Animal Tree-ts, Not Just For Christmas, Seed Swap Shop, N-ice Idea & Bloomin’ Early

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
18^th January 2025

Animal Tree-ts

I loved hearing on the radio that redundant ‘real’ Christmas trees are being used to feed animals at various animal parks, petting farms and zoos.  Last year one animal park received about 300 donations and the trees lasted for three months and they are cheerfully predicting more donations this year.

Alpacas, goats and sheep love grazing on the needles, which apparently contain vitamin C, antioxidants and act as a natural wormer for the animals. They also make fun additions to their pens, adding a bit of cover, interest and scratching posts.

At zoos elephants and giraffes also enjoy the festive left overs, and the trees provide a source of stimulation as they are hung high for the giraffes and the elephants even fight with them before munching on them.

Although the Twelfth Night has passed, I have still seen a few trees still up, or discarded in the corner of a garden, so please have a look online to see if anywhere near you can take them.  Do make sure you have removed al the decorations and don’t donate if your tree has been sprayed with any chemicals.

Whilst animals enjoy the trees, Belgium’s food agency warns people not to eat their Christmas trees, after officials in the city of Ghent recommended using them to make spicy butter. It was pointed out that consuming any pesticides and flame-retardants could have ‘serious, even fatal consequences’.

Not Just For Christmas

Poinsettias are often discarded after the festive season, as people think they are ‘disposable’, but these fabulous flowering plants are not just for Christmas.

Visiting a wonderful can-do couple recently, I was delighted to see a couple of much-respected Poinsettias still thriving after being bought for Christmas several years ago.

Under-floor heating and a sunny window no doubt helped these plants reach a healthy, bushy, four feet or so, but it’s the keep-and-care-for attitude that the most important ingredient.

Seed Swap Shop

We managed to ‘keep gardening’ during the frost-filled days, catching up on lots of chores that will give us a head start when the growing season arrives.  The thing that always keeps me going during those finger-numbing days is the thought of being home in front of the wood-burner with a cup of cacao and a seed catalogue. It’s that time of year to enjoy the planning aspect of growing and choosing your seeds.  I am like a child in a sweet shop.  But let’s face it, seeds are so much better for you.

I’m pretty impressed with my organisational skills so far this year.  I’ve remembered to remind you about the Big Garden Bird Watch happening at the end of the month, and now here’s an early reminder that Monmouth Seed Swap is being held (for the fifth year) at the Bridges Centre (in Monmouth) on Saturday 15th February from 10.00 to 13.00.  Please put the date in your diary.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t have seeds to swap, as there will be lots of seeds you can make donations for.  If you do have your own seeds to barter with, be sure to label them and add the date of harvest.

You can also take along any blunt tools and have them sharpened, and there will be stalls and refreshments.  As usual, the morning will be a friendly and social occasion for gardeners, plant-lovers and enthusiastic newbies.  You can benefit from seed detective Adam Alexander, ‘no-dig’ expert Cherry Taylor and ‘bean expert’ Sue Young’s wealth of knowledge, as they will be on hand to answer your questions.  And from experience I know you will also learn a lot just from chatting to other enthusiastic gardeners and stallholders.  It’s always a great atmosphere and I guarantee you’ll leave knowing more than when you went in.

On his website www.theseeddetective.co.uk Adam also generously offers, “if you would like to try some of my seeds please email me: adam@theseeddetective.co.uk to check that I have what you require.”  The website is an interesting read in itself.

Adam kindly gave me a mix of Heritage seeds to try last year and they were a huge success – both visually and ‘edibly’. The black-podded peas started a lot of conversations although none of the peas actually made it to the pot, all being enjoyed straight from the pod in the garden.  Not so much ‘from plot to plate’ as ‘from trellis to tummy’.

N-ice Idea

In the recent ‘ice age’ I made a few ice plates.  I blame an over-creative mind.

I recently read that anxiety creeps in when you don’t ‘keep creative’, or keeping creative will stop anxiety creeping in (something like that).  I’m not sure if it’s totally accurate but I must admit the more creative I am the less anxious I feel.  It’s definitely worth exploring.

Although T.S. Eliot insisted, ‘anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity. Your anxiety is the spring you drink from to fuel your creativity, but you can quickly drown in that spring if you can’t stop drinking long enough to breathe. Take a breath and get started.’

Anyway, whether you are feeling anxious or creative, all you do is simply lay some foliage and flowers if you have them – I found primrose and periwinkle flowers – on top of a bucket, or dish, of water when Derek the Weatherman has forecast a ‘good frost’ and leave overnight to freeze.

Knock the iced discs out in the morning and you’ll have a pretty ‘iced plates’.  Good fun for adults and kids will probably enjoy it too.

Bloomin’ Early

I have seen the first daffodils of 2025 out in full bloom – and they are close to the top of a mountain, not in some sheltered spot as you would imagine.

I’m sure I always mention that my dad used to tell me that, when he was in primary school, he and his brother had a job to find a daffodil in bloom in their garden in time for St David’s Day.

He remembered his mum bringing the tight, reluctant buds into the house at the end of February to try to coax them out of their papery jackets to open in time for the boys to wear them to school on the 1^st March.

Seventy years later the daffs are out almost 2 months earlier.