The Little Christmas Tree...

Last year, whilst wandering through the Christmas trees in the B&Q garden centre, we came upon a little tree about a meter tall sat in a little red pot.  Perfectly proportioned and perfectly coloured.  The big label hanging from the top said "This tree can not be re-planted" but we thought it would do for Christmas.   We paid the money and took the little tree home.  The following day I bought a lovely white pot in IKEA for the little tree to sit in, not realising that the tree was as small as it was, the pot swallowed the tree.  Regardless, the little tree sat there in the corner of the kitchen all through Christmas happy to be decorated in pretty pink and white baubles. 

The New Year came all too quickly and it was time to dispatch the little tree to the recycling centre.  I found myself unable to say goodbye to the tree so dragged it to the allotment and, in the middle of the plot, I dug a small hole and healed the little tree into the mud.  The first weeks of January were very cold and the tree sat there covered in frost and snow shivering in the chilling wind.  Maybe it will grow and maybe it will not.

It managed to survive the Winter and, as the days lengthened, it continued to sit there biding it's time as the rest of the allotment activity carried on around it.  The seeds went in and the weeds came engulfing all but its very top; the hot dry days of summer browned and yellowed the rest of the plants but the little evergreen sat there.... watching... waiting...

The Autumn harvest came and one by one the the rest of the plants gave up their fruits followed by their leaves; finally keeling over to the ground from where they had once came. The little tree looked on - now standing tall and proud... and lonely.

The allotment under first snows of Winter

In November the first snows of winter came, covering the allotment and the little tree with a thick blanket of white snow.  The tree took this in its stride and when we went to the allotment to check it's progress we were elated to see that the little tree had flourished and had actually grown 2cm over the year. As a reward the tree was to come back home and spend Christmas with the family.

We had to wait a further week for the ground to thaw out enough for us to be able to dig up the little tree.  Gently teasing it from the soil that had been home. We carried it back to the house and out into the back garden.  There we hosed it down and trimmed the roots and lower branches.   This time I found a big pot in the bottom of the shed, placed the tree in it and filled around it with compost.  It was then left to dry off in the winter sun outside the back door.

As the sun was going down the little tree was brought inside and placed back in it’s over sized white pot and decorated with this years colour pallet of white, aubergine and green. The tree is now once again doing what it was grown to do.  If trees could smile I'm sure it would have.

The little tree now looks amazing back in the kitchen but I feel is already looking forward to getting back out in the fresh crisp air.