Making a Green Christmas 2

Holly belongs to Christmas by tradition, but it does not flourish in the wild in all parts of the country. Fortunately for the Christmas decorator, it is now being grown commercially in many places, especially Oregon. There it is harvested properly and legally.

This is also true of Christmas trees. Great numbers are sent to market from our national forests, where they are selected and cut with forethought for the future of our timberlands.

Sometimes scarcity is a good thing. It inspires a search for substitutes, and sometimes the substitute turns out to be more satisfactory than the original commodity. Because holly grew scarce and it was no longer quite re­spectable to use it freely for wreaths, decorators became interested in other appropriate greens. Now holly no longer commands the scene, for nearly every kind of plant supplies material for holiday decorations.

The center of the Christmas picture is still the tree itself. Many different trees may be used, but some are much better for the purpose than others. The best are the firs (Abies), the white, Nordmann and balsam, be­cause they do not shed their needles. The balsam fir (Abies balsamea) has the added charm of fragrance.

Many people do not know evergreens by name, but the differ­ence between the fir and spruce can be detected by touch. Most firs are soft, while spruce trees are prickly as pin­cushions.

More technically, fir needles are attached to their stems by suction-like cups at the base. In addition to the true firs, a tree of good qualities is the so-called Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia).

Common hemlock is frequently used but would be much better left outdoors. As Emily Dickinson wrote, "the hemlock's nature thrives on cold," and its needles fall rapidly in the heat of the house, unless the tree or branches are kept in water. If the ends of hemlock stems are sharpened and inserted in white potatoes they will keep fairly fresh.

This is true of all greens, but the hem­lock properly belongs outdoors. The common hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a magnificent tree. Few can com­pare with it for grace and beauty.

Making a Green Christmas part3

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