December 2025 Newsletter: Decemberfind Cheer In The Garden

Greetings, friends –

It’s the middle of December, the days are short, too short for most outdoorsy people, and we suppose all of us have a bit of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  Fortunately, we are gardeners and know, as you will be reminded below in our Links We Like, gardening is good for you.

And, also fortunately, we are in summer-dry climates, where our winter-wet season tends to be mild and brings renewal. We can get outdoors and be with nature – a sure cure for depression. Be sure to get out in your own garden, try to get ahead of the annual weeding, and be glad to know the days are about to get longer.

~ Saxon Holt and Nora Harlow

December Blog Post: Bladderpod

One might reasonably wonder if the common name has anything to do with the fact that this shrub is not found in every summer-dry garden. Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea), sometimes called burro-fat, blooms almost year round. It thrives in almost any soil and needs no summer water.

Read On

Instagram Memories

December 5, 2022

Cotoneaster are native to Asia, but many are tough and adapted to summer-dry climates needing only occasional water. Here is Littleleaf Cotoneaster, (C. microphyllus), looking great with winter berries in Northern California.

Follow Us on Instagram

Red and Green at Christmas

How did red and green become so ubiquitous at Christmas time? There seem to be several stories that are tied up in the origins of the Christmas tree. The one that seems to make the most sense originates from the 13th century Christian Paradise Play, the Adam and Eve story that was performed on December 24th.

The prop for the tree of paradise was a pine tree with apples tied on. The tree tradition spread, and red on green became symbolic of the season.

What better red on green winter photo than the California native Toyon Heteromeles arbutifolia, also known as Christmas Berry.

Red berries and holly are classic for holiday swag. Here, red berries are decorating a variegated Ilex aquifolium ‘Argentea Marginata’

One of our favorite winter flowering shrubs is Camellia sasanqua, and here is ‘Yuletide’ with a dusting of frost.

Get More Ideas in our Book

Links We Like

National Institute of Health – Gardens are good for you.

We would love to hear about any resources you would like to pass along. We all get these snippets from our news feeds and inboxes. Let’s share the best, and we will keep the running list so you can find them later on the Links We Like page.