If you bought a live tree for Christmas, maybe from your friends at Eising, and you’re wondering what to do with it after the holidays, we have 7 ways to recycle or upcycle it. The needles and tinsel may be falling off, and you’re probably ready to give it the “Heave Ho!”, but wait! Check out these ideas first:
1. Create a wildlife shelter and winter interest
Let's put our Christmas trees to work in our gardens! If you have a bare spot in the yard, moving your Christmas tree outside is a great way to instantly “spruce” it up! You can leave the tree right in the stand, or prop it up on a fence, maybe even add a string of outdoor lights to enjoy on the dark winter nights coming our way. Doing this will give you something pretty to look at for sure, but more importantly, it provides additional shelter for birds and wildlife.
2. Enhance your garden soil
A live Christmas tree is 100% biodegradable. By turning it into mulch or compost it will break down and return stored nutrients back to the soil. Now that’s a win-win! And it’s easier than you may think. If you don’t have a shredder, branches can be chopped up by using good ‘ol pruning shears. Needles are full of nutrients and will also help soil from becoming dense and compacted. Using wood chips, chopped branches, and needles as a mulch is also a great way to help your garden trees stay moist and healthy during the winter. If you’re adding the needles and branches to your compost pile, be sure to add some water and mix it well with the rest of the compost. Another option is to add the chopped branches and needles to a garden path.
3. Protect your plants
There’s still a lot of winter weather ahead of us, and your tree can help protect perennials that are marginally hardy. Simply cut long branches from your Christmas tree using loppers, pruners, or a saw, and lay them over perennial plants to add insulation. The boughs will protect your plants from winter freezes and spring thaws, which could be the difference between losing a plant and seeing it grow again next year.
4. Keep the fresh pine scent
Are the needles on your tree still green? Use gloves or scissors to strip them from the tree, then store the needles in paper bags to use as room fresheners. The needles can retain their scent for months to come.
5. Support for Spring
Branches make lovely natural supports for any plants that need a little propping up - like peonies for example. Once the branches are trimmed off, the trunk can be used to support vines like Morning Glories or pole beans, or by laying it on it’s side as an edge for a garden.
6. Get creative
Crafts like ornaments and coasters are a great way to upcycle a tree trunk. Be sure to let the tree completely dry first or the wood will split when you cut it into 6 to 10 millimeter thick rounds. Then get creative by painting or varnishing and drilling holes in them if you’re making ornaments. They’re attractive, practical, and make great gifts.
7. Donate it, or take it to a recycling centre
If you have no need for recycling your living tree for home use, then look for a local program to donate your tree to. For over a decade, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton has used donated Christmas trees for various stream restoration projects. More information about their programs can be found on the RBG site. Or, skip the drive to Hamilton and check for your county recycling program. In Norfolk County for example, you must drop your tree off.
What’s not on our list? Burning your tree. You definitely do not want to burn it in your fireplace as it’s creosote content makes for a sticky, sooty fireplace. It’s not recommend that you burn it outdoors either. Coniferous needles contain nitrogen and substances called terpenes which are very toxic when burned, making the smoke unsafe for anyone around your fire pit to breathe. It’s much better to do any of the things listed above, or, if you have your own wooded area or pond, you can also put your tree in either of those places to enhance the natural habitat for woodland animals or fish.
Perennials are fantastic for bringing reliable garden colour that comes back every year, but if they only flower for a brief window in summer, it can be a bit of a bummer. Finding perennials that bloom all spring, summer and fall can be tricky. However, blooms aren't always necessary—plenty of perennials have colourful foliage and ornamental features that delight throughout the seasons!
Get Amazing Colour With All Our Favourite Perennials For Spring, Summer & Fall
For incredible blooms and bold, unexpected foliage colour that never fails to disappoint, plant these beauties now! Hurry before those summer temperatures get scorching hot!
Autumn Joy Stonecrop
When spring and summer flowers fade, this hardy perennial succulent continues to impress us with its dusty rose blooms. As they mature, the cloud-like flower clusters will take on a deeper bronze tint, perfectly complementing the surrounding autumn scenery. It grows best in full sun with sandy, well-draining soil—and can thrive in poor, rockier soils, so it doesn’t need a ton of fertilizer. A little bit of all-purpose fertilizer applied in spring can help give a boost, but too much fertilizer can cause this low-maintenance plant to get a bit leggy.
Siberian Iris
While the bearded iris has long been considered a spring favourite, its beardless cousin, the Siberian iris is worthy of a spot in your perennial garden! Its prolific blooms emerge in spring and continue into summer, with single plants sending up as many as 20 flower shoots. There are many different colours to choose from, like deep blue, burgundy or rich gold, and some have earlier or later bloom times than average. So, if you plant a colourful variety of Siberian irises with different flowering times, you’ll get quite a spectacular display!
Coral Bells
Also known as Heuchera, this ornamental foliage plant is famous for its ultra-vivid leaves, available in pretty much every colour in the rainbow. In fact, there are multicoloured rainbow varieties too! Even in a garden bursting with magnificent blooms, coral bells will still catch your eye with their distinctive, lobed foliage that looks almost like maple leaves. They do produce some cute, delicate flowers atop tall stalks in summer—usually pink or white—but it’s the glossy leaves that send our hearts aflutter!
Hosta
The hosta is an absolute must-have for any shade garden. This perennial thrives in shaded areas, and it can get scorched from too much direct sun. The attractive leaves are quite large and slightly curved, forming a round, mounded shape that looks neat and tidy, making hosta great for border planting. We recommend planting a variegated variety with splashes of white or different shades of green to bring visual interest that lasts. On top of having gorgeous leaves, hostas will also sprout some cute, lavender-tinted flowers in summer, so you’ll have those to look forward to!
Autumn Brilliance Fern
Judging by the name, you might assume this fabulous fern transitions to orange in the autumn, but it’s the opposite! In spring, new fronds emerge a brilliant orange and mature into an emerald green shade. Don’t worry, you still get a little pop of autumn colour later in the season! Once September rolls around, bright red spores, or “sori,” appear on the undersides of the leaves. The frilled, wispy fronds add texture and movement to the landscape, and they do exceptionally well in shady areas covered by tree canopies. It likes the soil to be moist and well-draining, so mix in lots of compost when you plant, and water generously!
Pennisetum
Ornamental tufted grasses have such a dreamy, graceful quality to them. We love the way they dance in the breeze! The red and purple varieties are especially pretty if you’re looking for some long-lasting perennial colour, and their feathery plumes will stand out in any garden. Because of their height, Pennisetum plants look great as a “thriller” plant—something tall and flashy to act as a focal point in mixed arrangements in the garden or containers. Plant it near the back of your garden, so it doesn’t block any shorter plants from view.
On the hunt for perennials that will bloom all summer or offer stunning all-summer foliage? We’ve got an incredible collection in store for our Simcoe gardeners this year, and we’re so eager to show you what’s new and noteworthy! Visit us soon and one of our team members will be happy to help you find the perfect perennial assortment to make your garden look amazing all year.
Father's Day is conveniently held right at the start of summer, so that gives you all sorts of options for a creative gift that he can enjoy right away. This year, treat Dad by giving him a chance to relax in a gorgeous yard—instead of toiling away at it himself!—by hiring our pro landscapers to do the work for him.
Our many different landscaping services are varied and customizable, so you can call up our team to help you find the best plan for backyard landscaping that Dad will absolutely love. Or, if Dad likes to have some creative control over projects, we can collaborate with him to develop a design plan that suits his ideal vision. This will certainly be a Father's Day to remember, with a gorgeous new yard that Papa Bear can enjoy for many years to come. Here are some of the services we can provide to make it all happen:
Trees and Shrubs
At Eising, our landscaping pros know a thing or two about planting new trees and shrubs. Instead of fumbling through planting them yourself, which might not guarantee the best results, hire our experts to do it for you!
There are so many awesome benefits to planting trees and shrubs in the yard—Dad will definitely be on board! Sure, they're beautiful to look at, and they provide some nice shade to lounge around in, but they also increase your home's value significantly! You could even opt for some trees or shrubs to grow Dad's favourite fruit, like peaches or raspberries, so he'll have a steady supply of summer snacks year after year. Plant two trees spaced eight feet apart, and in a few years, you can get him a Father's Day hammock! There, now you've got two Father's Day gift ideas covered!
Perennials and Grasses
If you want some consistent, reliable plants and flowers to add some beauty to the yard, and you aren't too concerned with switching up the scenery every year, then consider planting some perennials and ornamental grasses. Talk to our experts, and we can help pick an assortment of spring, summer, and fall-blooming perennial plants, so there's never a shortage of colour throughout the season.
Ornamental grasses are such an underrated landscaping staple, adding height, texture and movement to the garden. Plus, Dad will appreciate having some grass in the yard that he doesn't have to cut! We can help you pick out the best varieties for your landscape style and colour palette, and help you find the best places to plant them to create a balanced, aesthetically-pleasing design.
Tropicals and Annuals
Spice things up with some exotic plants, vibrant colours, and tons of variety by opting for sun-loving tropicals and annual plants to enjoy for the summer. Dad will be totally floored when he sees that his old yard has been transformed into a lush, tropical oasis. Who needs a vacation when you've got the perfect getaway right at home?
Whether you think hanging baskets and container arrangements will do the trick, or you'd prefer a fully-loaded garden bed, we can help you choose stunning assortments of flowers that can thrive throughout our Southern Ontario summers. Even if your yard doesn't get much sunshine, we can still make some magic happen! Plenty of rainforest-dwelling tropical plants prefer the shade and will be right at home in your yard underneath a canopy of tree foliage.
Small Space Design
Don't have a ton of space? No problemo! Our creative team is great at making the most out of small spaces. We strategically place plants throughout the yard in a stylish and functional way, so Dad will have plenty of room to stretch out on his favourite lounger. A smaller space can feel much bigger with a layout that sections the yard into different living areas and draws the eye to unique focal points throughout the space. A small patio set is always inviting and will get plenty of use, so it's a pretty smart use for the space you have!
Develop Design Ideas With On-Site Consultation
If Dad's a take-charge guy who likes to take the lead, let him have some input on the landscape design by setting up an on-site consultation with our landscaping pros! We can work together to create the best possible design by combining Dad's big ideas and the most practical, cost-efficient ways to make them happen. That way, you'll be sure that he absolutely loves the final product.
The cost of a professional landscaping consultation with our team is $150 plus taxes, which we’re happy to apply to a gift card—perfect for surprising him on Father’s Day! To purchase a gift card or get more information about our landscaping services, give us a call and we'll be happy to help. Or, you can gift Dad some gorgeous new perennials with our brand new online store! We have delivery and curbside pick-up options available, so getting everything you need for the garden is easier than ever before.