12 Green Days of Christmas - Day 6: The Green Garden

Midwinter may not seem like the ideal time to be giving gardening gifts, but a true green thumb has green things growing all year round, from that window seal herb garden to to the poinsettia around the Christmas tree. Here are a few ideas for the perennial garden this Christmas.

GREEN MAGIC FERTILIZER

Absolutely the best fertilizer I have ever used. Safe and extremely effective, what's even better is that GREEN MAGIC adds back to the plants and soils the minerals and trace elements needed to create not only delicious food, but healthy food. Never again will hydroponic tomatoes tempt you, once you've tasted the difference - grow your own delicious flavorful fruit and veggies with GREEN MAGIC. I must also admit that GREEN MAGIC can also be credited with resuscitating several of my slightly....okay, severely neglected indoor plants. And for the eco-conscious, the compact size and concentrated form (one bottle makes 16 gallons) saves a whole lotta plastic!

FLORAL GIFTS

I love receiving gifts of nature that last and last beyond the holiday season. Even if these gifts do eventually wither and die, they end up in the compost pile and add within months turn back to Earth dust. This year I am particularly in love with:

Succulent Wreaths: You can find them at Viva Terra, Amazon and even Etsy. What a wonderful Christmas centerpiece that could easily last until next holiday season!


COMPOST ASSISTANTS

Every Eco Lover wants a compost pile. However compost piles are a lot of work. They can be smelly and fly infested, or neglected, they remain a pile of clipping occupying your backyard. However investing in a compost bin, your table scraps can become the dark rich, microbial laden soil all plants love.

I feel the easiest compost bins are tumblers. They eliminate the need to heft heavy pitch forks, rotating clippings, they also eliminate watering down your compost piles frequently. Inside these plastic barrels darkness and humidity create wonders. I hope one day that a composter replaces at least one garbage bin at every household in America - its certainly possible.

   

Every compost bin deserves a compost pail. RSVP makes a line of functional and beautiful compost pails:

                                      

CHICKEN COOP

I'm dreaming of a Red christmas! A Rhode Island Red chicken Christmas. One day I hope to have enough of a backyard to house a little chicken family of my own. During these economically challenging times, many local communities have passed ordinances allowing families to raise their own chickens and look how cute this house is:

Omlet has a full range of chicken houses to choose from, perfect for the backyard. Their website has all the information and resources you need (including chickens) to get you started and keep you raising chickens (and rabbits, and guinnea pigs and bees).