Make it an eco-friendly Christmas 2018

We have dedicated many days to our planet, such as Environment Day and Earth Day etc, when we stress on green celebrations.

As a responsible inhabitant of Planet Earth, however, everyone should celebrate all festivals in an eco-friendly way.

Christmas is upon us and people have been working hard to put together a fantastic Christmas decoration – all things traditional along with a few new seasonal green treats! Trees are the lifelines of the Earth. They are the best creation of God. Global warming has already reached such an alarming state that we do not have time to think, we need to act now. What’s better than planting trees to combat global warming? It would be a big positive move towards environmental protection. We all should plant Diwali trees, Christmas trees and other festival trees to help promote this idea till it becomes the most trending thing.

We feature here some great inspirational plants that are grown especially for the season along with other Christmas decorations.

Christmas tree: A Christmas tree is usually an evergreen conifer such as pine or fur, traditionally associated with the celebration of Christmas for thousands of years. It can be grown without an issue provided that you have a good planting site that receives full sunlight and has well-drained soil. The plant will take at least 10 years to grow a six to seven foot long tree. In 2004, Pope John Paul called the Christmas tree a symbol of Christ that is evergreen in winter – a sign of undying life – the supreme gift of God to humanity.

Ivy: Ivy connotes romance and elegance. It is the classic topiary plant because of its willingness to grow up and around structures. It is adaptable, lending itself beautifully to a hanging basket or winding its way up a support. Though one may not realise it today, Ivy has long association with Christmas celebration. This evergreen climber is still useful as a part of festive decorations.

Poinsettia: It is the bestselling Christmas plant. With more than 150 different varieties with colours ranging from a fiery collection of reds, a range of creams and whites and also pink as well as oranges, Poinsettia suits any Christmas style and decoration. It makes the perfect seasonal gift with its brightly coloured bracts swaddling.

Christmas cactus: This popular winter-flowering houseplant makes a great addition to nearly any indoor setting. It performs well under average home conditions with moderate care. It may adapt to low light conditions, but the plant will produce blooms more readily if exposed to brighter light. It is considered as an exceptional Christmas gift as well.

Holly: It is a traditional Christmas plant having glossy and leathery green leaves and fleshy red berries. Keep it outside as it dries out very quickly in the house. It needs a very cool area to survive. It is a mess if dries as the berries drop and the leaves become brittle and sharp. Typically Holly trees and shrubs are smooth barked and have some flowers too. Decorative Christmas berries are produced by more than 400 species of Holly growing in the wild around the world.

The true spirit of Christmas lies in celebration by way of growing these lovely plants. And while you get a chance to be someone’s secret Santa, how about you let them cherish a surprise with any of the above greenery. They will certainly relish every bit of celebratory season.

Celebrate this Christmas Day decorating indoors-outdoors with these lovely plants and greeting your dear ones ‘Merry Christmas’.