Xmas money savers Part 4.

Every year Green minded people hum and hah over the greenest way to decorate the house for Xmas. Now on the surface it would appear that a real tree is the greenest way to go, after all fake trees are made from petro chemicals, will sit forever in a landfill once dicarded..... so its a no brainer right?

Only its not always.

After all, the journy of a real tree is not all magic and fairy dust.

For a start the the trees are planted as a commerical crop, often sprayed with pesticides and weedkillers. The fossil fules used to plant them, spary them, tend them and then finally cut and transport them also have to be taken into account. 

Its worth remembering that few trees are grown locally to the majority of people, so if you live in London your tree may have come from as far away as Scotland or even abroad. When these trees are cut early in the season and the season is a mild one there is also a need to refrigerate these trees to keep them fresh!

And after?

     

Of course a real tree can be composted, but how many households have the space to compost a whoel tree, even if they used a chipper? 

So instead the councils send out fuel drinking lorries to pick up the discarded trees.

As evergreens the trees don't even pump out that much Oxygen to compensate.

So, what to do for the best???

A nice compromise could be to plant a tree outside a cionveniant window, decorating it with lights suitable for outside. 

A tree in a pot can work well for a few years so long as its acclimatized slowley and not put in a very warm room.

What about alternatives?

Can a fake tree ever be green?

I think ours is.

We got our "new" tree from a friend via Freegle and as it is over 30 years old I think it can now safely be considered carbon nuteral! Of course there is still the disposale to consider but its strong and sturdy and likely to give us many many years of use.  

   

Athe end of the day its all a compromise.

I'm glad we stopped a tree ending up in a landfill and got a tree for free :)

                                    

Mantle piece display with home dried orange. 

Home made (by my Mum!) knitted xmas decorations!

The whole tree

Fairy lights adorn our Glastonbury prints by Norman Parker.