I am so happy that Christmas trees have such a foundational place in the home in this season of celebration! I am also pleased that the past few weeks have been such a blessing for me. I have enjoyed this opportunity to welcome to the Inside Out Show some of the best green thumbs in the St. Louis region! Congrats and blog bow to new Mommy, Jennifer, manager of Greenscape Garden & Gifts!
Certainly for some families, tradition plays an important role as to how much focus the Christmas tree will have both in the house and as part of the holiday festivities.
For some holiday participants, there may be several trees and a whole house decorating bonanza with decorations and greenery in every room. For a few of us it is enough if we have a wreath on the door, or maybe a handcrafted table centerpiece or mantle decor. For a couple of my friends, it becomes an ever evolving, never the same, display that can only be described as an annual activity that is in its own right, an art form!
Here are some links to help you think about the advantages of purchasing a live tree, also some advice on caring for fresh cut greenery in the home and some interesting information about Fraser fir trees, the most popular cut tree choice!
Caring For Your Christmas Tree and Holiday Greenery (I am including a link detailing how to use wiltproof to help your greenery stay fresh looking longer!)
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/other/seasonal/hgic1753.html
http://www.helium.com/items/615314-choosing-and-caring-fo-holiday-greenery
http://www.humeseeds.com/xmastre.htm
http://www.christmastree.org/trees/fraser.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abies_fraseri
http://forestry.about.com/cs/christmastrees1/a/top10_xmastree.htm
http://missourichristmastrees.org
Where to buy locally grown Christmas trees: Members of Missouri’s Christmas Tree Growers Association and map of grower/ suppliers:
http://missourichristmastrees.org/graphics/MCTA2011MembershipRoster.pdf
http://www.christmastreemap.com/farm/MO.html
Why you should buy a real Christmas tree
How to buy and care for a Christmas tree
Here are the links to the new 550 Inside Out Show co-host’s, Steffie, Ellen and Jennifer, their garden center websites and some of their events and holiday information:
Steffie Littlefield
Garden Heights Nursery Open House
Bring Your Holidays to Life
with fresh ideas
Friday, December 2nd
5:00 – 8:00 pm
Wine and Cheese Evening
Saturday and Sunday
December 3rd & 4th
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Visit Santa from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Jennifer Schamber
To Prep Your Pots For the Holidays check out GREAT IDEAS at Greenscape Gardens & Gifts
Ellen Barrado
To experience a warm and wonderful event to launch your holiday season visit Bowood Farms Bonfire & Open House: http://www.bowoodfarms.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/calendar.detail/event_id/152/index.htm:
Holiday Bonfire & Open House
Thursday, December 1
5-8 pm, FREE!
How to tell if your tree is a Fir or a Spruce
To tell spruce and fir trees apart, it helps to know that spruce needles are sharply pointed, square and easy to roll between your fingers. Fir needles, on the other hand, are softer, flat and cannot be rolled between your fingers. Spruce needles are attached to small, stalk-like woody projections. When needles are shed, these projections remain. As a result, the branches of spruce trees feel rough. Fir branches lack these projections, and thus have smooth bark. The color and length of needles are not reliable means of identification; these can vary from tree to tree, depending on cultural conditions and the planting site)
Faith Note:
Themed Christmas trees are so much fun. I have a friend who hangs ornaments that celebrate notable events and trips she has taken each year. Over the years, enjoying her tree with her reconnects her to the amazing journey she has been on and lets me enjoy it with her! It is a way she celebrates the faith life she has as well as her faith!
I have done an ornament exchange for 30 plus years with my best friend who lives out of state. We periodically discuss how much we think of each other when we look at our trees. It is my prayer that each and every ornament reminds her of how much we have in common, most importantly, our faith! I think at some point we have discussed how meaningful it would be to visit each other at Christmas so we can see the trees we have decorated from afar!
This year I was included with the tree trimming process with my friend Lisa and Julie at Oma’s Barn. I made a few new friends and got to share in an unbelievable transformation of the heavily used barn. It has been in the family for years and is a treasure chest of gift items, funiture, antiques and home decor all year long but at this time each year, it is totally transformed with the holiday spirit. Unreconizable to even frequent visitors, it has a new look, with each nook and cranny given a new purpose. It has been beautifully prepared to greet and warm the hearts of all shoppers and lookers.
Dressing it from ceiling to floor, was an absolute blitz of time and effort, but oh now it is bursting with treasures. It has more than I can begin to describe, it must be everyone's dream of new Christmas folly and old Christmas memories. They even included an upside down tree. Perhaps it is a visual for the way our days seem headed. Any way you look at the barn it is bursting with bliss!
Without a doubt each tree was so over the top that I was nearly overwhelmed looking at them. The completeness and the artistic gift God has blessed each of the girls is amazing. Even though I was there when the changes started, it didn't seem possible to do what was to come, I needed to see it to believe it!
The funny thing was, it was a blessing, because somewhere in the process, I was "re"-minded how much this blessed holiday should be a total celebration in my heart. If they can do it with ornaments and decorations, surely I can do it with song and prayer, kindly actions and thoughtful words. Like the old barn, I am praying to be so re-newed!
My prayer of hope this season is that God will find as many ways to use me as Lisa and the girls have found to use an old and well used barn!
Without a doubt each tree was so over the top that I was nearly overwhelmed looking at them. The completeness and the artistic gift God has blessed each of the girls is amazing. Even though I was there when the changes started, it didn't seem possible to do what was to come, I needed to see it to believe it!
The funny thing was, it was a blessing, because somewhere in the process, I was "re"-minded how much this blessed holiday should be a total celebration in my heart. If they can do it with ornaments and decorations, surely I can do it with song and prayer, kindly actions and thoughtful words. Like the old barn, I am praying to be so re-newed!
My prayer of hope this season is that God will find as many ways to use me as Lisa and the girls have found to use an old and well used barn!
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