happy with his first shipment.

4. Amaryllis, etc. bulbs

As we started talking about this suggestion, we were wondering if Amaryllis bulbs would be the toilet paper of the 2020 Christmas season – you know, out of stock. Apparently, this is not exactly the case yet. You may not get your choice of colors, but you can still get bulbs. Again, we suggest shopping locally, but that will limit your selection. Remember, all the plant’s energy is stored in the bulb, so the bigger the bulb the more impressive the flower.

The etc. here is my favorite. I love the Ziva Paperwhite Narcissus for their delightful fragrance on a dark winter day. The madman likes the fragrance, but he doesn’t like the floppy stems so I always stake them to keep him quiet. Another bulb to consider is the fragrant Hyacinth. You normally think of them at Easter-time, but these bulbs are easily forced at any time and provide a good lifting of spirits, something we all need this year.

5. Gift Certificates

This coming Christmas will be different in so many ways and we don’t know what to expect in the coming months. But we do know that another growing season will soon be upon us. And, we know that small local businesses are going to need your support in order to survive. Please consider local seed suppliers, nurseries and garden centers for gardening gift certificates. Gift certificates will help keep everyone going, and hot cocoa will help keep the madman going for another couple of weeks.

Time to get some right now.