It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Each year I notice that artificial Christmas trees are becoming more and more realistic, however, there’s nothing to beat a real Christmas tree, even if they do require a little more maintenance to get the best out of them.

There’s nothing to beat the natural smell of a real Christmas tree, although many real Christmas trees tend to shed their pine needles and these can cause all sorts of problems with children, pets and so on. The good news is that Christmas tree growers are now growing and developing needle-fast trees that don’t loose their needles quite so much.

The good old traditional Norway Spruce is a long established traditional favourite in the family home for many years. The secret to keeping a tree like this looking good and keeping its needles for as long as possible is to try and buy it freshly cut direct from a grower.

Having a Christmas tree indoors is just like having cut flowers in the house; the tree needs water so place it in a water holding stand. If the tree is not freshly cut then just saw a little piece off the bottom so that the tree can take up water more easily. Place the tree then it in a stand with moist sand or soil and keep it watered or place it in a stand that has a water reservoir.

Do remember that if you’re using electric lights on your tree that you will need extra safety precautions with regards to water and electricity. Do ensure that your Christmas tree stand is firm, stable and safe and if you are attaching lights, then do make sure that there’s no way that they could come into contact any moisture or water.

An alternative is to get a small container growing tree and once again keep it well watered indoors and then you can plant outside in the garden after Christmas. Try to place your Christmas tree away from any heating, as this will also help the tree last longer and keep hold of its needles.

The Norway Spruce is the cheapest variety of Christmas tree on the market as opposed to the Fir and needle-fast varieties because it will grow more easily on varied sites compared to other types of Christmas trees.

The Noble Fir is said to be the best Christmas tree of all for needle retention, however you’ll find that the cost of such a tree will reflect this. I think the extra cost is well worth is as it looks great with it super regular pattern of branches with dense blue-grey needles.

The Nordman Fir is similar to the Noble Fir however the needle retention aren’t as good.

A recent Christmas tree addition onto the market is the Fraser Fir, which has the needle-holding characteristics of a Noble Fir but with the appearance of a Norway Spruce.

If you’re looking for a Christmas tree with a bit of a ‘wow’ factor, then I would choose the Blue Spruce with its lovely traditional Christmas tree shape together with its elegant dusty blue needles. This Christmas tree will really look absolutely stunning and classy decorated with silver and glass decorations.

All that’s left for me now if to wish all of you a happy, healthy and peaceful holiday season and a likewise New Year.

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I’ll be taking a bit of a break from blogging throughout the Christmas holidays, and so I’ll be back with a brand new posting here on January 2009 together with details of my forthcoming garden designing courses!

Until then, I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas and a happy, healthy successful 2009!

Judy

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Poinsettia

Around this time of the year there’s one particular plant that you can’t ignore when you’re out and about shopping and that’s the red Poinsettia. I can’t resist these gorgeous plants, as I just love to decorate my home with their flamboyant colours as they really brighten up my rooms and makes the place feel so festive. These plants have now become a seasonal Christmas symbol alongside the holly, ivy and mistletoe.

As a matter of interest, the wonderful colours you see on Poinsettias are not actually flowers, but they are in fact bracts, which are modified leaves at the base of the very small true flower heads that you can see in the centre of the bracts.

If the red Poinsettia is too brash a colour for you than you could opt for the cream coloured Poinsettia and place this in a silver container for a cool elegant look. You don’t have to just choose between red or cream, as Poinsettias are now available in a variety of other colours. For example there are pink varieties available, or bracts with a marble effect with a cream background and red veining, or even bracts that have an airbrushed effect.  These too have a cream background and the red colouring looks as through it has been sprayed on.

The botanical name of the poinsettia is Euphorbia pulcherrima and just like most Euphorbias, it too has a white milky sap in the stem, which causes irritation to the skin and eyes, so do take care.

Poinsettias were discovered in Mexico in the nineteenth century and in the wild, this winter flowering shrub can reach a height of between six and twelve feet. Because Poinsettias come from a warm climate they prefer a stable warm temperature indoors and also don’t like being kept standing in water or being in cold wet compost. Instead, water your poinsettia when the compost surface starts to dry out by giving it a good drink with tepid water.

If like me you have ever tried to keep your Poinsettia going after Christmas, you may have discovered how hard it is to do this, as poinsettias require very specific growing conditions. Even commercial nursery growers start off new plants each year from cuttings in order to get a good clean and healthy stock. My advice is just to enjoy Poinsettias while they last through the Christmas festive season as they really do add to the festive colours and decorations.

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“The Outside In” – By Judy Fenyvesi – 22nd December

Around this time of the year many of us will be bringing the ‘outdoors’ into our homes, with the main focal point being the Pine, Spruce or Fir tree, yes, the Christmas tree.

Did you know that the custom of having a tree as a central decorative piece in winter holiday celebrations can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians? The ancient people had a custom of bringing branches from palm trees into their homes on the shortest day of the year each December. The Chinese and Hebrews from ancient history also had similar traditions too.

So many plants are associated with Christmas time; Mistletoe for kissing under, holly for table displays and other festive decorations, wreaths on doors decorated with other seasonal evergreen foliage and so on.

An ancient belief was that homes decorated during the winter festival with evergreen plants and foliage was to represent the promise of the return to spring once the winter has passed.

In the 1870’s the most popular Christmas tree was the fragrant Cedar, but this tree lost its foliage indoors too quickly. The Cedar was briefly replaced by the Hemlock, but its branches where too flimsy to hold Christmas decorations and so now we favour the Pines, Spruces and Fir trees.

During the 17th century it became traditional to decorate the Christmas tree, mainly with edible decorations such as home baked biscuits and apples as this was a symbol of representing plenty. Nowadays chocolate treats wrapped in coloured foil represents this old tradition.

As the years went by, Christmas tree decorations became more inventive with the introduction of tinsel and glass ornaments and during the 1800’s the Americans introduced the electric lights.

By the 1900’s due to the popularity of Christmas tree, tree farms were started up in order to stop the depletion and destruction of forests. This was also the reason for introducing artificial Christmas trees, which were more convenient and made less mess than the Pine.

I don’t know about you, but I love this time of the year when we bring more foliage indoors, for whatever reason. So decorate your home for the festive season with nature’s gifts and enjoy!

It now leaves me to wish all my readers a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year to you and your loved ones.

Thanks for your all your support and feedback.

My next blog will be back here on the 5th January and I hope you’ll join me then.
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