As a plastic free and sustainable business, we like to try and cut down on waste at Christmas, without compromising on our enjoyment or missing out on any of the wonderful traditions that help to make us human!

I have always loved Christmas, and one of the most exciting things about it has always been the Christmas tree. From the wonderful fragrance of the fir needles to the glistening lights and all of the ornaments, each one with an individual memory. 

But, after reading the wonderful book ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben, learning how trees are actually very complex and communicate with each other, I can no longer bring myself to have a tree that has been cut down, just for two weeks sitting in my living room.

And I don’t want a plastic tree for obvious reasons! So what a dilemma! I really feel it is so important that we keep our wonderful traditions going. They are what bind us together as communities and give us something in common to celebrate.

For the past 3 years, we have had a pot grown tree that we bring into the house for two weeks over Christmas. This year, the tree is getting a bit too big to haul into the house again, so we decided to put it into retirement and planted it out in the garden.

 Thinking back to ‘The Hidden Life of Trees Book’ led me to thinking about trees thriving in a forest and solitary trees don’t do as well on their own made me feel sad for our little tree!! So we bought 3 Nordmann Fir saplings to keep it company!!!!!

Watch our short video here: 

 Have you ever thought about growing your own Christmas Tree? A Nordmann Fir tree can take 10 years to get to 6 ‘ tall, so it won’t be a quick fix for your sustainable Christmas, but it is a lovely thing to do to celebrate future Christmases.

 If you have a young child, or a baby, why not celebrate their first Christmas by planting some Christmas tree seeds? That way, when they get older, they will have trees that have been growing with them that they can use to help them celebrate Christmas in a sustainable way.

 Saplings and seeds are really affordable; we purchased ours from Ashridge Nurseries. To sow your seeds, you just need to soak them in water overnight, drain the water off and leave them in an airtight container in the fridge for 6 weeks to stratify them. This just mimics the cold winter that they need in nature. Then they are ready to plant into pots and nurture for the next ten years or so.

 We hope you will join us in planting some Christmas trees for future generations to enjoy.