GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - Love the smell of pine this holiday season? Would you like to give it as a gift? With a little planning and the right materials, Heidi Heiland of Heidi's Lifestyle Gardens says you can have this season fragrance through the winter.

She joined KARE 11 News at 4 to show us how and the following are her tips.

Plan ahead:

- An assortment of lush and varied wintergreens provides the perfect canvas for Holiday switch-outs. Properly installed, the core of these displays can last throughout the winter.
- Plan to switch out stems and embellishments for each occasion. Imagine a harvest color palette, using gold, brown and orange, for the fall containers.
- Plan to replace the fall embellishments with colors from the Holiday palette after Thanksgiving.
- Then remove the holiday embellishments after Christmas for a more generic winter look.

The right materials:

 
- Fresh spruce tips and other wintergreen varieties from responsible harvesters are now at local greenhouses. Using multiple types of greens in a container add texture. In addition to spruce tips, consider Norway pine, White Pine, and gold-tipped incense Cedar.
- If you time your late season pruning just right, you might be able to use your own branches. Minor pruning for decorative purposes is usually safe. Be careful not to prune evergreens over zealously.
- Color and texture come alive when you add stems, twigs and other accents. Look around your landscape for any dried materials that might make a great accent.
- Use natural materials in holiday displays, such as birch pieces or bamboo poles, which also add dimension. Twisted twigs, Magnolia leaves, or Huckleberry add texture. Other embellishments, which create colorful drama include seeded or polished eucalyptus, broom bloom, curly ting ting, rose hip branches, and of course, pine cones. Plan to wire pinecones indoors ahead of time, to make it easier to tie on when outside.
- Choose the right planter. Just make sure it is made of winter hardy material.
- Non-hardy planters will work if you first put packing peanuts in the bottom, and then drop a liner inside the planter.

Installation Techniques:

- If your planter is already filled with soil, you can re-use it for the winter tips and evergreens. Turn the soil and add more when planting, if needed.
- If you plan to move the planter around, rice hulls are a nice alternative to soil, and will not weigh the planter down.
- Water in the greens when planted to help give them necessary moisture, and to also help them freeze into place properly, and ensure the longevity of the container.
- Wire can be used to hold the greens together until the first freeze.
- Spray the greens with Wilt-Pruf® to keep them looking fresh all winter.

Paperwhite Narcissus for Holiday Hostess Gifts:

- Forcing bulbs indoors is fun, easy and can be the source of a wonderful hostess gift for the holidays. Paperwhite Narciccus, a bulb from the daffodil family, is one of the most fragrant, fastest growing type to use for a gift of blooms, symbolizing growth and re-birth. This is a perfect project for kids! They will enjoy watching the first sight of roots, then tips, and then flowers.
- You will need the bulbs, pebbles and a container. A tall glass container works great, so that you can watch the water level and keep the flowers upright, as they grow tall. Any decorative container will work, as long as it is waterproof. 
- Pebbles, glass marbles or small stones are used at the base to keep the bulbs in place. Plant the bulbs in the pebble material root side down, so that the pebbles cover 1/3rd - ½ of the bulb. Keep the bulbs from touching each other, if possible.
- Place just enough water in the bottom of the container so that it is barely touching the bulb. Avoid splashing water on top of the bulbs, but rather pour it along the side of the container. Keep a small amount of water at the bottom of the container.
- Small roots will emerge from the bottom within a few days, followed by green tips emerging from the top of the bulb.
- You can gift the paperwhites when the tips are a few inches tall. Blooms usually appear within four-six weeks from planting.

Heidi's Wintergreens Workshop and Holiday Horticultural Healing Event:

- Heidi's Lifestyle Gardens' Wintergreens Workshop and Holiday Horticultural Healing Event! Learn Heidi's techniques for using horticulture to reduce stress, elevate your mood, and tap into the healing power of nature. 

Friday, November 16th, from Noon - 8:00 PM

Saturday, November 17th, from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM.

For more information, visit Heidi's Lifestyle Gardens.