The Family has left the house from having a breakfast brunch and a fury of opening presents by James. We are taking a break before heading out to our non-traditional Christmas meal at a favorite Chinese restaurant. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas holiday. I will be off line this week, but will be back in the new year. In the mean time here are some containers at a client’s home this Christmas. It is really nice to just use the cut greens to fill those empty containers to provide festive color.

Tonight we had a few friends over to the house for some drinks and hor d’ourves. To get the house more festive for the night we hung some glass ball terrariums filled with tea lights in our maple tree near the front door. Unfortunately it started raining soon after our guest arrived so the lights did not last very long.

It has been unseasonably warm this December and still no snow in Columbus. This has made it more difficult to get fully in the Christmas spirit, but last night we went to see the lights in downtown Columbus to help boost the holiday mood. There are two new parks in down town that we visited along with the State House. The parks featured LED lights, while the State House trees were covered (you will see what i mean) in incandescent strands. It was a great way to spend the night, even if it was 50 degrees.

Next we drove over to see the Commons and State House. I am typically not a fan of colored lights, but this was actually really nice.

Here is one of two trees dripping in lights. Each tree alone had eight extension cords leading to light the tree. Being the dork that I am I took a photo inside the tree to show how detailed each branch was wrapped. To see the difference just compare with the trees above.

Today we are sending out the last of the holiday cards to our clients and vendors. I cannot believe that Christmas is almost here and Hanukkah starts tomorrow.  I still have a few more things to share before the holidays this week. In the mean time, here is our holiday card for this year.

Excuse the camera phone photo, let the good one at home.

I thought I would pull together some gift recommendations for the landscaper in your life. These are items that are valuable tools, but are special items they will use everyday.

1. Exceptional Gardens by Wim Pauwels (see here). This is my all time favorite book. The gardens are beautiful and inspiring to anyone interested in landscapes. I think the book is out of print, or only offered as select retailers. I purchased my copy a few years ago at Williams Sonoma Home and look at it almost weekly. This is totally worth tracking down, (as is any book by Wim Pauwels if interested in design).
2. C.O. Bigelow Chapped Hands Remedy No.1012. (buy here). This is great for hands after working outside in the cold weather all day. I have a few tubes I keep around because it really helps on cracked hands.
3. Hunters Bornio Boots, (buy here). All gardeners wear boots. I flip between a few different pairs, but these are nice for guys and you don’t have to worry about how dirty they get.
4. Tree Trimmings Doormat, (buy here).  My home is not covered in houseplants, but this doormat gives a nice nod to the natural and is still functional.
5. Patagonia Down Sweater, (buy here). I love this coat. It is light weight, yet keeps me warm when working outside in the colder months. I wear it both on and off the clock during the winter.
6. Felco Pruners (buy here). This is an essential tool for every gardener, both novice and pro. May look like a utilitarian gift, once they start using will totally thank you later.
7. Linnea’s Light Fir Candle (buy here). For someone you don’t know too well and likes to garden, an outdoor scented candle is perfect. And a Fir fragrance is just manly enough.