Green Fingers: It's December again
An alternative small gift at Christmas could be garden-related, such as a seasonal plant or natural table decorations.
We are told that mowing lawns in winter is not a good idea but that is general advice and we in Ireland must take all this with a pinch of salt as, with gardening, we must make the appropriate adjustments according to local conditions.
The majority of gardening information that we receive in Ireland originates from our neighbouring island and while this is a great source of ideas and does stimulate our interests, we would do well not to ignore the aspect of our own garden, which can make all the difference between success and failure.
Even in Ireland, we can name a number of different climatic areas, and know conditions are different in the west coast regions of Donegal and Kerry, the midlands and in our south-east corner, where it is milder and similar in many aspects to Devon and Cornwall.
There is a cycle where some gardeners like to push the limit as far as growing exotic plants are concerned, and with years of relatively mild weather with hardly any frost, we can find unusual plants growing here that otherwise flourish in warmer and sunnier climes. Then, once in about every 15 to 20 years, we get a savage frost and most of these plants are killed, after which hardly any exotic plants are introduced until the memory fades and we are back into the cycle again.
The traditional small gift when visiting used to be chocolates, and then progressed to a bottle of wine where it remains but this has become a case of ‘pass the parcel’ where these are moved on from visit to visit and, therefore, while the formality and good manners are there, there is no substance.
The search for an alternative small gift, especially around Christmas, has resulted in a mixture of food and garden-related items, and latterly they include a seasonal plant, such as scented hyacinths, bird feeders, homemade jams, local honey, natural table decorations and small, colourful shrubs - if there is a garden.
There always seems to be two sides or more to any discussion or debate and that is healthy and keeps the brain active. The trouble is that sometimes it is over a small and trivial matter that it is not worth wasting the time, but that is subjective too, and included in this comes the discussion on whether to have a natural Christmas tree or an artificial one.
I think it is a decision for each household to have whatever type of tree they wish as the environmental impact is small in either case compared to what is going on around us and I feel the recent movement for using less plastic is a good start and hopefully the momentum will continue and increase.
We like real trees for the smell and connection with nature and our trees originate in fields that are abundant with wildlife and have a low carbon footprint, so are as close to sustainability as is possible. and some are sold with roots in pots, which could be used for years with a little care.
We have gathered some living plant material, such as ivy, pine and larch cones and twigs, blue fir, eucalyptus leaves and holly berries, which we leave on the lawn until needed for our indoor seasonal displays.
If you have any queries or comments you are welcome to share them with me on 051-384273 or orchardstowngardencentre@hotmail.com and if of general interest I will include them in a future article.
