Yep. It’s that time again, and I got an extra early start. As many of you know, I began a stint as a garden center/nursery worker last spring. So what goes on in the off season? A lot actually.
At Sundown Gardens, we have a large Landscape division that stays very busy up until the ground freezes. Planting and hardscape continues until the soil cannot be worked anymore. The place is bustling by 6:30AM as crews warm up their trucks and load them with the day’s equipment and plants. Even the mowing crews are still working.
The Garden Center is gearing up for the holiday season too as we stock up with houseplants, ornaments and lots of giant red bows. All the containerized evergreen shrubs and small trees have been pulled next to the shop. Several will be lit and decorated with bows. They make great Holiday presents or decorations for entryways and porches, and can go directly into the ground come spring. The main greenhouse is being prepared for the first shipment of holiday greenery, including: Christmas Trees, Wreaths, Swags, and Garlands.
As for me, I’m on the Holiday decorating team. Sounds fun, right? Well, not really… unless your idea of fun is balancing on really tall ladders and extending your arms out for hours with heavy extenstion poles trying to artfully arrange strands of lights on all sorts of trees and shrubs. I’m not talking cute little trees, I’m talking really, really tall ones. We started Nov. 1st and will work furiously through the first week of Dec.
We began “cleaning” lights (removing all tags, labels, and twist ties) in Oct. Some clients prefer to use their own lights, so we clean them onsite in the back of our box van.
Here’s how it works. We start with running electrical from the power source to all the light points. We hang lights on trees, make sure it all works, then wind up and hide every cord so they are not visible. When the weather cools and the greenery is in, we will incorporate that into the scheme. You don’t want to hang it too soon or it will dry out. Greenery that is to be lit will also have lights added to it. This ranges from garlands and wreaths, to containers filled with decorative arrangements. When it’s showtime, we pull out the hidden cords, add timers, and plug in. Some clients prefer to stay dark till Dec. 1. Others like the switch flipped on Thanksgiving.
So there you have it. That’s how I’ve been spending my days at Sundown Gardens. It’s Nov. 12th, and we are exactly half way through all the jobs. It’s a great feeling to know that we are on schedule and an even better feeling to know that it’s almost over. I am not an early riser and working out in the cold is not my favorite thing either. Still, I am grateful to have the opportunity to learn about the many facets of this business. Dust off those holiday decorations. Thanksgiving is a little over a week away, then it’s full-on Christmas time!