Now that the Holidays are Over ...

Once the holiday season is over, many people wonder what they can do with their leftover Christmas trees and greens. Here are some unique ways to "recycle" your greens in an eco-friendly way.

Give your tree to the birds!

When you are finished with your Christmas tree, don't send it to the landfill - your wild bird friends will LOVE it! If you place your leftover tree near your bird feeders, it will provide a great hiding place for them this winter.

The easiest way to set it out in the garden is to drive a tall post (like a T-post) into the ground and place the tree down over the post so the post is running up beside the trunk. Then just tie the trunk to the post near the base and at the top to secure it and keep it upright.

You could even consider decorating it for the birds by hanging bird seed pine cones, strings of cranberries or popcorn, bird seed bagel rings, or slices of fruit from the boughs like ornaments!

View Mark Viette's video tip about this neat idea!

Protect your tender plants.

Another idea for reusing your leftover Christmas tree is to use the cut the boughs to protect some of your more tender perennials in the garden. We often cut the branches off our tree in preparation for taking it out of the house after Christmas. These boughs make wonderful "blankets" for the plants. They are perfect for covering "over eager" daffodils that sometimes pop up during a warm spell in the winter or for protecting evergreen perennials from winter burn during the cold, dry days in January and February. This is also a great use for the evergreen boughs that you may have cut for holiday arrangements.