Keep the Trees Green This Holiday

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A Charlie Brown Christmas - Remastered Deluxe Edition - Part 3 of 3

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My Christmas tree

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Over the years, I've used a variety of Christmas trees. My first tree in my apartment after college was a decorated plant. I had lots of plants at the time to fill an otherwise empty place.

Later I bought an artificial tree that could be put together, decorated, then broken down and stored for another year. I suppose that these trees can be considered green, although I am suspicious of their content. Do these Chinese-made trees contain lead?

As my apartment became an owned condo, I wanted a live tree. I would purchase a small cut tree, not much bigger than the one in Charlie's Brown Christmas. But it was mine and smelled heavenly. After the holidays, our city government collects the discarded trees and grinds them into mulch for trails in the city parks. This can be considered green.

One year, I rented a live tree. The tree was delivered in a container with all its roots intact. After the holidays, the leasing company picked it up. It was still live and still green. The cost was about the same as buying a cut tree at a tree stand. Plus the tree was still living. All was well except for the large amounts of sap that dripped from the tree onto the lights, ornaments and the carpet. Never again, my husband said.

Well, I kind of improvised on the above the following year and bought a tree with the roots intact with the promise to plant it after the holidays in the front yard of our new house. I argued that it would be a great tradition. My parents had often bought trees with roots, used them inside during the holidays, then planted them in the yard.

I kept an eye on the sap problem but found it difficult to plant the tree in the frozen front yard. I planted the tree too low in the ground, and it died ending my tradition of planting the holiday trees in the yard.

After a few years of cut trees that would be mulched after the holidays, we returned to artificial trees. Last year, I refused to put the tree together, as my husband had permitted me alone to put the artificial tree up, decorate and take it down. I found the metal irritating to my skin. Again, what do these trees contain?

Instead, we took all the lights and put them on living shrubs and trees in the front yard. Except for the electricity for the lights, we determined that this is very green. There is no gas involved in transporting the cut, live or artificial trees.