The holidays are a-comin’, and so is the chance to feast on fresh, delicious food straight from your own backyard! We at Rockaway Sustainable Landscaping aren’t just about stunning landscapes, we’re about helping you grow the ingredients for unforgettable holiday meals. That’s right, enhance your meal prep experience with the bounty of your personal winter wonderland!

Appetizers to Impress:

• Brussels Sprouts Bonanza: Skip the frozen bag and roast up our homegrown Brussels sprouts. There are purple, red, and classic green varieties – perfect for a colorful, caramelized treat. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and crumble on some crispy bacon for a flavor explosion.

• Butternut Bliss Soup: Butternut squashes are bursting with sweet, golden sunshine. Whip up a creamy, heartwarming soup with a touch of sage from your herb garden. Trust us, it’s the hug in a bowl you need on a chilly December night.

• Endive Extravaganza: Elevate your holiday spread with delicate endive spears stuffed with our creamy goat cheese and topped with a jewel-toned cranberry compote. It’s light, festive, and sure to impress your most discerning guests.

Main Courses that Make Memories:

• Rosemary Roast Chicken & Root Veggie Rhapsody: Roast up a juicy chicken alongside our rainbow array of carrots, potatoes, and parsnips, all seasoned with fragrant rosemary. It’s a classic holiday dish with a garden-fresh twist that’ll leave everyone singing carols with full bellies.

• Stuffed Squash Spectacular: Turn our beautiful butternut squashes into edible masterpieces! Roast them golden brown, then stuff them with a savory sausage and herb medley. This dish is a showstopper, and it tastes even better than it looks.

• Lentil & Kale Symphony: Need a cozy winter warmer? Look no further than our hearty lentil soup! We’ve got kale bursting with nutrients, plus your choice of savory sausage or a plant-based protein alternative. Top it off with a crusty bread from your local bakery for the perfect dunk-and-devour experience.

Sidekicks that Steal the Show:

• Almond-Kissed Green Beans: Who says veggies can’t be the star of the show? Toss our crunchy green beans with toasted almonds and a drizzle of olive oil for a simple yet addictive side dish. Bonus points for using garlic from your herb garden!

• Honey-Glazed Carrots: Take our sweet, orange carrots to a whole new level with a sticky, caramelized honey glaze. They’re a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, even for the pickiest eaters.

• Roasted Garlic Mashed Marvels: Elevate your mashed potatoes with a secret weapon: roasted garlic from your own garden! The rich, garlicky flavor takes this classic side dish to gourmet heights.

Sweet Endings that Shine:

• Pear & Cranberry Crumble: Our juicy pears are begging to be transformed into a delicious crumble. Top them with a tart cranberry and buttery oat topping for a warm, comforting dessert that’s perfect for chilly nights.

• Pumpkin Pie Paradise: Can’t imagine the holidays without pumpkin pie? We hear you! Seasonal homegrown pumpkins are just waiting to be turned into the ultimate crowd-pleasing dessert.

• Chocolate Beet Cake Surprise: Looking for a unique and decadent treat? Try our chocolate cake with a secret ingredient: roasted beets! They add a rich, moist texture and a hint of earthy sweetness that pairs perfectly with the rich chocolate.

Tips from Your Garden Gurus:

• Shop Local: Visit our local nurseries for all your winter veggie needs! They’ve got everything from seedlings to transplants, all ready to thrive in your Jacksonville and surrounding Northeast Florida community backyards.

• Get Creative: Don’t be afraid to experiment with new flavors and combinations. Your garden is your playground, so have fun and let your culinary creativity blossom!

• Make it a Family Affair: Get the whole family involved in planting, harvesting, and cooking. Sharing the experience makes the food even more delicious and creates lasting holiday memories.

So, Jacksonville area friends, this and every holiday season, embrace the bountiful possibilities of your own backyard. With a little help from local garden centers, you can grow, cook, and enjoy a festive feast that’s fresh, flavorful, and oh-so-memorable. Enjoy the accompanying video where our CEO Greg Burghardt takes a tour of the Beaches Museum vegetable garden with Jon Wolf. If you’d like to purchase custom raised gardening beds contact www.LocallyLaid.net. Happy holidays from your landscape & gardening-loving friends at Rockaway Sustainable Landscaping!

From our office in Atlantic Beach and satellites throughout Northeast Florida, Rockaway Inc., your outdoor living experts, proudly serves both commercial, HOA’s, and residential landscape design, maintenance, lawn care, irrigation, and outdoor living carpentry in Jacksonville, St Augustine, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, St. Johns, and Fernandina Beach.

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We believe our Christmas trees are the freshest, longest lasting trees in Jacksonville. Here are a few Christmas tree care tips.
First of all you want to start with a fresh cut Christmas tree from a sustainable source. Our trees are cut in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, and shipped within days to arrive at Burghardt Christmas Tradition before Thanksgiving. They are immediately off loaded and the largest drilled to allow each to stand in its own container of water. You will probably notice when you first set up your tree at home that it takes in considerably less water compared to trees you may have had in the past from other suppliers. That is because these trees have not been deprived of water for any significant amount of time.

We will give your tree a fresh cut before you leave, for better water absorption. Once you get it home, immediately place the trunk in a container of water. Christmas trees keep better outside in the moist, cool air but when you are ready to set your tree up, you can prolong its freshness by following these guidelines:

• Choose a tree with a trunk that will fit into your stand. Don’t whittle the sides of the trunk down to fit into the stand. The outer layers of wood are the most efficient at taking up water.
• If you can, drive home slowly to decrease drying from wind. Netting the tree does help with this.
• Use a stand that provides one quart of water per inch of trunk diameter.
• If you make another fresh cut before installing your tree, it should be about 1/2 inch thick, cut perpen-dicular to the trunk. Don’t bruise the cut surface or get it dirty, which would impede the flow of water.
• Avoid locating your tree near any drying heat sources such as heat vents, fireplaces and direct sunlight.
• Low heat lighting such as miniature / LED lights will reduce drying of the tree.
• Check the water daily and be sure that the base of the tree is always submerged in water.
• Use a tree preservative such as Prolong, to lengthen your tree’s life even more.
• Keep the temperature in your home as low as is comfortable.
• If you purchase a live tree, do so at least a week before you plan to bring it indoors and leave it in part shade to acclimate to lower light; move it inside for no more than a week and keep the root ball moist.

What to do with your tree after Christmas

Prop tree against a bird feeder to allow better access and protection for the birds.
Grind the tree for mulch.
Store for later burning.
Sink into ponds for fish and frogs to use for cover.
Many area waste haulers have their own recycling programs for them.
Check with your municipality for the latest information on when they do curbside pickup.

From our office in Atlantic Beach and satellites throughout Northeast Florida, Rockaway Inc proudly serves both commercial and residential landscape design, maintenance, lawn care, irrigation, and outdoor living carpentry client needs in Jacksonville, St Augustine, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, St. Johns, and Fernandina Beach.

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Blue Spruce –

• Beautiful striking blue color
• Broad dense pyramidal shape
• Strong branches to hold heavy ornaments
• Medium length needles ¾ to 1 ¼ “ long
• Fair needle retention

Concolor Fir –

• Light Silver-blue color; may show better in darker areas
• Elegant soft feel and look
• Better for lighter weight ornaments
• 1 to 1 ½ “ flat needles in rows
• Pleasant aroma
• Best needle retention

Fraser Fir –

• Dark bluish-green color
• Uniformly pyramidal shape
• Branches full, strong and slightly upward-turning
• Short ¾” rigid but soft needles
• Irresistible Christmas tree smell
• Good needle retention

Choose from many sizes – leave ½ to 1 ½’ of room between the top of the tree and your ceiling to account for tree stand and topper!

From our office in Atlantic Beach and satellites throughout Northeast Florida, Rockaway Inc proudly serves both commercial and residential landscape design, maintenance, lawn care, irrigation, and outdoor living carpentry client needs in Jacksonville, St Augustine, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, St. Johns, and Fernandina Beach.

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• Keep your wreaths and branches outside where its shaded, cool and moist, until you’re ready to use them.
• Soak wreaths overnight in water.
• Treat wreaths and branches with an anti-desiccant (anti-transpirant) spray. De-sign Master Foliage Sealer also works. These sprays add a protective waxy coating to the needles or leaves of evergreens to slow the process of water loss. Spray all sides thoroughly. The exceptions to using one of these sprays include: avoid spraying the undersides of Magnolia leaves as it ruins the beautiful fuzzy texture; avoid juniper berries or blue spruce since the wax coating that gives these plants their distinctive color can be damaged; avoid Eastern Red Cedar (the native juniper) foliage because it will darken the foliage; and only lightly spray fine needles as it can make them stick together.

• Mist your evergreen branches or wreaths with water daily if possible.
• Keep away from heat vents and other heat sources, fire and direct sunlight. Use LED lights if lighting your greenery.
• For cut branches, crush the stems which allows them to take in more water, and immediately place them in a bucket of water overnight. Adding glycerin will extend the greenery life even more. Glycerin is an agent used to preserve ever-greens for several years. For arrangements in water, mix glycerin and water in a 1:1 ratio.
• Be prepared to refresh some greenery during the holidays. Check for freshness by bending the leaves and needles. They should be supple and not break.

For high quality Christmas trees, wreaths, and garland shop Burghardt Christmas Traditions in Jacksonville, Florida.

If you’re making your own wreath or cut greenery arrangement, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Pine, fir, cedar and juniper foliage last the longest indoors of the traditional greenery. They may last for several weeks given the care recommended above. Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) has a beautiful blue cast to its foliage with slight bronzing at the tips this time of year, a wonderful cedar scent and light blue berries. Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), also called arborvitae, has soft feathery fan shaped foliage which provides a lot of fill. Hemlock and spruce tend to dry out more quickly, losing their needles a little sooner with warm indoor temperatures. Of the spruces, Blue Spruce holds its needles best. Hemlock, spruces and most broadleaf evergreens will last longer if used outdoors. Hollies come in various forms with green or variegated foliage and red berries. Make sure that holly does not freeze after cutting, or the leaves and berries may blacken. Florida Anise Tree (Illicium floridanum) has aromatic foliage but may not last as well as some greenery. True cedars such as Deodar, Blue Atlas, and Cedar-of-Lebanon all have a wonderful fragrance. Small male cones should be sprayed with lacquer or acrylic to prevent the messy release of pollen at room temperature. Boxwood is a very popular small-leafed shrub that adds fine texture to wreaths and garland. Southern Magnolia leaves hold up well even without water. English Ivy may wilt fairly quickly unless in an arrangement with water but it still looks decent in a wreath, lending a very different texture. Some other broadleaf species to consider are ligustrum, pittosporum, podocarpus, viburnum and eucalyptus. Hollies, yews, mistletoe, ivy, Jerusalem cherry, bittersweet, nandina and crown of thorns can all provide attractive berries but some may present a poison hazard to people and pets. Be sure to discard any berries which fall off during decorating.

For longer lasting wreaths and arrangements you can also incorporate branches and natural artifacts such as red or yellow twig dogwood, winterberry holly stems, acorns, magnolia pods, pine cones, reindeer moss, rose hips, dried flowers, dried citrus slices, millet sprays, sweet gum balls and even the interesting twiggy structures that hold the fruits of some palms.

A final option for a long lasting wreath is to create one with minimal greenery, which can be replaced during the holidays.

From our office in Atlantic Beach and satellites throughout Northeast Florida, Rockaway Inc proudly serves both commercial and residential landscape design, maintenance, lawn care, irrigation, and outdoor living carpentry client needs in Jacksonville, St Augustine, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, St. Johns, and Fernandina Beach.

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Here are some of the many types and uses for Christmas garland. Have a look at the handy chart below; click to download and take it with you when picking out the garland of your choice. This takes the guesswork out of which dimensions to buy for your doors, staircases, and mantles! Get ready to sleigh that garland game!

Types of Fresh Garland:

Cedar Garland- The easiest fresh garland to use for the mantle as it rests flat and spills over the edge of the mantle.

Mixed Cedar Garland- This is the fullest garland. It’s also an excellent choice if you want a little burst of color, as this fresh garland has blue juniper berries mixed in.

Frasier Fir- Many Christmas trees are made of Frasier Fir, so it looks consistent and ties in well with most trees. However, it is one of the thinner garlands, so consider doubling it up and tying it with wire or twine. Frasier fir also exudes that irresistible Christmas tree smell, so you won’t miss out on the aroma even if you go with an artificial one this year.

White Pine- This is another of the thinner garlands, so consider doubling it up again. It is also one of the most traditional-looking garlands. It’s soft, easy to use, and looks great wrapped around mailboxes, columns, and banisters.

Evergreen Garland- A beautiful and fragrant addition to any home’s winter décor. **Note- A roll of grapevine provides incredible stability and strength to an evergreen garland. It also adds a lot of volume to a garland with very little mass.

Magnolia Garland- Mixing in big magnolia blooms can be great for areas with lots of space, like foyers or stairwells, because the flower tends to stand out. For a fuller look, combine magnolia garland with evergreen garland, looping the two together and then draping along the staircase.

**Garland Care Tip ** for best longevity- keep away from heat when used indoors and mist regularly.

We recommend purchasing your Christmas Garland from Burghardt Christmas Tradition.

Check out the photos below for some fresh garland inspiration!

From the office in Atlantic Beach and satellites throughout Northeast Florida, Rockaway Inc proudly serves landscape design clients in Jacksonville, St Augustine, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, and Fernandina Beach.

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• First, decide which room you want to display your tree; then measure the height from floor to ceiling.
• Keep in mind that you should always leave 0.5 – 1.5 ft of room between the top of your tree and your ceiling. Remember, you’ll want to leave room for your tree stand and tree topper!
• For best results, it’s best to keep a little bit of room around the entire circumference of your tree. You don’t want it to look crowded, right?

Once you have you’ve chosen the perfect spot for your tree, measured your floor-to-ceiling height and the floor space around the tree, you are ready to decide on the size! Use the helpful guide below to steer you to the ideal tree for your home!

Greg standing in front of a HUGE healthy tree at the farm we partner with in North Carolina!

4 – 5 ft Trees- This size is a little on the smaller side, and could also be used as a secondary or novelty tree on a landing or similar space, or in a child’s room.

6 – 6.5 ft Trees- This size tree is a safe bet if you don’t think you’ll get around to measuring the height of your ceiling. Trees this height would fit and look great in a compact apartment or small home.

7 – 7.5 ft Trees- This size tree qualifies as large and is the most popular size. It should fit in most average sized rooms. This height is also a good choice because it won’t take up too much room and shouldn’t require an extensive amount of lights. (Ideal ceiling height: 8 – 9 ft)

8 ft + Trees- This is the size you want if you have extremely high or vaulted ceilings. If you’ve got it, flaunt it! This height would look best in a large room with ample space. This size will require more lights and decorations, so keep that in mind. (Ideal ceiling height: 10 + ft)

Tips your tree will thank you for:

• Trying to fit a tree in an area that is too small will only make that room look more compact. Choose a size that is realistic for your space.
• Ideally, after getting your tree home, place it in a bucket of water and let it absorb fresh water for several hours before placing it in the tree stand.
• For most Christmas trees, the stand should hold at least 1 gallon of water. A cut tree will absorb a surprising amount of water, particularly during the first week, so replenish the water daily.
• In general, we recommend at least 100 lights per foot of the tree.
• Once the holiday season has passed, dispose of the tree in a safe and appropriate manner. Your city probably has guidelines for disposal.

From our office in Atlantic Beach and satellites throughout Northeast Florida, Rockaway Inc proudly serves clients in Jacksonville, St Augustine, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, and Fernandina Beach.

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