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Holidays

plate of Christmas cookies

Sugar and spice make everything nice

Sugar and spice make everything nice, especially Christmas cookies. But, do you know where your sugar and spice come from? Plants make the sugar glucose during photosynthesis. Certain plants can take excess glucose, create sucrose then stored it in either the stalk or root. This is the sugar we...
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Dried flowers in vase

DIY dried flowers for Thanksgiving

Bring nature to the table this Thanksgiving by creating decorations from collected natural materials. Fall is a great time to explore outdoors and use what you find almost directly in arrangements after gathering. Dry not Damp Make sure to collect when material is dry. Damp material breaks down...
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Sugar-n-Spice and Everything Nice

Sugar and spice make everything nice, especially Christmas cookies. But, do you know where your sugar and spice come from? Sugar beets vs Sugarcane The sugar we use comes from two different plants: sugar beets or sugarcane. Sugarcane Worldwide, 70% of our sugar comes from sugarcane. Sugarcane...
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Christmas Rose

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator What is a Christmas Rose? It may be roses given at Christmas or a particular china pattern. It could also refer to a perennial plant called the Christmas Rose or Lenten Rose. The Christmas and Lenten Roses are Helleborus plants that...
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Holly and mistletoe

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Holly and mistletoe are symbols of the Christmas season. They are very different plants, but both quite beautiful in their own unique ways. Mistletoe is actually quite a pest in the South. It is most often found in the South,...
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Prepare now for Christmas blooms

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Although Christmas is still a couple of months away, it is time to begin preparing some of them to flower during the holiday season. This typically involves changing their environment in some way to force them into bloom....
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