{"id":7482,"date":"2010-10-27T17:37:02","date_gmt":"2010-10-27T21:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nybg.org\/plant-talk\/?p=7482"},"modified":"2010-11-02T11:13:16","modified_gmt":"2010-11-02T15:13:16","slug":"a-few-of-our-favorite-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2010\/10\/uncategorized\/a-few-of-our-favorite-things\/","title":{"rendered":"A Few of Our Favorite Things"},"content":{"rendered":"<table border=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-size: 10px;\"><em>Ann Rafalko is Director of Online Content.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>It seems hard to believe, but the holidays really are just around the corner.  We love the holidays here at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\" target=\"_self\">The New York Botanical Garden<\/a>.  The holidays mean the return of one of New York City&#8217;s most cherished family traditions,<em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/hts\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Holiday Train Show<\/a><\/em> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/home_conservatory-repoens.php\" target=\"_self\">Enid A. Haupt Conservatory<\/a>. It also means the arrival of beautiful new goodies at the Shop in the Garden, and on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/\" target=\"_self\">Shop&#8217;s website<\/a>. The selection of gifts in the Shop this holiday season is all about favorites, but they&#8217;re not just ours. We&#8217;re inviting some of the Garden&#8217;s most stylish, culinarily-minded, crafty, and green-thumbed friends to share a few of <em>their<\/em> favorite things with you!<\/p>\n<p>So, take a spin around the Shop, whether in person while you&#8217;re visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2010\/10\/garden-programming\/carving-the-great-pumpkin\/\" target=\"_self\">giant pumpkins this weekend<\/a>, or virtually. And if you happen to spot something that you&#8217;d like to call your favorite, you can use the &#8220;Tell A Friend&#8221; feature to give Santa a gentle hint.<\/p>\n<p>So watch this space to see what some of your favorite bloggers will be giving as gifts this holiday season!<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite things.<\/p>\n<p><!--more Get a jump-start on your holiday shopping list with a few recommendations below. --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/NYBG-Large-Bypass-Pruner-p-17161.html\"><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Large Bypass Pruner\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/files\/products\/sss01w\/165x140.jpg\" alt=\"Large Bypass Pruner\" width=\"165\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a><strong>For the Gardener<\/strong><br \/>\nThis <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/NYBG-Large-Bypass-Pruner-p-17161.html\" target=\"_self\">beautiful bypass pruner<\/a> feels as good in the hand as it looks. It&#8217;s a slightly indulgent, yet fully functional piece of gardening hardware that will delight your favorite gardener every time she uses it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Holiday-p-1-c-653.html\"><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Christmas in New York\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/files\/products\/9780821257029\/165x140.jpg\" alt=\"Christmas in New York\" width=\"165\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a> <strong>For Kids<\/strong><br \/>\nI think New York City is the most wonderful (emphasis on wonder) city in the whole world in which to spend Christmas. And after a few years of visiting me here just before the holiday, I think my nephews would agree. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Holiday-p-1-c-653.html\" target=\"_self\">This book<\/a> is a perfect gift because it lets them have a little piece of New York to dream about throughout this year.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Oak-Leaf-Platter-p-21271.html\"><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Oak Leaf Platter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/files\/products\/v917\/165x140.jpg\" alt=\"Oak Leaf Platter\" width=\"165\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a><strong>For the Host or Hostess<\/strong><br \/>\nYes, it&#8217;s a little pricey, but oh my gosh! Can you imagine the look on the face of your favorite hostess when she <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Oak-Leaf-Platter-p-21271.html\" target=\"_self\">opens this up<\/a>? It&#8217;s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">so<\/span> beautiful! What a gorgeous piece this would be on the Thanksgiving buffet, or twinkling amid dozens of little tea lights and glasses of champagne on New Year&#8217;s Eve! Simply stunning, and even more beautiful in person.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/The-Birdwatchers-Pocket-Companion-p-19371.html\"><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"The Birdwatcher's Pocket Companion\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/files\/products\/9781862057975\/165x140.jpg\" alt=\"The Birdwatcher's Pocket Companion\" width=\"165\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a><strong>For the Reader<\/strong><br \/>\nIf you&#8217;ve got a birdwatcher who catches the early bookworm on your list, this is the book for him. Complete with avian musings from some of history&#8217;s literary giants, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/The-Birdwatchers-Pocket-Companion-p-19371.html\" target=\"_self\">this delightful little book<\/a> comes complete with blank pages so your favorite bookish-bird-beholder can jot in his own winged witticisms.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/The-Milton-Clay-Pot-p-20758.html\"><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Clay Pots\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/files\/products\/brownmilton\/165x140.jpg\" alt=\"Clay Pots\" width=\"165\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a><strong>For Him<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter a few years of struggling with our pepper plants, my husband and I have come to the realization that our back porch is a better microclimate for our plants than our backyard garden. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/The-Milton-Clay-Pot-p-20758.html\" target=\"_self\">These pots<\/a> are so beautiful and will look gorgeous filled with his favorites: deep-purple Czech Black, the sprightly Hinklehatz, and stripey Fish.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Katchkie-Farm-Ketchup-p-21727.html\"><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Katchkie Ketchup\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/files\/products\/ketchup\/165x140.jpg\" alt=\"Katchkie Ketchup\" width=\"165\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a><strong>For Her<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen our parents got married, my step-sister and I bonded over ketchup (strange, we know). What better way to celebrate our friendship then, than with an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Katchkie-Farm-Ketchup-p-21727.html\" target=\"_self\">artisanal, organic version<\/a> made just miles from our hometown?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Cali-Tarocco-Bath-Crystals-p-21642.html\"><img class=\"alignnone\" title=\"Bath Salts\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/files\/products\/08970\/165x140.jpg\" alt=\"Bath Salts\" width=\"165\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a><strong>For Me<\/strong><br \/>\nIt&#8217;s as inevitable as tearing-up at the end of <em>It&#8217;s A Wonderful Life<\/em>, the holidays wear me out, and by December 20, I&#8217;ll be fighting a cold and hoping beyond hope that I&#8217;ll be well enough to not only attend Christmas dinner, but also help in preparing it. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybgshop.org\/Cali-Tarocco-Bath-Crystals-p-21642.html\" target=\"_self\">These bath salts<\/a>, scented with the aroma of my favorite oranges in all the world, would sure help with the stress, and maybe even help open up my sinuses a little.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It seems hard to believe, but the holidays really are just around the corner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":183,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[924,923,129,128,921,922,4648],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph0lU-1WG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/183"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7482"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7571,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7482\/revisions\/7571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}