Master Gardeners

Holiday Ideas for the Gardener

The weather outside is chilly, the garden tools are all put away, the garden is sleeping, but the gardener is busy getting ready for the holidays.

The bustle of preparations for seasonal entertaining and gift giving can have special meaning for the gardener who has been preparing since spring (or even last fall) for favorite foods, decorations and gifts for the holidays.

There is nothing that expresses affection and caring more than a favorite dish or hostess gift that is full of the energy and hard work of the giver.  And nothing is more beautiful than a door wreath or dried flower arrangement that still whispers with the memory of the summer sun in your garden.

One favorite flavor for holiday entertaining is pumpkin.  Pies are of course the quintessential pumpkin dish, but there are lots of pumpkin cookie, cake and muffin recipes as well.  Preparing fresh pumpkin grown in your garden for baking is really quite easy.  Simply cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and clean out the cavity.  Lay cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake in a 325-degree oven until the flesh is soft.  Remove from the oven and cool.  The outer skin should peel or cut off quite easily.  Run the soft, cooked flesh through a food mill, food processor or blender.   You can use the resulting paste just as you would use prepared pumpkin from a can.  Leftover pumpkin can be frozen for later use.

It is best to use pumpkin varieties that are recommended for culinary use.  The small sugar variety is the traditional baking pumpkin because of its sweet, dry flesh.

Hostess and holiday gifts can be especially meaningful when they come from your garden.  They can take a little forethought and planning, however, so you might use some of these ideas when planning next year’s garden.

• Garlic and Herb Braids – Three bulbs of well cured, soft-neck garlic with their long dried leaves intact can be braided together and decorated with dried herbs or flowers to make a charming and useful hostess gift.  Wrap the dry leaves in a damp towel for several hours before braiding to soften.  This will minimize breakage.
• Dried Herbs – Flavorful herbs grown in your garden can be dried in a warm oven or a food dehydrator and put into fun novelty jars and given as a gift to your favorite chef.  Parsley, oregano, thyme and dill are all good candidates for drying.  Paprika is a staple in most kitchens.  Wonderful homemade paprika can be ground from well-dried paprika peppers.  Decorate jars with homemade labels and jute or raffia.
• Herb Crafts – Wreaths, ornaments and wall decorations can be fashioned out of dried herbs and dried flowers combined with grapevines, willow, birch or dogwood twigs and branches.  For design ideas and crafting instructions look for craft books that include dried flowers and herbs at your local library.
• Framed garden quotes – Pressed flowers and herbs are the perfect complement to a favorite quote or poem (garden related or not.)  Print the quote on parchment, textured or novelty paper and find a mat and frame to fit.  Arrange pressed flowers, leaves and herbs (press between pieces of plain paper in the pages of a heavy book until dry) on the mat around the quote.  Secure the flowers with small applications of craft glue and frame after the glue has dried.

Other garden gifts might include potpourri sachets made from dried flower petals, dried fruit, fruit leather, jars of grape juice, jams and jellies, dried tomatoes or roasted pumpkin seeds (there is a hull-less variety you can grow).  Gourds can be made into birdhouses, bowls or dippers.  Forced bulbs planted in a pretty pot wrapped in cellophane make a delightful hostess gift.  Plant starts propagated from favorite varieties in your yard can be a wonderful gift of encouragement to a novice gardener.

Flavored vinegars look beautiful in decorative bottles with neck and cork dipped in melted paraffin to seal, and topiary-style wreaths planted with herbs for indoor growing are beautiful and useful.  Both are perfect for the dedicated gourmet cook.

Our gardens are the source of much joy and happiness for many of us.  We sow our energy and time as well as seeds.  When the harvest comes, the generosity of nature urges us to be giving as well.  In a world where so much is mass-produced, it is a delightful treat to give and receive gifts that money cannot buy – from the garden.

WSU Master Gardeners

The WSU Extension Master Gardener Program is an organization of trained volunteers dedicated to horticulture and community service.

Questions about gardening, landscaping, or this program can be directed toward the Master Gardener Clinic at (509) 574-1600 or visit us at the WSU Extension office at 104 N. First Street in Yakima.