My Little Christmas Tree

I can still hardly believe it. I've bought all sorts of Christmas trees, over the years, and I've looked after them. There was the year I bought a Living Tree - and it was dead within a week. Then there were 2 rooted trees that lasted, outside, 'til about April then snuffed it.

Well, last Christmas I bought a tiny, cut tree from B and Q and stuck it in a pot of compost. I watered it, as you do, and it didn't drop any needles. After the festivities I put it outside the back door, still in its pot, and ignored it. Last week, while brushing up the detritus from Next-door's conifers, I had a look at my little Christmas tree. Lo and behold, its little brown buds on the ends of its branches have burst into fuzzy green shoots. It's alive and it's thriving! I am anticipating that, by December, it will have grown a couple of inches taller and several inches in circumference.

I feel a maternal pride in this small, green, spiky bit of vegetation. It is as precious to me as the large, rather floppy, 4' tall avocado tree in my front porch that I grew from a stone-kernel after a very delicious starter (with prawns) last Summer. It's as precious as the pomegranate tree I'm growing as a bonsai, from a seed I planted, and the Passion Fruit seed that's now a 3' tall climbing plant. It's as much loved as the orange tree and the grapefruit tree, the 2 date palms that have produced leaves and the pineapple top that is thriving. I love fruit and I love growing things, can you tell?

I haven't watered the little Christmas tree, well, I haven't needed to as it's hardly stopped raining for the last 4 months. I haven't given it any plant food. I've hardly noticed it at all but it has rewarded me for not taking it to the Council shredder.

Isn't Nature wonderful?