Christmas Greens

  Tis the season.  A month and a half before Christmas and fresh festive arrangements are already available. 

To keep your festive urn looking fresh until Christmas, keep it outdoors in a shady location.  Water it regularly, spraying the foliage as often as you can and keeping the soil damp but not waterlogged. 

Christmas greens are cut and prepared as early as September or October.  Most originate from British Columbia where growth is more rapid and where conifers remain more colourfast.  Evergreens grown in Ontario tend to lose their lush green colour as soon as weather turns cooler. 

Arriving by the truckload into Ontario, Christmas greens are dropped off in warehouses where temporary workers assemble the greens and re-load them on trucks destined for grocery stores, home improvement warehouses and box stores. 

The conifers of choice for festive arrangements are Cedars and Pine, both long lasting, readily available, and quick to grow.  Other conifers include Fir, Spruce, Balsam and varieties of Pine.    

Take a critical look at festive urns and you will quickly realize that you could easily make your own.  Stems and greens, imported from BC will be readily available in November, but will become harder to find in December.

Start with a container that is 10 to 12 inches in diameter with at least 6 inches depth.  Larger if you want a more impressive display.  Use an inexpensive grower pot that you will insert into a wooden, clay, ceramic or cast-iron decorative urn. 

Fill the container with sand or sandy topsoil and begin by putting a few tall stems at the rear of the pot.  Remove the lower needles off the stems before inserting into the pot.  The initial large stems will act as anchors or frame for your arrangement.

Continue adding more stems until the arrangement looks full.  Keep in mind that all stems have a back and front.  You will find that the more stems you use, the better looking the final product.  An urn with 10 to 15 stems will not look as nice as an urn with 30 or 40 smaller, carefully placed stems.

You will also find that using one, two or three conifer varieties will look better than a larger mixture.  Look for a few Boxwood or Euonymus stems from your own garden to add texture. 

The finishing touch will be a Christmas bow, a few red berries, or anything you have in the box full of old Christmas decorations in the attic.  Use your creativity when adding the final details.  Dried Hydrangea flowers, ornamental grass stems, driftwood pieces, small wrapped boxes or pine cones are a few suggestions.  If you are stuck for ideas, do an internet search for images. 

Next week’s Garden Clippings will look at the conifers and stems in your own garden to make festive arrangements.