Holidays At Boxerwood

BRRR!   It's Winter …. It's time to warm up at Boxerwood 

Gifts of Nature - December 7 -- 1:00 to 5 pm. 

.. Gather at Boxerwood to craft a feast for the birds and wildlife that winter in Rockbridge. Enjoy cider, cocoa and cookies in front of a wood fire inside Munger Lodge.
.. Drop in, stay as long as you like, and make as many projects as you like! You can weave honeysuckle wreaths and swag, string dried fruit icicles and cranberry garlands, dip pinecones in suet and seed; craft birdhouses out of dried gourds, and re-use greeting cards to make gift tags and garlands.

.. Boxerwood will provide vines, cones, berries and greenery harvested from the garden, as well as suet, raffia and other project supplies. Families, please contribute one type of wildlife food, such as seeds, nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, citrus or cranberries to share, and recycled holiday cards, if you have them.

The workshop is $5/family for Boxerwood members and $10/family for non-members.

Greens Workshop - December 8 – 2:00 to 5 pm  

2 to 5 pm - Design wreaths or swigs with Boxerwood boughs and berries.

The cost is  $20 for non-members and $15 for members.

Please contact faith@boxerwood.org to let her know that you'd like to attend.

Boxerwood's Winter Garden Notes

Read what's happening in our garden (and yours) in the attached PDF File (also on our website)

Membership

If your membership has expired, it's easy to renew!.  You can download a membership form or make a payment online on our website.

Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland Garden

963 Ross Road, Lexington, VA  24450

www.boxerwood.org

www,boxerwoodblog.blogspot.com 

Tip From The Boxerwood November Garden Notes

Holiday Greenery: The holidays seems to call out for fresh greenery – wreaths, swags, garlands, and arrangements. To keep that greenery fresh, be sure to sure an anti-desiccant such as Wilt-Pruf . Spraying this on your greenery will seal the pores on the leaves and bark and helps the foliage retain moisture. Fresh greens usually last about two weeks inside, so plan accord-ingly; greens will last longer outside. It helps to mist the greens daily. If you are cutting branches from your own yard, it also helps to condition them by crushing the bottom of the stem and setting the stems in warm water for a couple of hours. 

My favorite type of Christmas tree is the Concolor Fir. Unfortu-nately, this is not a tree we have at Boxerwood, but I hope to rem-edy that in the spring. Ordinarily, firs do not do especially well in our hot summer climate, but this one, often called a White Fir, seems to thrive. The needles have a beautiful bluish tinge to them, a slight plastic feel and if you crush them in your fingers, they smell just like tangerines. The tree gets to be about 30’ high or so by 15’. The needles are about 2” long and the branches are open enough (but not too open) to hold lots of ornaments. On the whole, I prefer firs as Christmas trees. The needles hold on for a fairly long time, the branches are stiff, not flexible. 

Boxerwood Tea And Training November 14

On Thursday November 14 at 2pm there will be a Tea and Training at Boxerwood.  Phyllis Fevrier, Boxerwood Board member, will introduce the "Wonderful World of Pollinators".  I hope you can join us.  We are going to be offering our Tea and Training sessions monthly, so stay tuned. Refreshments will be served during the talk and then we will head outside if the weather cooperates for some garden work.