Merry Christmas & Holiday Cheer!
Wishing all our friends a joyous and peace filled season and the best year to come!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas 2010
Rahn's Holiday Train Express
For the past 9 years we have provided entertainment for young and not so young children with our 3 rail, o gauge, 1/48th scale train display. Over the years, this display has grown from one train to seven this year! This is no longer just a display, but a functional system that can run as many as 7 trains at one time! From the deep mountain tunnel to the water run grist mill, the trains also move past a running river, the farm country and through the village. You can see eyes sparkle with delight as the six minute run with seven trains stopping and starting at crossings make their full circuit before beginning the cycle again. The villages are full of holiday cheer with a skating rink, toy shop, Christmas tree lot run by the boy scouts, a bakery, cafe, church, carolers in the square, and so much more.
Please stop in to see and enjoy a very close view from three sides, and chat with our master engineer Keith, who will regale you with stories of our display and other train displays in the city.
We'll have the trains up and running until Dec. 31, so hurry in!
By: Doris Koop
Gardening Expert at A.J. Rahn's Greenhouses
Please stop in to see and enjoy a very close view from three sides, and chat with our master engineer Keith, who will regale you with stories of our display and other train displays in the city.
We'll have the trains up and running until Dec. 31, so hurry in!
By: Doris Koop
Gardening Expert at A.J. Rahn's Greenhouses
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Fraser Fir
Fraser Fir
Abies Fraseri
I love walking outside the greenhouses to take in the wonderful scent of our Fraser Fir trees. "Abies Fraseri" are native to the higher Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, and are named after their discoverer, John Fraser, a North American plant collector.
The Fraser has become a most cherished Christmas tree, and has historically been selected most often for our nation's White House Holiday tree because of it's natural symmetry and inviting fragrance. As importantly, I asked family and friends of the greenhouse why their repeated Holiday choice was the Fraser. Here are some of their responses.
Debbie: "Aromatics. They have a wonderful scent and are long lasting. The Fraser Fir stays fresh throughout the season; they are Everfresh."
Sandy: "They have a fresh natural outdoor fragrance. They hold their beauty, fragrance and fullness well beyond Christmas and the New Year holidays. Our Frasers are not taken from the wild but are grown on a small family farm in North Carolina. I appreciate that, for every one they cut, the family replants two or three to replenish nature. I value that they cut them the week before Thanksgiving and deliver them within three days. That's Fresh! Also, these trees can have a life after the holidays. Just place them in your backyard until spring to create a warm habitat for our winter bird friends."
Michelle: "They hold their needles, so no shedding on your floors and the fragrance is unbeatable for that fresh smell."
Susan: :They change the feeling of the room they're in with their aroma and the depths of their green and the thickness of their foliage."
Joe: "The Fraser is simply the best tree you can get in this region in terms of freshness, scent, and beauty."
Frank: "Of course the true fir scent is wonderful, but also the thick open foliage allows for a perfect ornament display both on the edge and on the inner segments of the branches. Also, the needles are soft with little dropping, and the color is multifaceted; a bold rich green with a hint of blue gray on the underside."
Well, for me, the gift of the Fraser trees, available at our greenhouse, is that they are produced by a family farm that values the replenishment of the land and focuses on providing a gifted Holiday experience to our winter Holidays. There is no other regionally grown tree that shares, in such a complete way, the aroma and thick lush deep green texture this evergreen provides, which also lifts and feeds our winter celebrations and life. I am grateful when I walk out the door and experience the wonderful scent of our Abies Fraseri trees. I invite you to come and share the experience. It is a true delight!
All good,
Margaret Rahn
The Fraser has become a most cherished Christmas tree, and has historically been selected most often for our nation's White House Holiday tree because of it's natural symmetry and inviting fragrance. As importantly, I asked family and friends of the greenhouse why their repeated Holiday choice was the Fraser. Here are some of their responses.
Debbie: "Aromatics. They have a wonderful scent and are long lasting. The Fraser Fir stays fresh throughout the season; they are Everfresh."
Sandy: "They have a fresh natural outdoor fragrance. They hold their beauty, fragrance and fullness well beyond Christmas and the New Year holidays. Our Frasers are not taken from the wild but are grown on a small family farm in North Carolina. I appreciate that, for every one they cut, the family replants two or three to replenish nature. I value that they cut them the week before Thanksgiving and deliver them within three days. That's Fresh! Also, these trees can have a life after the holidays. Just place them in your backyard until spring to create a warm habitat for our winter bird friends."
Michelle: "They hold their needles, so no shedding on your floors and the fragrance is unbeatable for that fresh smell."
Susan: :They change the feeling of the room they're in with their aroma and the depths of their green and the thickness of their foliage."
Joe: "The Fraser is simply the best tree you can get in this region in terms of freshness, scent, and beauty."
Frank: "Of course the true fir scent is wonderful, but also the thick open foliage allows for a perfect ornament display both on the edge and on the inner segments of the branches. Also, the needles are soft with little dropping, and the color is multifaceted; a bold rich green with a hint of blue gray on the underside."
Well, for me, the gift of the Fraser trees, available at our greenhouse, is that they are produced by a family farm that values the replenishment of the land and focuses on providing a gifted Holiday experience to our winter Holidays. There is no other regionally grown tree that shares, in such a complete way, the aroma and thick lush deep green texture this evergreen provides, which also lifts and feeds our winter celebrations and life. I am grateful when I walk out the door and experience the wonderful scent of our Abies Fraseri trees. I invite you to come and share the experience. It is a true delight!
All good,
Margaret Rahn
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Poinsettia
Poinsettia
A truly traditional holiday plant, the poinsettia has become a staple in many homes and businesses during the Christmas holidays. It's stunning colors and form, as well as it's easy care, make it a wonderful choice.
Here at A.J. Rahn Greenhouses, all of our poinsettias are grown in clay pots on site, giving them optimum growing conditions for beautiful color in your decoration scheme. Poinsettias prefer a brightly lit location, away from drafts (either cold or warm), and to be watered only when the soil is dry to the touch. They now come in many more colors than red or white. Some of the newer varieties are: Ice Punch, a beautiful hot pink and light pink blend; Peppermint Stick, pictured above with spots of deep reddish pink; Polar Bear, a very white- white with deep green foliage; and Visions of Grandeur, a very spicy peach color.
Every year during the holiday season, we find it necessary to discuss an "old wives tale" that continues to persist about poinsettias. It is alleged that parts or all of the poinsettia plant are poisonous to pets and/or people. This is definitely Not True! Poinsettias are not poisonous to people or pets. The Ohio State University in 1971 ran extensive studies on the toxicity of all parts of the poinsettia plant. This study was done in response to a movement to place safety caution tags on all plants deemed poisonous. Results of these tests were conclusive that no part of the poinsettia plant was poisonous to people or pets. Calico will testify to this fact! At the time, the studies were reported on all news media, but every year since then, the myth has persisted. This is primarily due to lack of knowledge on the part of newscasters and, surprisingly, veterinarians.
So fear not! Enjoy the beauty of this seasonal house plant during the holidays, then cut them back in March and they will make great foliage plants outdoors in the summer.
By: Sandy Weinkam
Gardening Expert at A.J. Rahn Greenhouses
Here at A.J. Rahn Greenhouses, all of our poinsettias are grown in clay pots on site, giving them optimum growing conditions for beautiful color in your decoration scheme. Poinsettias prefer a brightly lit location, away from drafts (either cold or warm), and to be watered only when the soil is dry to the touch. They now come in many more colors than red or white. Some of the newer varieties are: Ice Punch, a beautiful hot pink and light pink blend; Peppermint Stick, pictured above with spots of deep reddish pink; Polar Bear, a very white- white with deep green foliage; and Visions of Grandeur, a very spicy peach color.
Every year during the holiday season, we find it necessary to discuss an "old wives tale" that continues to persist about poinsettias. It is alleged that parts or all of the poinsettia plant are poisonous to pets and/or people. This is definitely Not True! Poinsettias are not poisonous to people or pets. The Ohio State University in 1971 ran extensive studies on the toxicity of all parts of the poinsettia plant. This study was done in response to a movement to place safety caution tags on all plants deemed poisonous. Results of these tests were conclusive that no part of the poinsettia plant was poisonous to people or pets. Calico will testify to this fact! At the time, the studies were reported on all news media, but every year since then, the myth has persisted. This is primarily due to lack of knowledge on the part of newscasters and, surprisingly, veterinarians.
So fear not! Enjoy the beauty of this seasonal house plant during the holidays, then cut them back in March and they will make great foliage plants outdoors in the summer.
By: Sandy Weinkam
Gardening Expert at A.J. Rahn Greenhouses
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
