Ode to Sky Nursery at the Holidays

 

Now that I work so close to Sky Nursery, I can often swoop in for a quick coffee break at their NEW coffee stand. (Do you hear me, Sam?!) Up and running as of last week, the stand offers a soup of the day, bagels and pastries, and of course, coffee. Coffee in all its splendor. Oh, the toddy mocha is the stuff daydreams are made of. Seriously, I shall never tire of running in, avoiding the major line and crabby attitude at the Starbucks across the street, and making a loop in the greenhouse with my hot drink in hand, before returning to work.

 

But. It gets better.

 

Really.

 

Come my child, I will show you the way.

 

Christmas at Sky Nursery.

 

Can we talk about how wonderful this place is? Starting.. mmm.. Halloween, the nursery begins to undergo its transformation. The walls of seed packets and gift items are pushed to the sides and back of the nursery and nearly half of the indoor supply area is dedicated to ornaments, gifts, and decorations for the holidays.

 

Add one more thing to the fifteen minute coffee break. Jump into car. Race to nursery. Buy coffee. Take lap in greenhouse. Frolic through Christmas area. Go back to work.

 

Here's a taste of the magic:

 

Berries. On sticks. For decorating. I must have these.  

 

I love this green. And the foliage is soft - not prickly like non-holiday shrubbery.

 

And the primroses! In every color imaginable. Sometimes to cheer myself up (and our front yard,) I just buy a couple (MILLION) of these to plant in pots on by the front door.

 

By now in my daily walk, I have probably spilled coffee on myself as I crouched down to pet a dog walking through the greenhouse, picked up and put down about a hundred different plants I can't live without, and am emotionally preparing myself for the look-don't-touch walk I must force upon myself.

 

Ready?

 

The sign near this fellow reads, "Better Gnomes and Gardens."

Wit and Christmas? I can't take it.

 

 

Oh there's the sign. See?! Amazing.

 

 

Different trees for different themes, of course. Above is the mushroom/fairy/gnome/magicalness tree. Below is the camping and nature-y section. I almost bought the teardrop trailer ornament for a friend (who may or may not have let me and Jack stay in her teardrop trailer one night.)

 

Santa Clauses and snowmen are my one true weakness.

I could go on forever, because, well, the Christmas section goes on... forever. But I won't. I will exercise restraint. Also, it's 11:21 p.m. and I have to be at work at 8:00 tomorrow.

 

One last thing though.

 

Christmas tree.

 

My family always jokes (can jokes be serious statements delivered without a laugh or a smile?) about how traumatic Christmas tree selection was during my brother and my childhood. Granted, I do recall that... anything regarding one item being purchased for both kids resulted in a tantrum of some kind, I always remember the Christmas tree purchase fondly. Maybe that means I always got my way.

 

Anyway. My parents insist on a fAkE tree. Ugh. Alas, their house knows no longer the sweet aroma of pine. Their carpet stays clear of the trail of pine needles and that sticky pitch crap, and no one chucks the broken strands of lights off the deck. Yes, Mom and Dad simply pull the dreaded item out of its hellish box and plop it down in the corner.

 

But not Jess and I! Ah, the search for the perfect tree commences, and we disappear into the maze of green, the lights hanging above illuminating (HIDING IMPERFECTIONS?!) the different types and sizes as we pass by.

 

Sigh, nothing like a crisp winter's night. Families all bundled up in the annual (bitch fight) search for the tree upon which to lovingly place prized family treasures.

 

In actuality, Jess had two trees picked out already and I didn't give a crap which one we bought because it was suuuuper cold. Also, we had to shove the tree into Jack's dog crate in the back of my truck which, I must say, ruined the romanticism a bit. (On the plus side, Jack smelled like a pine forest for a week afterwards.)