Innovative uses for your Christmas tree after Christmas!

The twelfth night of Christmas is approaching and soon it will be time to take down your Christmas tree! While it sparkled and glistened during the festive season, it is starting to tire and you are tired of picking up pine needles every few minutes! While recycling your tree is a popular option for many of us, why not think about what further benefit and use you can get from your Christmas tree? Here are some ideas to get you started... Make some mulch!

• Dried pine needles are very well suited to use as mulch as they dry quickly and decompose very slowly. As well as being organic their natural colour provides a wonderfully rustic feel to your garden.

Firewood and Fire starters

• Find a dry place to store your tree and allow it to dry until summertime. By then, the tree and its limbs and trunk will be flammable. The sap from the pine cones makes an excellent fire starter.

Get Chipping

• Borrow a chipper from a friend or neighbour and feed the tree through the chipper. By the spring, you will be able to spread the wood chips under plants and shrubs to keep weeds away. As the chips start to decompose, their nutrients are added to the soil which is another benefit!

A haven for birds

• Place your tree in a stand outdoors in your garden. Decorate the tree with full bird feeders and hang them from the branches. Make a tasty treat for birds by spreading peanut butter and bird seed along the branches. During these cold winter months they will thank you for it!

Healing from your tree

• Before you take down the tree for chopping or re-using, tap as much sap as possible from it. Just as the sap protects trees from infections or insects when bark is exposed to the air, the sap acts as an antiseptic for people to protect us from infection and heal wounds.

A beautiful gift

• If you decide to use the wood for chopping, why not make a thoughtful gift for someone and wrap a pretty red ribbon around your chopped wood? After their smile, you will be glad you didn't throw away your tree! :)

For gardening advice and ideas throughout the year, why not sign up to our newsletter? We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday. A very happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you soon at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion! Aoife O' Driscoll