This Thanksgiving, one of my cousins launched a creative holiday challenge to each member of the family who came to our holiday gathering for dinner: Grow Your Own Christmas Tree.
Jaimie gave each of us a kit that included Austrian Pine Tree seeds, a peat planting medium and a little metal planting pot. Then she bought tiny Christmas ornaments, hooks, and even a tiny tree topper. We are each responsible for growing our own tree and giving her a progress report. When we all reconvene for Christmas dinner next month, the one with the best tree wins. (We have not yet been advised of the prize to be awarded.)
Being an artist, a gardener and an environmentalist, I was immediately charmed by the idea of growing my own Christmas tree. When my brother and I were kids, Dad would take us out into the woods at our grandparents’ farm to chop down a Christmas tree in the wild. Fresh trees eventually gave way to artificial trees which our parents used in their later years. I missed the scent of a real tree wafting out from the living room as I passed by but it’s hard to beat the convenience of taking a fake tree out of a box and setting it up within minutes. The price we pay for “progress.”
So I heartily took up Jaimie’s challenge and soaked the seeds in water overnight. There were 5 seeds. Hopefully at least one will sprout.
Then I added water to the dried peat and buried the seeds, wondering how big the tree would be by Christmas. It would probably be more like a Charlie Brown tree that would bend under the weight of one little ornament.
I placed plastic wrap over the top to keep in the moisture, secured it with a rubber band, and placed it on the radiator which is also one of my cat’s favorite napping places. Tank decided to take on the very important job of “Guardian of the Christmas Tree.”
I’m already looking at the long game of keeping this Christmas tree year after year for as long as I can. But for now, all I need is one little sprout.
Leave a Reply