It’s not exactly tropical paradise or the same as living in a warm Florida climate, but it is enough plant life to tide me over until spring. And when all these buds are in full bloom, I’ll have some nice flowers to admire.
I also have put up my Christmas tree and set out my Christmas decorations. Someone at work asked me if my tree is real or fake. I actually prefer the term “artificial”, which it is. “Fake” sounds like I am trying to fool everyone into thinking my tree is real, and I am not doing that. It is definitely artificial and I don’t try to scent the air with a pine spray or anything like that. Anyway, she was surprised that I didn’t get a real tree.
Then I blew her mind when I said my poinsettia plants are silk plants. That’s right, silk. I bought them on sale after the holidays years ago because they were $2.50 each and I thought they looked pretty darn real. I told my co-worker they look so real I have to remind myself not to water them. That’s how real they look.
And with all these hideous painted poinsettia plants for sale now, I’d say my silk “traditional” poinsettia plants look more real every year.
I saw some of those painted poinsettia plants at a store yesterday. They are not for me. I’m sure for those who don’t decorate with traditional red & green colors, those painted monstrosities, I mean plants, are a dream come true. Otherwise, why would the growers go to the trouble and expense to provide those painted purple and blue and gold poinsettias?
Somewhere along the way, I’m sure I’ll spot a poinsettia plant that stands out and catches my eye and says “buy me”, and I’ll buy it. Last year, I bought one called ‘Strawberries ‘N’ Cream”. It was a smaller plant and had pink and cream blooms. I still have it, but it is “just a green plant” in the sunroom because I didn’t attempt to give it the right amount of night/day to force it to bloom again.
There are two locations on my side of town with poinsettias on display, including new varieties, so it is on my ever-growing list to go and check those out. And then I’ll stop at the same greenhouse where I bought “Strawberries ‘N’ Cream” and having just seen all those poinsettia plants, I know I’ll find one there that I have to have.
In the meantime, the picture above is one of my fake, I mean artificial, poinsettia plants. Anyone else willing to confess, as a gardener, that their Christmas tree and poinsettias are artificial?
Here I am me Naturegirl admitting that my Christmas tree all 3 feet of it is {{{{{FAKE}}}There I said it!
(It sits atop a table)
Seriously I did think your image was a live plant but you’re right it does look good! I do adorn my home with
the ~*real thing*~ in other natural elements..come see!
The last time we had a real tree (many years ago) it got so dry before Christmas came my husband connected a garden hose to the basement sink, brought it up as far as the basement door. If the real tree caught fire all we had to do was open the basement door and start spraying water on it. Fortunately it didn’t happen, but ever since we have had an “artificial” tree. Sometimes I would get some real branches just for the aroma to put around.
Oh, I do not like artificial plants, and well, “faked” Christmas trees are very, very unusual over here in Germany. My poinsettias are real as well, I’ll post some photos on one of the next GTS.
But I have to admit that your red poinsettia does not at all look artificial on that photo and first I was really wondering what your heading would mean: DO NOT WATER… ??? ;-))
We have had an artifical tree for a long time, ever since the real tree we got started smelling so bad that we took everything off, and went and bought a “fake” one right before Christmas. But we bought a really nice tree that is very full and real looking. (As real as fake can look).
Kathy, the older sister
We don’t have any tree at the moment — I off-loaded my artificial tree before moving to Iowa, and haven’t replaced it yet — but I’m firmly in the artificial category. Nothing causes me to descend into allergy hell more than the holiday plant displays that crop up. Trees? Poinsettias? All of them kill me.
So if we had a tree, it would absolutely be of the artificial variety. The live plants get to stay outdoors.
Genie
The Inadvertent Gardener
They sure do look alive. I wonder how many people use the pine scent with the artificial trees.
We loved going out to a small tree farm to cut our own tree in Illinois, returning to the same place more than 25 times! We liked the idea of helping that family keep their land with our purchase.
But we bought an artificial tree the first Christmas here in Texas – the allergies were getting worse, there are no local tree farms, or even suitable conifers that grow here, and we were spending the holidays away from the house so a live tree untended would have been a fire-hazard. We set our tree up for the eighth time this weekend.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
We too have gone with the artifical tree and this will be the 13th year for it and every year we think we should get a new one but it seems to make it for one more year.
As you know I am not a spider fan and the year we got our artifical tree our neighbors got a “real” tree and a day or two after it was up they noticed movement on some ornaments and found the tree was covered in tiny spiders and they had to discard most of their ball ornamets as the spiders had gotten inside many of them. Needless to say, they gingerly got the tree outside and have had an artifical one ever since.
Your post rang a bell with me, Carol. I think I also had some artificial very-real-looking poinsettias at one time. They don’t seem to be around anymore so I must have sold them at a garage sale!
I’ve had an artificial tree for years but if I didn’t I would run right out and buy one after reading the spider story above. Eeek.
I grew up with artificial trees, but I married into a family who always got real trees. After my first Christmas with a real tree, I was hooked. We get a real tree every year. Although, after reading that spider comment, I know I’ll be looking out for sign of arachnid activity from now on. Yuck!
We use real cut trees for Christmas. It is never up for more than about 10 days.Some years we have cut our own if already planning a trip near a tree farm at the right time.
Real trees can be more work but I try to store as little as possible.
Fake plants have the same problem, storage. I’d just as soon compost.