Waukesha County Home

onto a cylinder to provide a quick and easy feeding option. Seasonal blends, like the Cranberry Seed Cylinder ($10.99) that fea- tures a holiday menu for the birds chock- ful of cranberries, pecans, sunflower chips, peanuts, safflower and black oil sunflower, as well as fun festive designs, like the limited-edition Seed Snowman ($16.99), give your feathered friends the food they need and your non-feathered friends the gifts they want. For the gardener Old Man Winter may have arrived, but it's never too early to "think spring" when you're a gardener. And what better place to find the perfect gift for the plant-lovers on your list than Monches Farm in nearby Washington County? "Gift certificates are always a favorite with gardeners so they can buy plants for the spring," said Zannah Crowe, horticul- turist at Monches Farm. "Especially if it's someplace that has an online catalog so they can spend the cold winter days win- dow shopping for plants." Monches may not ship the plants direct- ly to your door, but with more than 2,500 varieties of field-grown perennials, unusual annuals, herbs, tropicals and veg- etable plants, it's worth a trip to visit the park-like setting at 5890 Monches Road, near the hamlet of Monches, in the town of Erin, a half-mile north of the Waukesha County line and 3.5 miles west of Highway 164. Knowledgeable staff and friendly chickens call Monches Farm home. "Plus our business is split into two pieces: the nursery and the gift shop," Crowe added. Inside the shop, antiques, German pot- tery, garden pottery, high-quality tools, nature-inspired jewelry and table art, and other specialty gifts make it easy to com- plete your holiday shopping with unex- pected but sure-to-be appreciated finds. Said Crowe: "It's kind of a different clientele right now with the season, but there are certainly people stopping in for gifts because they know we offer some- thing different." For the DIYer If the green thumb on your list simply must garden year-round, Brew & Grow in Waukesha offers an extensive selection of indoor gardening supplies and hydroponic equipment (a method of growing plants indoors without soil). Complete hydropon- ic systems, indoor grow lights, fertilizers and supplements, irrigation systems, test- ing equipment, and gardening tools help bring the outdoors inside even during the coldest months. "It's a great idea for people who like hav- ing an herb garden indoors during the winter," store associate Taylor Hill said. Or, for the DIYer on your list, raise a glass to the holidays with beer they brewed themselves. As the name suggests, Brew & Grow also offers a full range of supplies, equipment and kits for making beer (and wine) at home. Ranging in price from about $50 to $130, "these kits offer everything you need to brew your own beer or make your own wine," Hill said. You don't have to spend a ton to get start- ed either. "We have one-gallon kits for someone who doesn't want to break the bank, but wants to get their feet wet," he said. Homebrew classes ($20 to $30) are anoth- er popular gift, so consider picking up a gift voucher for a class. During these small-group, one-night classes, the instructor guides participants through the process of making a batch of beer or wine. If you give a kit, considering adding a class. These classes offer a nice primer as the instructor goes over the basic details and ingredients used in the kits. And down the road when your gift recip- ient is ready to build his or her own kegerator system, Brew & Grow can help with that, too. Zannah Crowe/Monches Farm While there are plenty of gifts for the gardener at Monches Farm, there are also many present ideas for the home inside the shop. The farm and country setting also act as a respite from the seasonal frenzy. HOMES PLUS DECEMBER 2015 6 Continued from Page 1 Gifts: Home- and yard-minded giving

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