Keeping your tree festive – and fabulous
Agnes Stevenson on how to care for our Christmas trees, and great gifts for gardeners
Early this morning, while most of us were asleep, we marked the winter solstice, when the northern half of our planet is tilted furthest from the sun.
From tomorrow we will be on our way back towards the light, but on this, the darkest day of the year, it’s not difficult to understand why in the distant past, so much store was set by evergreens such as holly and ivy as symbols that the sun would regain its strength.
However what our ancestors didn’t have to contend with as they filled their huts with garlands and berries in order to invoke the spirits of the natural world, was the threat to their offerings from central heating.
Today, in our over-heated homes, most greenery starts to wilt the moment it comes indoors and nothing suffers more than the Christmas tree, which is most likely shoved against a radiator as it’s the only space for it.
You’ll know if your tree is suffering if the needles start to drop and if the process has already started then cross your fingers that your baubles won’t be hanging from bare branches by Christmas Day.
It is easy to be wise after the event, but Richard Lockwood, senior plants buyer at Dobbies Garden Centres told me the best way to make sure your tree survives the festive season is to saw a couple of inches off the bottom of the trunk then stand it outdoors in a bucket of water until you are ready to bring it indoors.
Once in the sitting room, keep it as far as possible from any heat source and water it daily.
If you didn’t follow the first part of these instructions, then it is still worth watering your tree. A 7ft tree can take up as much as a pint of water a day, so don’t skimp but do be careful about mixing water with fairy lights.
And what are you hoping for under the tree, apart from fewer pine needles? If you haven’t yet bought a gift for the gardener in you life then go online at gardeningscotland.com and download tickets to next year’s national flower show.
New tools are always welcome, but as Fiona Thackeray says in her book, Plastic-freeee Gardening (another good gift),gift) look for thosee with wooden handles as they are both environmmentally-friendly and much nicer to use than plasstic alternatives.
I don’t think you can go wrong with a glamorous houseplant and one of the most beautiful is
Medinilla magnifica, which has handsomme foliage and racemes of pink floowers that hang like decaddent candelabras from swoooning stems.
If you can’tc track down anyy of these, a gardening journal, where thee recipient can jot down plant lists, design ideas, keep a weatheer record and plan for the year aheaad Is an invaluuable present.