Evening star., 1945-12-16


are scarce and very high in price.
Had the careless, thoughtless ones
gathered only what they themselves
needed by cutting little here and
there, the situation would not be %
bad, but whole trees have been
slashed and left to die, and foot after
foot of vine has been pulled up and
often left to wither on the sround.
Much Of this material has been
offered for sale BY indiyiduals going
from door to door.
Those of us who 1--we the beauty
Of our woods and would preserve
them for our children ana our chill.
dren's children deplore the thought
lesSness and selfishness which leads
to such acts. If we do not each one
do all we can by precept and example
there will soon be little Of our
native material for use at the holi.
day season.
In order to save the green's that
are left, let us plant our own. In
few years we can have q large
variety to choose from. Even next
year We can have some. Or We may
buy an abundance Of desirable
Christmas green's from florists and
nurserymen.
When we think Of Christmas
wreathS we think first Of holly. It
takes only few years to grow your
own. If you have never shipped the
holly from your own tree for table
decoration on the day of days you
have truly missed a treat. The
female tree bears the fruit but you
must plant both staminate and
pistillate trees If you want the lovely
red berries.
It takes several years to grow .
holly tree large enough for it to bear,
but In the meantime there are many
lovely green's which may be substi.
tuted. The japanese holly, noun.
tain andromeda, laurel and rhodo.
dendron, all evergreens with beauti-
full glossy foliage, may be combined
with white pine and Japanese bar
berry, with its abundant red berries.
Tips of arborvitae, retinospora.
juniper or hemlock may be used for
wreaths or sprays. The red berries
Of dogwood and cotoneaster will add
color.
Your trees and shrubs will not be
injured by this pruning. for 1t viii
be done judiciously.
1t is, or was, possible to buy frames
for wreaths from florist shop. We
always make our own from wire left
from clotheslines, I believe. One
writer has suggested the Use Of
pliable young shoots of California
privet. Fine spool wire will bind the
material to the hoop. The trick is
to add little at a time, keeping the
material thick.
Your own ingenuity will suggest
many combinations Of green's and
berries. You may wish to use the
white snowberry or the black fruit
Of the Ibota privet Rose hips can
be used or pine cones. Ivy, pachy.
sandra or myrtle may be used in.
stead Of ground pine.
OF course, many objects may Be
added to the basic green. Some like
bells or lovely cclored Christmas tree
ornaments or small toys and usually
a very large red bow. Sprays may
be substituted for wreaths and, Of
,, course, many other uses may Be
made of the green's you gather.
Halt the fun Of getting ready for
Christmas is in the planning OF
! decorations and then the gathering
bit here and there from your very
own garden and putting it all to-
gether in some way that expresses
you as a family. When you once
have made your own Christmas
wreaths in this way, the materials
you can buy will never be 50 satis-
factory again, and you will be one
more family who has learned to
protect the beautiful plants nature
has so generously provided so that
all may see and enjoy their beauty.