Weeding the Web

How to Choose a Christmas Tree (Part I)

Ooh, the unexpected pleasures of a blogger! I’m quite excited because this is the first guest post to feature on Weeding the Web, and I'm very pleased to welcome Andrew from Dobbies. This post in is two halves. Today we have some useful tips, including how to spot a good tree from a bad one. Come back tomorrow for a quick rundown on the different types of Christmas tree.

How to choose the perfect real Christmas tree

Now we’re into December, even the biggest of Scrooges will be thinking about Christmas. Near the top of the list of Christmas to-dos, will no doubt be a tree.

Ever since St Boniface cut down a sacred Norse tree and put it in his home to prove a point some 400 years ago or so, people celebrating Christmas continue the tree tradition. However, this being the 21st century, the modern consumer is less likely to step outside and chop down a tree in defiance of Thor. Much more likely is that they will want a tree that looks good and hopefully won’t cover the house in spiky needles.

Tips to help pick the perfect Christmas tree:

1. Measure up - Before you leave the house, work out where the tree will be going. Measure the height and width of the space you have chosen and write them down. If you have a decoration that goes on top don’t forget to allow for that too.

2. Take a tape measure - whereever you end up getting your tree, take a tape measure with you so that tip #1 isn’t in vain.

3. Pick your moment - real trees will last 3-4 weeks when taken care of, sometimes a little less. So think about how long you want the tree on display and plan a date to get one.

4. Give a thought to your decorations - varieties of Christmas tree vary in colour and shape, from dark green to greenish-blue as well as having different densities of foliage. So choose a tree that will complement your decorations.

5. Select a fresh tree - healthy trees will have shiny green needles that stay on the branch when shaken. Look out for dishevelled bark and use your nose - you’ll know a fresh one when you smell it.

6. Give a thought to the environment - although most real Christmas trees are grown to be environmentally sustainable, there are further steps you can take. For example: make sure the grower has FSC accreditation, meaning they replant 2 or 3 trees for every one cut. Or, even better, get a potted Christmas tree that can be replanted in your garden.

In some parts of the country it is possible to rent a potted Christmas tree. This year some garden centres are also giving away free saplings with their Christmas trees. So you can plant them in your garden to replace the tree you use. The sapling will also provide you with your own homegrown tree in a few years’ time.

More information on Christmas trees tomorrow.

Cold comfort - protecting plants from snow

At the beginning of the year, the variegated myrtle that I’d finally settled on to grace our large terracotta pot, received as a wedding present, gave up the ghost (I'm just hoping that’s no portent for the marriage). I think it decided that being buried over its head in snow for the second time in twelve months was a weather condition too far.

It had struggled after the first occasion in 2009, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. Plants in pots are particularly vulnerable to cold weather, as Alys Fowler pointed out in her Guardian column a couple of weeks ago. She spent her internship at the Botanical Gardens in New York and, given the lack of green space, perforce learned a lot about rooftop gardening. “A plant that can withstand -15F in the ground,” she says, “can probably withstand only -5F in a pot.”

Down here in the south-east we’re under serious snow for the third time in two years. The variegated myrtle is more tender than its monotone sister, but even that survived one icy spell, so based on that experience, I’d say it’s not too late to save vulnerable plants if you move them somewhere warmer and sheltered now.

But here’s something I came across earlier this year. The GreenSafe, basically an inflatable greenhouse. It's from Germany, where it was designed by an industrial engineer, and seems such a simple idea that you wonder it hasn’t been done before.

Noteworthy presents for gardeners (and their children)

December just around the corner, and naturally I’m not the only one whose thoughts are turning to Christmas presents.

Over at My Tiny Plot, Gillian has given a rundown on My Favourite Garden Notebooks and includes some rather attractive possibilities for the gardener in your life (or you, of course, if you print out the page and leave it lying around in a pointed fashion).

One that particularly caught my eye, for the kiddies, is Rosie Flo’s Garden colouring book (part of a series where you add limbs, as well as colour in). But Gillian has her own contribution to make to children’s presents with her board book Jackson’s Garden, which you can order via Etsy.  It's a sturdy book, which sees Jackson persuading a snail that leaves are better than lettuces (if only!) and Gillian's drawn pictures which offer opportunities for discussion and counting vegetables, allowing you to educate your little one while they're involved in the story.