By Gary Crispell, EMGV

Common Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) branch in early winter. (Image credit: Cathy Dewitt CC BY 4.0)
December is coming.
No! Wait! It’s here.
An amazing and wondrous
(And cold) time of year.
‘Tis the holiday month
Shared with family and friends.
Hanukkah, then Christmas,
Kwanzaa at month’s end.
No time for the garden.
“Blasphemy!!,” so you say.
Well, there’s naught to fertilize
And nothing to spray.
But here is a list
More meager than most.
You can finish in no time
Then with friends drink a toast.
LAWN CARE in December
Is really a breeze.
All you need do
Is remove fallen leaves.
Rake ‘em or blow ’em
Compost them in a hill.
Just don’t send them
To the landfill.
PRUNING is something
To get you outside.
Hand pruning not shearing
Should be your guide.
SPRAYING is over.
All done for this year.
Time to clean up
And hang up that gear.
PROPAGATION is tricky
Or so it would seem.
I strongly suggest
You ask our prop team.
Now sit back and chill
With your beverage of choice.
Sing a sweet song
Using your “indoor” voice.
Warm your toes by the fire
Gather family and friends.
Toast one another
Toast the year’s end.
This holiday season
(Choose your celebration.)
May you find time
For quiet cogitation.
Time to think and to ponder
Time for thanks giving
For all that is good,
For all that is living.
May all of our gardens
In the upcoming year
Be enough for us
With plenty to share.
Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas!
Joyous and thoughtful Kwanzaa!, Y’all.
Bring on 2023!
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