Let me just say that I’m a big fan of live trees.  I am, however, not a fan when they dry out and look like this two days before Christmas… The branches that were once strong and up-turned, were sagging to the point that the garland and ornaments were sliding off.  And this was with proper watering, trimming the trunk after bringing it home, buying it freshly cut, adding sugar to the water, etc. Not only did that one die, but our two other smaller trees died as well – a lesser issue, since our presents weren’t going to circle them on Christmas morning, but still a bummer. We replaced our tree two days before Christmas, but I immediately started browsing the Balsam Hill website for realistic-looking artificial Christmas trees.  Being a live-tree-loving-girl, if I’m going to switch to the reliability of an artificial tree, it has to look really

I get asked a lot of questions about decorating with live evergreens, how I keep them fresh, etc., so I thought I would share all of the details in a post. In previous years, I have just used the put-it-in-place-and-don’t-touch-it-method.  With most greenery, that works pretty well.  Really, just put it where you want and leave it alone.  It will dry out and be a crispy mess when you take it down after Christmas, but it will look nice (in most cases) through the holidays. Okay, I guess I did do a little more than that… Make sure to buy greenery that feels hydrated.  (Or clip from bushes/trees that are healthy and well-watered.)  This will extend their life. Store them in a cool place until you’re ready to use them.  I’ve lived in a cool climate, so I would just leave them out on my deck. Give the clippings some

Last year, I forced paperwhite bulbs for the first time and I loved watching them grow. It was a lot like the gingerbread houses…it was something I wanted to do for a long time and finally made it happen.  Here are a few things I learned about forcing paperwhites…. So, I decided to do it again this year.  I purchased the , but I also saw them at Home Depot. There are several methods for forcing the bulbs, but this is the one I used… Forcing Paperwhites | ONE Fill the bottom a shallow bowl with small rocks.   Forcing Paperwhites | TWO Nestle bulbs into the rocks and fill bowl with enough water, so it just touches the bottom of the bulbs.  Don’t put too much water in or it could rot the bulbs.   Forcing Paperwhites | THREE Tuck moss in around the bulbs and spray the moss