Happy Yuletide!

All of us at Garden Accents wish you and your families a happy, healthy holiday season filled with love, laughter and friendship.

Dear [NAME],

Having Trouble Finding the Perfect Gift?

Why not give a Garden Accents Gift Certificate?  Our warm and toasty indoor showroom is the perfect place to meander on a cold winter's day.  We have thousands of items on display and there's sure to be something to please everyone.  For those who prefer to venture outside to browse our gardens, we have steaming hot coffee, tea and cocoa waiting inside to warm up chilly fingers and noses.  With a Garden Accents gift certificate, you're not just giving a gift--you're giving an adventure!  Pressed for time?  Give us a call and we'll have your gift certificate all ready for you to pick up! 

Karl Howard:  Fine Art with a Twist!

In the hands of Karl Howard, a simple strand of wire is transformed into an intricately woven, complex piece of art that is at once impossibly delicate yet substantial enough to be considered utilitarian.  We mentioned Karl's work briefly last month in our article about Boo, Garden Accent's peach-faced lovebird--Karl is the artist who created Boo's amazing palatial wire cage.  Karl recently visited our showroom to bring us a few of his newest creations, and we are extremely pleased to have these beautiful pieces here at Garden Accents just in time for the holidays. We've had the pleasure of working with Karl for many years now.  A Philadelphia native, Karl honed his creativity at Philadelphia College of Art from 1964 to 1968.  In 1970, Karl heeded the call to travel west and landed on the famed Haight Street in San Francisco.  He taught himself the antique method of wirework which dates back to the 17th century by studying and copying antique pieces to perfect his own style.  This antique method employs no soldering or welding; all pieces are joined and shaped by knotting, twisting and bending the wire into the desired shape.  Karl's first pieces were wire baskets which he sold to tourists, but he then began creating an assortment of wire pieces for stores, decorators, florists, and galleries.  Almost forty years later, Karl is widely considered to be one of the best wire artists in the country.  His pieces are at once airy and substantial, whimsical yet perfectly proportioned, and his gallery of creations includes baskets, chandeliers and candleabras, peony cages, tuteurs, topiary forms, and wall pieces.  One of our favorite pieces here at GA is a very French-looking wire dog that is adorable from every angle.  We also love Karl's functional art.  Imagine how beautiful this chandelier would look suspended over your holiday dining table, its inner basket overflowing with greenery and outlined with the simple glow of votive candles.  Just arrived, these handsome display forms would be perfect to showcase a holiday or birthday message--couldn't you just imagine one tucked into the plantings near your front door to greet guests and partygoers for the holidays?  Please come in to see Karl's creations soon--you won't be disappointed!   

Holiday Shoppers Take Heed:

Our holiday coupon is valid through January 5th, so there are still four more weeks to save on some of the most beautiful and unusual items you'll ever see.  Exciting new inventory is always being added to replenish our stock.  Click here for a printable version of our coupon. 

HSP Warehouse Clearance Sale:

As you may already know, Garden Accents is proud to be the East Coast distributor for HSP Garden Buildings, the UK company who builds those wonderful lead-roofed structures that we showcase here in our gardens.  HSP has just informed us that prices have been drastically reduced on all remaining inventory in their US warehouse to make room for new buildings which are due to arrive from 'across the Pond' early in the new year.  As luck would have it, their US warehouse is only a few miles away from us in nearby Oaks, PA!  To ensure enough storage space for the large number of new arrivals, HSP has slashed prices on all inventory in the Oaks warehouse which includes arbours, outdoor storage buildings or "stores", even a small Lavenham summerhouse.  If you've been thinking about adding one of these distinctive structures to your landscape, there may never be a better time to do it!  An HSP creation is always in good taste and makes a strong statement where ever it's placed.  At any price, an HSP Garden Building will enhance the value of your property and the enjoyment of your landscape.  Please call us for a complete list of remaining inventory, pricing and delivery options.  In addition, visit our showroom to see discounted larger display buildings on site.

Made in the USA: 

Garden Accents is proud to support domestic vendors and local artists.  Approximately 98% of the artists we represent are from the United States and we feel it's important to bolster the domestic market economy by showcasing this homegrown talent.  In addition, many of our special vendors produce their wares right here in the USA.  Many of these companies have been family-owned and operated for generations and take pride in producing goods of the highest quality.  While certain imported pieces may be less expensive in the short-term, we feel that supporting these family-run companies is a good long range investment in both our country and in the quality of the pieces we provide for our clients.  Our sales staff will be happy to assist you if you'd like to purchase products from these domestic vendors and artists. 

Holiday Decorating on a Dime:  

Don't underestimate the value of ribbons, fresh greens and lights when decorating for the holidays.  Just a simple red ribbon or a tiny wreath on a birdhouse can create a touch of unexpected charm.  How about embellishing a beautiful garden focal point like an arbor or gazebo with tiny lights and hanging ornaments?  Hang a beautiful wreath on the poolhouse.  Fill windowboxes and urns with fresh greens, pinecones and gold and silver balls for an elegant holiday display.  We've been busy decorating our showroom with ornaments, lights and ribbons and it's so much fun to adorn serious pieces with a little bit of whimsy for the holidays.

"Deer Santa":

When are the words "buck" and "gaining interest" in the same sentence not a good thing? When it's your landscaping he's interested in!  While this may be a lame attempt at a banking pun, this is the time of year when your tender shrubs and trees need your help the most.  Deer can strip a tree or shrub of bark and needles in no time, leaving them vulnerable to disease, infestation and desiccation from dry winter winds.  We recently tried a new deer control service and so far have been quite pleased with the results.  The concept behind their success is something they call the Three Circles of Protection.

Circle 1: Utilize "patented ultra sonic sound" that disrupt the deer's ability to listen for predators making them feel nervous.
Circle 2: Utilize "proprietary sprays" on a monthly basis comprised of things that taste bad and smell bad to the deer.
Circle 3: Utilize Service Pros who "switch" things on a monthly basis to counter adaptation.

They offer a free 60 day trial and will design a system for you, install their units, and apply their sprays for two full months.  If you'd like more information on the company, please give us a call and we'll be happy to provide their contact information.
 

We'd like to extend sincere holiday wishes to all of our friends, so may we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyful Kwanzaa and last but not least, warm Yuletide greetings!  Seems like a very strange outdated greeting, doesn't it?  Out of curiosity, we did a little research into the meaning of "Yule" and thought you too might find this interesting.  Yuletide knows no religious boundaries and can be celebrated by one and all, but it is especially near and dear to the gardener's heart as it celebrates that moment of time when spring is suddenly visible on the distant horizon in the landscape of winter.

"Yule is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half.  Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day.  Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider." - Yule Lore

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the precise moment of the 2009 winter solstice will be Monday, December 21st at 12:47 PM EST when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn.  The winter solstice or "Yule" marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice.  Following the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights shorter.  While the exact origins are unclear, Yuletide been celebrated for centuries by many different cultures.  Some of the lasting traditions of Yuletide include kissing under the mistletoe, burning a Yule log and of course a bountiful celebratory feast.  In the end, the overall idea remains the same....Yuletide is a celebration of the lengthening of days and the countdown to the rebirth of the land ~ a celebration of the earth's subtle shift toward the path leading to Spring, when we're able to return to the great outdoors to work the sun-warmed soil to begin once again the cycle of planting and harvesting.  So there's always room for Yuletide Greetings!  Only three more months until Spring!

Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles.
 ~Unknown