Eden Project

Our guide to green Christmas trees

Real Christmas trees are so much nicer than plastic, artificial ones. But with eight million of them ending up on the streets each New Year, we reckon there’s got to be a better way to decorate your home this Christmas. Here are five ways to make sure that ‘a tree is for life, not just for Christmas’.

1. Make your own Christmas tree

Why not make an alternative artificial tree, which you can bring out year after year? We love this willow structure created by Eden Pollinator Carla Wentink.

Placed against the wall on a table, or even out in the garden, you can you can tie decorations or lights on it just as you would a conventional tree.

Carla made this one by tying willow withies together with raffia, but you could just as easily use straight twigs and a neutral coloured garden ties.

The trick is to first determine the size of the tree structure by tying the outer sticks into a triangle, and adding a vertical central stem. Then fill in the central space with diagonal twigs.

2. Improvise with festive foliage

A stylish way to decorate your home for Christmas is to cut yourself a beautiful branch to hang baubles on.

Choose a variety with an interesting shape, such as a curly (or corkscrew) willow, or one with an usual bark like silver birch, and place it in a vase to keep it fresh. If you find a really nice branch, you can keep it year after year.

All the normal advice applies about gathering foliage; never take so much of one tree that it can’t survive, and make sure you wash your hands after handling leaves and branches, as some species can be poisonous.

3. Rent a Christmas tree

If you’re dead set on a traditional fir tree, several companies, including The Little Tree Company, now offer Christmas trees for hire. You choose the size and variety, and they’ll deliver to your door. Once you’ve finished with the tree, they’ll come and pick it up – and plant it out in woodland, where it provides a habitat for wildlife, as well absorbing carbon dioxide.

The British Christmas Tree Growers Association estimates that one hectare of Christmas trees absorbs six tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. That’s the equivalent of a return UK-to-Australia flight, or an average household’s electricity consumption over two years.

4. Plant out your Christmas tree

If you’ve already bought a live, potted Christmas tree with roots you could try planting it out in the garden after Christmas. Get tips on looking after and planting a living Christmas tree, from Wikihow.

5. Recycle your Christmas tree

This year, make sure your tree gets properly recycled. It’s a sad sight on Twelfth Night when city streets are strewn with discarded Christmas trees for the bin men to pick up – because when organic matter ends up in landfill, its rich nutrients are no use to anyone. Instead, recycle your tree, either by leaving it out for your local green waste collection, or by taking it to a nearby waste disposal site. Find out about your local recycling services at Directgov.

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• A Time of Gifts Calendar

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A Time of Gifts, Christmas, Environment, Sustainability