Watson's is always full of fun merchandise but the holidays really get done up in a big way. Some may look with dismay at so much non-garden related stuff but if carrying all of this helps keep the business going all year long so that we can enjoy all sorts of plants every day, so be it! Plus, it's fun to look at all all of the seasonal stuff and wonder what'll be left to buy at deep discounts during the days after Christmas.
I'm just digging out the bags of goodies I scored at last year's after Christmas sale.
If the tree is viewed as a huge floral arrangement of sorts, one could start with autumn tones in October and just let things evolve into December.
I used to do a different themed tree every year but now have settled on throwing the same stuff on every year. It's still fun to see what designers come up with every year.
It kind of depends on what the Chinese have been busy mass producing over the summer.
Have you begun decorating for the holidays yet? My glass pumpkins are still out from Halloween and Thanksgiving.
There was a decidedly lighter and more pastel feel to the decorations this year.
Here's some saturated red and heavy gold.
The baby grand is in place and soon there'll be live music to enhance the shopping experience.
Do large nurseries everywhere do this sort of thing?
Hope you are enjoying all the preparation for the festive season. It's a nice way to take our minds off the long dark nights and impending cold of winter.
There's a large nursery in Massachusetts called Mahoney's that does Christmas big like this. Then they generally close completely for a few months afterwards, until the snow has melted. I remember being surprised that nurseries stay open year-round here in the PNW. I stopped decorating for Christmas a few years ago. Too much work for too little pleasure (says the grumpy old lady).
ReplyDeleteWalking through Macy's the other day I noticed how tiny their Christmas department was. I remember the days where it was magical to visit there, with tree after tree done up and all the beautiful (expensive) ribbon and paper. At least the fun still happens somewhere! To answer your question some of our nurseries do up trees and sell ornaments (Cornell Farm for example), but none quite on this scale.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have any garden centers that do things up to the extent of Watson's, although Roger's Gardens in Orange County comes the closest. Most "celebrate" the holidays by turning themselves into Christmas tree lots. I'd planned to buy my wreath, garland, and tree this week but the winds are blowing hard here, humidity is in the single digits and, sadly, fires are burning in several areas so everything's on hold until the winds die down.
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ReplyDeleteThe tree with the red berries (and golden pears) is my favorite. Although the berries are artificial, they seem real, and could be, if one had enough of them in the garden. The large tree in the lobby at work was decorated with red berries and it looks amazing; maybe it's in vogue this year.
DeleteI'm with Alison on this one... It gets harder and harder for me to get excited about Christmas. Although I do love candles, lanterns and string lights, I'm not a huge fan of crusted layers of glitter, so my favorite of your glimpses from Watson's was your very last one. It has enough unadulterated green in it to make it feel real. I've heard that Al's Garden Center down here puts on one helluva Holiday show, but I haven't seen it for myself. Just hearing about that is enough for me to stay far, far away until it all cools off and goes back to normal some time in March. (Sorry, I am just such a grump...) I do understand the notion that going all batshit over Christmas might provide income during all those months, but I still doubt it is actually a viable one - unless the majority of the population throw out their ornaments annually, and buy new ones the following year. From my brief nursery Christmas experience, where we (under protest) were asked to put on a similar show, I can tell you that most of the ornaments we carried were carefully packed up again, after New Years. Turns out, our suspicions were right - the sales nowhere near match the exertion - even at 80% off, after the Holidays. And we truly had some nice looking stuff. Rather than keeping it all in inventory for another year, we ended up donating all our boxed-up goodies to a battered women's shelter, where they put on a Holiday Bazaar. Had it been up to us, we would have simply closed the store, and maintained a minimal staff for plant care and maintenance, as we lost more money staying open than we would have, otherwise. Instead, we were forced to go for appearances, which proved very costly. Still, some insist on doing it. I'm just grateful that I don't have to deal with it anymore.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great place to get in the mood. I'm still about a week away before elfdom sets in.
ReplyDeleteI just stopped in a local decorating shop that does multiple trees every year. Last year I bought a bunch of things on sale there and just pulled them out to wrap as gifts for my sisters. I have scaled back on decorations but with my late father's birthday on 12/24 and one sister's on 12/25, I find it hard not to do up the house in memory of family Christmases. But I am trying to refrain from adding much new these days. I have enough that I can just recycle and recombine for a new look. We're hosting Mark's family Christmas at our house so that give me the impetus to do more than I might.
ReplyDeleteYes, it does look like Christmas there. I feel like once we turn the calendar to December, it's time to enjoy the beauty of the season. It IS a beautiful season. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun to stroll through Watson's gift shop.
ReplyDeleteYep, our home is all dolled up for Christmas. I don't get crazy as I used to. You wouldn't want to stop to rest when I was decorating in the past or I might tie a bow on you and drape a few lights around you. I love the lights of the season due to it being so dark at this time.
ReplyDeleteThere is one nursery here in town that decorates like this only on a smaller scale. It is a treat to walk through to ooo and ahhh over the decor.
What, no menorahs?
ReplyDeleteThey do things up with so much style! We don't have anything like that around here that I know of, but then again, I don't travel very far from home, so there could well be things I've missed. I used to do a differently themed tree every year too, but as the size of our Christmas trees have gone down to Christmas boughs (eventually to be a Christmas twig?) I have one tote of favorite old ornaments I put up each year. We won't discuss what I did outside this year. :)
ReplyDeleteI think I come just right to admire those Christmas trees! Difficult to decide which one I like the most. In Germany it's very easy to find Christmas decoration and to come into Christmas feeling. I only have to visit a Christmas market. Every town and village has one. Very famous for it is Nuremberg. I know that in Chicago is a little copy of it. My son lives in Chicago right now and showed me some pictures.
ReplyDeleteHere we put up our Christmas tree at home on the 23rd or 24th, not like in USA weeks before. We have two different decorations which change every year. We celebrate the 4 sundays before Christmas Eve (called advent) and have a advents wreath with 4 candles. Right now we can light up 2 candles. Do you have a similar Christmas tradition?
When you are a Christmas fan maybe you should visit this website:
https://unternehmen.kaethe-wohlfahrt.com/en/christmas-stores?utm_source=onlineshop&utm_medium=teaser&utm_campaign=fachgeschaeft
Whish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year
Sigrid
Greetings Sigrid, Advent is celebrated in the U.S. but is more of a religious rather than secular celebration. Many traditional churches and many homes have advent wreaths with four candles for advent and sometimes a fifth in the middle, the Christ candle, lit on Christmas eve. The twelve day Christmas celebration doesn't begin until the 25th and lasts until the Epiphany on January 6. It is still observed that way in liturgical churches but many people like to take down all of their decorations on the day after Christmas. I usually decorate closer to Christmas and leave my things up until well after Epiphany.
DeleteThank you for the link, I'll check it out! May you also have a very merry Christmas and happy new year!