Time to put up the pampas tree!
Forget a fir. This year’s most unlikely trend is a Christmas tree made of grass that you can’t hang baubles on — and is a major fire hazard, too
APAMPAS grass Christmas tree, if social media is anything to go by, is definitely a trend this year — though not one I have any intention of encouraging. As a floral designer, I first noticed a surge of interest in these fluffy stems in the early days of lockdown. We sold loads of them online when the shops were closed — they did very well when dyed in pastels or brighter colours.
Younger women especially seemed to like them — the 1970s subtext of pampas grass in the front garden being a sign of willingness to indulge in suburban swingers’ parties was lost on them.
I think in the early days of the pandemic, pampas provided a bit of fun and frippery at a time when the world felt pretty dark.
A vase with 20 stems created high impact — and didn’t need to speak to anything more than brightening up a room and providing some interest on Instagram.
But now modelled into a Christmas tree? I’m not so sure.
Don’t you feel itchy just looking at some of these limp, sorry creations, with their grassy echoes of pagan nature rituals from yesteryear?
At Christmas, I believe we should take great comfort from tradition. And this December, after the damp squib last year’s festivities ended up being for so many, that feels more important than ever.
It’s difficult to hang the special baubles you’ve treasured down the years from a frothy pampas plume (the decorations you see above are, in fact, attached to the wire frame to which the branches are secured to make the tree shape). Try to pin a child’s home-made star on the top and you’ll probably bring the whole thing crashing down.
These grass confections look more like something the cat dragged in than a festive centrepiece that the family can gather around on Christmas morning.
And, worryingly, they’re surely fire hazards. I certainly wouldn’t want to put a candle in the same room as this much-dried grass.
There’s nothing traditional or festive about them, which is the whole point of the biggest decoration we set up in our homes.
There will be those who will argue that a pampas grass tree is low
maintenance, but that’s untrue: these will shed just as much as any pine tree you’d bring inside, without the gorgeous festive smell. they’ll also be dust traps.
and watch out if you’re allergic to grass pollen — a pampas tree may set off hay fever at a time of year you’d usually enjoy some respite.
that said, I do find the pampas grass wreaths — another variation on the festive theme — very attractive. So if you insist on buying into this trend, then I’d say that’s the way to go. But keep them indoors rather than on your front door — any rain will ruin them.
For those intent on having a pampas tree, keep it simple. the only way I can see it working is if it’s kept very plain and placed a long way from candles or an open fire — and far from my Instagram feed, if you can help it.
My best hope is that this new take on a traditional pine tree ends up being a short-lived fad that we can all quickly move on from and forget ever happened.
Honestly, I find them absolutely awful.