Preparing your garden for winter is the best way to keep Santa's elves from setting up a shantytown in the vegetable patch. Stave off unsettling seasonal invasions with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $50 worth of garden pottery or $40 worth of other gardening and landscaping supplies at A.B. Seed, located at the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market in Colfax.

A.B. Seed is a nursery and garden center that contains enough brightly colored and glazed garden pottery to stock a horticulturally inclined dragon's hoard. The selection includes small spherical candleholders with moon and star cutouts for extra shine and large planters with textural ridges and nubs. If opting for other gardening and landscaping supplies, customers can consult A.B. Seed's team of plant professionals on what types of greenery, fertilizer, spade, or seeds would best suit their patch of land or indoor jungle habitat. Holiday gift-seekers can also scour the themed rooms of the indoor shopping area for hummingbird feeders and picture frames, or stock up on Belgard cobblestone pavers to prepare for that patio-improvement project they've put off until spring.