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Love the smell of a fresh cut Christmas Tree in your house? Here are some tips to consider when buying and caring for your live Christmas Tree:
- Make sure the tree is fresh. If you pull on a section of needles gently between your thumb and forefinger very few needles should fall off. Or shake the tree. You should not see an excessive amount dropping to the ground.
- Keep the tree outside with the trunk in a bucket of water until you are ready to decorate it.
- Before setting up your tree, make a straight cut across the base of the trunk and place it in a stand that can hold a gallon or more of water. Making a fresh cut on the trunk allows it to absorb water more freely and stay healthy longer.
- The tree will absorb the greatest amount of water in the first 24 hours, so be sure to check it and add water as needed. If the water level falls below the base of the trunk, it will begin to dry out the stump within 4-6 hours. Adequate water not only keeps the tree fresh longer but helps it maintain that fresh tree fragrance.
- Keep your tree away from fireplaces, radiators or any direct sources of heat. Not only can these dry the tree out, but can also become a fire hazard.
Be sure to locate a recycling program or check with your city for special recycling efforts when it’s time to discard your Christmas Tree.
Come October, most of us plunk pumpkins on either side of the front door and call it good. But with a bit of planning and some creative ingenuity, your entryway and garden can scare up some autumnal style that is worthy of a second (and even a third) look. Here are five simple, gorgeous ideas for decorating with pumpkins.
Create a pumpkin pile. Gather up a variety of pumpkins and other gourds—big and small, dark and light, smooth and warty—and pile them up on your porch, in your garden bed, or by your entryway. Be sure to make the pile quite large, like the one shown above; otherwise, you’ll create an impression that you weren’t quite sure what to do with the “extra” pumpkins.
Pop a pumpkin in your planter. Whether you have hanging planters or large pots on your patio or deck, add a pumpkin in a color that contrasts with the surrounding plants. Smaller, sugar-type pumpkins are a good choice for hanging planters, while larger pumpkins work better for bigger containers.
Line the garden with pumpkins. For maximum impact, choose one type of pumpkin in a uniform size and simply line them up on the edge of your garden bed or pathway. Try contrasting or blending pumpkin colors in relation to the hues in your bed — ghostly white pumpkins stand out among greens and harvest tones, while orange pumpkins will provide a more traditional look.
Nestle pumpkins into your garden beds. Possibly one of the simplest and most unexpected ways to use pumpkins as décor is to nestle them separately among the flowers and foliage in your garden. They make it appear almost as if a pumpkin patch has grown up overnight, and visitors are delighted when they spot them. Plants like sweet potato, mums, and pansies coordinate nicely and set off the pumpkins, as do frilly ferns and ornamental kale and cabbage.
Make a pumpkin topiary. Choose three pumpkins in graduated sizes and different shades, then stack them on top of an empty planter. To dress it up, use a grapevine wreath that is slightly larger than the biggest pumpkin as the base, and tuck some textural moss in between each tier.
Click here for more pumpkin decorating ideas!
By Jenny Peterson for Bonnie Plants
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