What’s in store for the Holidays
Life at a nursery changes with the seasons. It begins with a flurry of activity in the spring followed by doldrums through the dog days of summer and then a final mad dash in autumn. In the temperate climate of New England winter has little to occupy a nurseryman unless he or she chooses to rig their trucks with plows. There is, however, one last hurrah that a nursery can experience, and that is by transforming itself into a Holiday Store and Christmas tree lot.
When I first heard that Poundridge Nurseries had a Christmas Store I understood the fiscal reasons why but failed to fully appreciate the extent to which our unassuming garden store would be transformed into a holiday extravaganza. Garden hoses, grass seed, and fertilizers were put away for the season and replaced with a vast selection of bows, wrapping paper, wreaths, stuffed animals, traditional toys, German nutcrackers, miniature villages, collectible dolls, and handmade ornaments. 
Beginning in October the transformation began and each day I noticed new holiday displays added to the store until it was literally filled to the rafters with pre-decorated Christmas trees and huge poinsettia plants.
Then the animals arrived; a petting zoo complete with three sheep, five goats, and two alpacas in separate mangers. And when Santa appeared on that first weekend after Thanksgiving to hand out Christmas tree seedlings to each visiting child, I knew that the full force of the season was upon us. 
The smiles of the children who arrived with their parents to pick out a Christmas tree, sit on Santa’s lap, and then visit the menagerie was enough to set a sparkle in this weary landscaper’s eye.
Though spring remains my favorite time of the year because it marks the beginning of the planting season, I must admit that from now on I will look forward to the end of the year too, not because it will mark the completion of another successful season of making gardens, but because I know that December will bring the excitement and cheer of another Christmas Store.
Happy Holidays from Everyone at Poundridge Nurseries.
By Daryl Beyers, Landscape Designer