Christmas Outback!

photo and arrangement by suzanne ~ December 17, 2011
is it edible, you ask?

I decided I wanted a Christmas 'dish garden' for the coffee table this year.  Just something low key...but NOoo...I end up with a large container planting with some sparkles.  I started out with a small fern tree of some sort that I already had, and 'mother-in-law's tongue', (aka 'snake' plant) (it's off to the left, you can barely see it).  The little gold bird is perched atop the fern, which is at the back.  Then, I picked up an 'English Ivy' plant, that is very healthy, supposedly for low foliage effect!!!  But it's almost overpowering.

I ended up having to get the red basket, because we were running short of time-but, it was only $1, so, time well spent.  And, also purchased the sparkly bird and cattails.  And, I couldn't think of anything else that would accomodate these 'wild and wooly' plants!  Then I decided it needed some more color...RED!  Had some berry stems that I always try to keep around for filler, and made a Christmas bow!  And, voilà-stick a Santa next to it...and there you are. 

Now, let's see if the plants live after all the poking and prodding!

***

A few years back, we thought it might be fun to decorate our backyard for Christmas.  So, we set out and tried to come up with a plan-it's so dark out there!!!

Here are just a few of our results~

~park bench~

Karo made the lighted Christmas tree from 2 pieces of 2x1 wood, as an upside down cross.  He cut the small end into a spike for easy insertion into the ground.  Karo spaced nails across the bottom piece and up and down the center piece to wrap the Christmas lights.  He then, strung tinsel garland over the lights for sparkle and color.  They were fantastic at night!

Karo's lighted trees

Here is another view with additional trees that Karo made. To the left of the little park bench is a horse and carriage, but, alas, it is black and doesn't show up well in the photo...never fear, I may have a closer photo of the horse and carriage.

AHhh...here it is!

I just had to have this!  Karo's son, Chad, lived in a little town east of Fort Worth called Lindale, TX.  It's just near Tyler.  While visiting one weekend, we drove by a residence that had a lot of these cut out yard decorations for sale, and I saw the horse and carriages.  We went back and got this one.  For Christmas, I put some decorative green and gold braid around the horse's mouth and draped it to the cab.  I, then, added a headdress of berry stems (red and silver) to the horse for a Holiday look, and a bow from the window of the carriage.  And, you can see Karo's little white tree next to it.

Tin Soldiers and Frosty!

Around to the right of the park bench, we put lights in and around the arbor.  The vines you see are 'Carolina Jasmine', which eventually took over the arbor and knocked it over with the weight!  Anyway, I gave each soldier an American flag, and the soldiers were lighted up too.  There are candy canes crossed at the top, and a striped Christmas bow in the center.  Frosty is a wooden cutout decoration that we uplighted with a, 'you guessed it', homemade floodlight.  Karo made a lamp shade from tin foil and put an outdoor sized Christmas light in it using a socket that you can plug an extension cord into...clever, huh?

Another view of the arbor/Frosty scene

Down to the right of Frosty, we outlined the flower bed with lights and I stuck some Poinsettia blooms here and there between the lights.  Karo's little floodlight did great on Frosty!  He made several of them for some of the decorations we had out front too.

Overall view of our backyard Wonderland

The structure behind the Christmas decor is 1/2 my plant shed, and 1/2 some of Karo's junk!  No, really, he keeps shovels, and weed eater, etc. in one side, and we use part of it for storage.  There are some windows in the shed, so any plants we take in for winter receive some light.

Madison and Mary

Our Granddaughters, Madison and Mary, who live in Bridgeport, TX, enjoyed the Christmas Wonderland.  Most years, Christmas in Texas enjoys mild weather in the 60's and 70's.  So you can spend some time outdoors and explore in, what is usually wonderful fall weather.  But, the last couple of years we've gotten snow-which is unusual for our area.  We haven't decorated out back in the past few years, because of the changed weather, and this is a LOT of work!

Well, my kind, full-of-holiday-spirit-readers, that's outback Wonderland. If, in a few of the photos, you noticed up in the sky, a round light resembling a moon, I noticed it too.  But I can't  be sure...I'm thinking it might be a neighbor's vapor light.  Well, we can always say it was 'the full cold moon' of December which occurred on December 8th this year.  As the winter nights lengthen and the moon spends more time above the horizon, it is also called the 'Long Night Moon'.  I think it spends more time above the horizon to give Santa a better view and longer hours in which to deliver his gifts worldwide!

What to you think?

December Full Moon

* all outdoor photos were taken by me with a Minolta Autopak70 camera that I've had since the 1990's, before I went digital.  My Grandson Shawn now practices with this camera!*

Thank You to:
Google
Yahoo
Minolta
Karo, for his clever ideas!
Madison and Mary Trammell
Hi Mom!
and My Grandson Shawn

Thank you my gracious (and I mean gracious) readers!  Please come again and say hello.  The holidays are hectic...I'll probably see you early next year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
FROM MYTEXASGARDENS
AND MY FAMILY!

 our 'PRECIOUS" Grandson Shawn
December 11, 2011

Ahhh...the wonderment of Christmas, and the precious memories!

Now I know why my Grandmother met us at the door

each time we visited, with a big hug and kiss!!!

 

Be safe!

You too, Elvis!