It’s the holiday season, and for the gardener in the family the gift of choice often is a holiday plant. Over the years, I’ve given and received my share of poinsettias, amaryllis and Christmas cacti as gifts this time of year. While these colorful indoor plants are standards, this year why not push the envelope a bit when buying a holiday plant.

Here are some unusual holiday plants that should be available at your local garden center or florist shop.

There’s nothing like seeing your garden taken over by slugs. Not only can slugs munch through all your seedlings in minutes, but they can also destroy your favorite hosta or delphinium in days.

The slug is a hermaphrodite, which means they have both male and female reproductive systems and can mate with themselves. Each slug can produce up to 36 eggs, several times a year. They reach adulthood in about six weeks and some species have a life span of 2-6 years. To top it off slugs keep growing. There are some that reach 10 inches. Imagine meeting one of those on a summer’s eve.

By Charlie Nardozzi

Summertime is thunderstorm time across the country. All that water rushing off roofs, driveways and walkways is loaded with oil and other pollutants, and it all ends up in our sewer systems. Since municipal storm water treatment plants often can’t handle the deluge, the untreated water dumps into our natural waterways. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as much as 70% of the pollution in our streams, rivers and lakes is carried there by storm water.

We can help stem the flow of polluted storm water into our streams by planting a garden—a rain garden. Rain gardens are specially constructed to collect storm water instead of letting it run off your property. These gardens are shallow depressions located at low points in your lawn that are planted with native plants and wildflowers, so they’re both functional and attractive. Storm water is funneled naturally to the garden, where it’s stored and allowed to slowly absorb back into the soil.

With a public launch planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and articles in numerous national magazines due throughout the spring, the SafeLawns.org campaign is fulfilling its promise to engage millions of Americans in the dialogue about natural lawn care.