Who woke up and pulled out shorts and t-shirts for today's ridiculous weather? COME ON!!! I moved out of Florida to have wonderfully crisp and cold holidays with the possibility of tiny little snowflakes on my daily weather app. I do not want to look ahead on Sunday evenings, which I did this week, to see two days in the 70's. SMH. So rude.

If you travel our way in the evening, you'll see we decorated the Garden Center with lots of lights. This year, we even added a few things we haven't had before; I love the lighted deer and John, Doug, and I had a great time cutting and painting the large ornaments and gingerbread men dancing on the front lawn.

But my best idea? The very bright lights strung from the tall pine that resembles a colorful Christmas tree! It went about like this:

I had an idea. I texted Dylan, our Lawn Maintenance Division Manager. "Hey, it's me. Do you still have your tree climbing gear?"

He answered, "Yes. Why?"

I explained I needed him to climb a pine tree to the tippy, tippy top and attatch a hook or bracket so we could string lights. He proceeded to ask how high "tippy, tippy top" is and then told me I'm nuts.

So I compromised and said, "I'm totally fine with however high you are comfortable. And if it isn't high enough, I'll just use the skid steer bucket and raise it as high as it will go and use one of the extension ladders in the bucket to get higher."

See, the funny part of this whole conversation is he (or anyone else) never really knows when I'm kidding or when I'm serious. And in that moment, I know Dylan was thinking to himself, "That woman is crazy enough to actually do it."

Fast forward a few weeks, I received a text from Scott as he was returning to the Garden Center after lunch. He was sitting at the light on O'Kelly Chapel. He said, "Marsha, why is Dylan hanging by ropes really high in one of the pine trees? You know what? Never mind. I don't even want to know." Following that was a picture of Dylan in the pine tree I had picked!

To be honest, it ended up not being very high; Dylan said he could have gone up another 20 feet but I didn't have enough lights to extend that far. There is always next year ;) No trees, animals, or humans were injured during the making of this Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree! How lovely are your branches. Kudos to Dylan and John for making all my dreams come true. Seriously though, it wasn't that high and Dylan is the best at entertaining all my ideas while John brings in the reality factor for me. It's a dream team, I tell ya!

If you haven't picked your perfect and dreamy Christmas tree, you better hurry before they're all gone. I feel like December is already jingling by, so if you are feeling the same way, I have another idea: I think we should all stop in the garden, take a deep breath, smell the pine, and sip hot cocoa. Everything else can wait for just a few minutes. Then we can resume loading your tree for you.

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Merry Christmas! Tropical Tuesdays are back for December!

All indoor plants and succulents will be 10% off every Tuesday.

Thinking about purchasing a houseplant for a loved one this holiday season? Houseplants make excellent gifts, so you don't want to miss these discount days! Make sure to pick out a piece of pottery to complete your gift, and follow us on social media for our 2022 Holiday Gift Guides for more suggestions.

Fee is $25/person; includes a honey-sweetened, lavender-lemonade mimosa

CLICK HERE to see the full job descriptions and apply!

We want to help you create the outdoor living space you've been dreaming about. Our in-house designers are ready to guide you through the process and we have availability for installation after the New Year.

You'll be able to relax and enjoy your updated space this summer. Whether it's a patio, walkway, dry creek bed, retaining wall, firepit, raised garden beds, or something else, we're here to get it done and get it done right!

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