Now We Don Our Gay Apparel

The Mohonk Gardening/Greenhouse/Florist Team cannot be stopped.

Just like the "Energizer Bunny," we keep going and going...

Head Gardener Kim Fusaro high atop the Nature Tree

Last minute natural tinsel and garland are added to the Nature Tree.

Those starbursts are stems of Allium schubertii from the garden.

The Nature Tree in all its holiday splendor

Ta Da! Here's the finished product (just add squirrels).

Paperwhite Narcissus, up close and personal

Here's a glamour shot of winter paperwhites. I bet you can smell that pungent fragrance.

I tried my hand at a Christmas tablescape - high maintenance, but it stops traffic.



Holiday tablescape



Carol, once again, has blended old-world charm,

 fancy greens and the nostalgic aroma of orange and clove.

Eleganet mantle by Carol Cramer - faux pine and orange pomanders

No frankincense or myrrh here, but this glass spice trough literally fills

the air with the scent of star anise. Yum!



Glass trough with spices and pinecone rosettes



HAPPY HOLIDAYS

'Tis the Season to be Holly!

We still grow 'em the "old school" way! Single stem Poinsettias are allowed to produce one large head atop the stem. This is how you get the real Christmas star look.

'Freedom Red' Poinsettias don the Parlor

Got nothing to do with the bottom 10 feet of your Christmas tree? Why not make a 48 inch wreath and add noble and silver fir. 4 lbs. of canella berries and 20 yards of tartan plaid and you are GTG (good to go).

Handmade 48" Fir Wreath  in our Main Dining Room

Dress up your Amaryllis pots with scratch cones, canella, and birch bark. It helps to have these handy moss cache pots.

Amaryllis decked in natural holiday splendor

Moss, moss, and more moss sets off these paperwhite pans. Keep them cool and sunny.

Paperwhites ensconced in moss

Our Spa fitness level tree is a Grand Fir (only 4-foot high) donned with birds you might spot at your own feeder.

Bluebirds flock on the grand fir in the fitness level of the Spa wing

And, we are not done! MTC (more to come).

Deck the Halls with This and That

Just in case you won't be visiting the Mohonk Mountain House this holiday season, I'll try to show you some highlights.

The Parlor hosts a magnificent Fraser Fir that is 13 feet in height. Donned in red ornaments and lights, it is filled with angels of all shapes and sizes. This is by far the grandest Parlor tree yet.




Fraser Fir in the Parlor (13 feet high and wide)

 
We make our wreaths here on the property (actually, Greenhouse Manager Cindy Muro does) and they are subtle and elegant. How about this mix of white pine, Scots pine, and euphorbia? It complements the blue-green of the wall splendidly.

Lovely handmade wreath near the West entrance

Over in the Main Dining Room, a 24-foot balsam is going up. Scaffolding and ladders help even the tallest of our crew to get the lights and stuffed animals up.

24' balsam pre-lighting in the Main Dining Room




The Main Dining Room lights up and ornaments hang in full swing


Down at the Greenhouse complex, Head Gardener Kim Fusaro starts work on the Nature Tree. All natural ornaments here!

Nature Tree at the Mohonk Greenhouse 

And how about this beautiful bunch of dried Leonotis from the garden?

Dried Leonotis 

BRAVO!

'Til next week - Hoe! Hoe! Hoe!