Be imaginative – there are alternatives to Christmas trees
SPECIALIST TREES
If you want natural greenery to decorate your home at Christmas but something different to the usual Christmas tree, go for something quite different.
A standard bay tree makes a great alternative
before bringing indoors again.
So what’s the natural, not artificial, alternative? Something decorative, green and will not be thrown out after Twelfth Night?
If you want a tree, think about buying a standard bay tree in a pot. Always smart, it can be surrounded by nightlights and other festive trimmings, the trunk or the pot tied with a ribbon or raffia. Bay trees are also sold in pyramid shapes. They are not cheap, but compare favourably with a top quality Nordmann or other conifer Christmas tree, and will last.
Bay trees with spiral stems are also offered by some retailers, and in a smart container these trees would look very stylish in either a traditional or a modern setting.
Size isn’t everything when it comes to decorations
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Equally evergreen and elegant, another idea is a small topiary tree in box, in a cone shape or a spiral. These trees also come ready- planted in pots, some in classic shapes, others in modern cube designs. Tiny LED Christmas lights could be draped around it to add a festive look.
Olive trees in a
For many of us, buying a Christmas tree is a chore, and quite wasteful as a healthy looking tree will be thrown out after the festivities are over. These trees are grown as a crop and the land reused with more trees grown, but their use is for such a short time. If you decide to buy a tree with a root still on, it can’t tolerate being in a warm room for too long, and some nurseries advise giving it a year off
large pot can decorate a conservatory, and it has been found that they are hardy enough to survive outside in the UK in milder areas and in sheltered spots. One of the most long- lived of trees, they have delicate grey- green leaves, grow in interesting shapes and can be kept in containers.
Aromatic and stylish - rosemary looks and smells good
They can be grown in most composts but it is recommended that 50/50 good quality multipurpose compost
and John Innes No.3 is used. Don’t over pot an olive tree and when repotting it, move it on to only a slightly larger size pot.
Feed with seaweed extract every couple of weeks during the summer months, and only lightly prune in spring with any heavier pruning in early to mid-summer. Don’t try to prune it in the autumn or winter as, being a Mediterranean plant; it needs heat and time to recover before the dormant period in winter.
These trees also make good gift ideas, so find a nursery or garden centre that will despatch them out directly to the recipient, given enough time for delivery before Christmas.
Of the herbs, rosemary has a wonderful smell as well as looking good. Again, grown in a pot it can stay in the house over the Christmas period, giving a rustic feel-good factor to your decorations. And, like bay trees, the leaves can be snipped off to use in the kitchen.
Small enough to be a table centre piece, a large rosemary plant could be the most aromatic Christmas table decoration you have ever had. If you can’t find one suitable for this Christmas here is an idea for next: buy a rosemary plant in the spring, making sure that it’s an upright plant and not one that will spread out widely into separate branches. Put it into a large pot and place it on a tray with a layer of gravel.
Feed and water it during the summer. As it grows, trim it into a cone shape, using the leaves in cooking. Then next Christmas take it into the house to use. Take it out into a sunny spot in the spring and repeat the process the following year.
Country Gardener
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