3 Ways to Use Your Cedar Hedging Trees in Your Christmas Home Decorating
POSTED ON DECEMBER 10, 2019
At the encouragement of my daughter I am foraying into the world of blogging. What better time to start than now, December. I can combine two of my favourite topics: Christmas and gardening!
Recently there have been discussions in the media around whether to buy a real or an artificial Christmas tree – a fake tree as I like to call them. Considering that real trees for Christmas are grown for that purpose and can be composted at the end of their life and don’t (or shouldn’t) wind up in the landfill like an artificial tree eventually does, I’m all for real trees. In fact I love decorating with real greenery at Christmas – the smell of the greenery, the textures, the feel of the needles and branches and prickly holly leaves and… well the prickly leaves of some plants I can do without, but a small price to pay for a beautiful end result.
In the spirit of the holidays, below are 3 simple ways you can use your cedar trees in your Christmas decorating.
#1: The Mini Christmas Tree
A simple way to add some greenery to your Christmas décor is to use cedars in one gallon pots. They can be turned into mini Christmas trees for those who don’t have space for a larger tree, or don’t want to give up the space needed for a traditional tree. All that is needed is a string of tiny LED lights, some ribbon and a few of your favourite ornaments. You will need to put the tree in a small pot or put a pot saucer underneath to catch the water when you water the tree.
#2: Flanking An Outdoor Entrance
Cedars in one gallon pots can also be used outdoors to decorate. Personally I prefer putting one on either side of a doorway. Simple white LED lights and ribbon, in this case ribbon with a Christmassy pattern, and voila! Or for a more traditional look, stick to red ribbon with white lights. These, of course, are just suggestions. Get creative and have fun!
#3: Sprucing Up Your Deck or Patio
For those who like to plan ahead, you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. One gallon cedars are a great economical way to start a hedge. Buy them before Christmas; use them to decorate your place; and when you’re ready to take them down, as long as the ground isn’t frozen, you can plant them for a hedge. I like to leave some of my Christmas greenery up long after Christmas. It adds a bit of cheer during those long dark wintery days. Here I’ve taken a bunch of one gallon cedars and lined my deck with them. Be sure to tie them to the railing so if a blustery day comes along you won’t find them all toppled over. I like to keep the look simple with just some lights and strings of beads – red ones and silver ones.
So, I hope I have inspired you to add some greenery to your Christmas decorating … and skip the fake Christmas tree.
Merry Christmas! And a happy, green New Year. 😊