Close on the heels of our Thanksgiving celebrations, comes one of the most harrowing of all the winter holiday experiences – the Selection of the Christmas Tree. Luckily, we live smack in the middle of tree central.  Of the 13,000 or so Christmas tree farms in the United States, more than 900 are located in Wisconsin. So we have plenty of choices.

Gardening in late November? Are we crazy? Most everyone we know is consumed with holiday decorating, shopping for gifts, and trying to reconfigure their Thanksgiving dinner traditions. But you can still squeeze in a little winter gardening and satisfy your green thumb. Because beautiful blooming plants make excellent gifts for gardening friends and kids.

Wow. It’s November and we’re seeing temps in the 60s. Remember last year? By this time we’d already had 3 measurable snow events. What a difference 12 months can make! The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting average snowfall for the lower Great Lakes region, with cooler than average temperatures

Despite this week’s warm weather, the night temperatures are cooling and last weekend’s wind stripped most of the leaves off our trees. And though the last few days felt like summer, colder weather is on its way. It’s time to get your ponds and water features ready for the frosty temperatures to come. If you still have leaves clinging to trees, your first step is to cover your pond with netting or a floating row cloth. This will keep the falling leaves and other debris out of the water, lessening the work next spring.