It is great to see the Christmas trees starting to appear in windows of homes here across Cork. We were excited to get our Real Christmas Tree delivery just in time for those getting the tree in position for the Toy Show last week. The majority of people will get their trees up over the next two weeks, and we here in Botanic Home & Garden Centre are ready to give you a helping hand, whether you are opting for a real or artificial tree.
There’s nothing quite like the scent of a real Christmas tree in your house, but we can definitely give you a few tips to help you keep your tree fresh and smelling wonderfully throughout the festive season. Firstly, we are happy to help you pick out the best size and shape tree for your room. Sometimes it is difficult to judge the best size tree to pick when you are already at our Cork or Wexford garden centres, you can lose perspective both relative to the other trees on display and by being out in a wide-open outdoor space. So, we suggest that you measure the height of your ceiling where you will position your tree before you come, so you know what will fit best. Failing that, stand right in beside your chosen tree and try to judge the height of your room from that. Do not forget, if you are putting your tree in a bay window space, the height of the ceiling there may be significantly shorter than the rest of your room.
When you bring your Christmas tree home, keep it in a cool place, ideally outdoors, until you are ready to set it up indoors. We will have drilled a hole in the base of the tree for your stand, and we will have cut a sliver off the end of the base of the trunk to allow for maximal water uptake for your tree. If you are not ready to set up your tree and you keep it outdoors for a few days, we recommend that you saw off an extra sliver of trunk just in case the bottom has dried out a little. We have water stands and regular stands available in our garden centres, but both to help keep the freshness of your tree and for safety reasons, we recommend that a water stand be used. Attach your stand and shake off any loose needles from your tree before you bring it indoors, and then place your tree in your water stand base. Make sure the level of water you add is above the cut trunk of the tree, by 2-3 centimetres. Keep checking the water levels throughout the season, and do not let the tree dry out. A well-watered tree is much safer than a dry tree.
Whether you choose a real tree or an artificial tree, make sure that the tree is properly secured, and away from any hazards including open fires and radiators. Ensure that all the lights you use are properly wired. All our festive lighting complies with EU standards of safety. If you have very young children or pets, you could avoid decorating the lower branches, and hide wiring at the back of the tree (clear of any water stands) to keep everyone safe.
Our staff have been busy decorating trees in our Cork and Wexford garden centres. Do pop in for a look – it is a terrific way to get fresh ideas on decorating your tree and the rest of your home for Christmas. And whether you go for an ultra-chic colour-coordinated decorative style like some of our display trees, or whether you choose a mix of every type and colour of lights and decoration we have in Botanic Home & Garden Centre along with some of your own past treasures, you are sure to have a fun time doing it and end up with a wonderfully festive tree!