Tips from the Pros
Add Year-Round Beauty with a Living Christmas Tree
For many families, the centerpiece of the holidays is a beautiful Christmas tree in the family room. But for most families the beauty only lasts until January. Unless you're a family that chooses a living Christmas tree. Living Christmas trees provide the same fragrance and atmosphere of cut trees, but after the holidays you can plant them in the yard to add beauty to your landscape. Douglas fir, balsam or blue spruce all are popular choices as living Christmas trees, and when you plant them year after year they provide reminders of happy Christmases past. Introduce a living tree to your house in steps over three or four days, moving it from the outside to an enclosed porch or garage before taking the tree inside. Protect your floors by sliding it on a cloth or an upside-down bath mat. Place the tree in the coolest place in a room, away from heat ducts, radiators and, of course, wood stoves or fireplaces. Spray branches with an anti-dessicant like Wilt Pruf or Cloud Cover to minimize needle loss, and water to keep the soil moist but not soggy (usually a pint or two a day). Plan to keep your living tree indoors no more than 7-10 days. After the holidays, move the tree out in stages in the opposite order of the move-in. Plant it in your yard, fill in with loam around the roots and water frequently for the first week to let it get acclimated. (If you can, dig the hole for your living tree early to avoid hassles with frozen ground.) Never prune the top spire branch of a living Christmas tree, as that will inhibit future growth.

Plant of the Month
Blue Spruce
Blue spruce is one of the most popular evergreens. Native to the western United States (it's also called Colorado blue spruce), this tree has become popular as a landscaping feature. It is beautiful all year, with blue-green color and a picturesque pyramid shape. Blue spruce trees typically reach a height of 30 to 60 feet and spread out 10 to 20 feet at full maturity, so you need to place them with care. They like full to partial sun and a location with moist, fertile soil. They grow well without pruning, but can be pruned for thicker foliage. Blue spruce can be planted in rows to provide screening or windbreaks but they're equally effective planted individually for visual interest. Their shape makes them popular as living Christmas trees, and in barren winter months they provide both color and interest against snow or ice. If you have deer, the prickly texture and strong aroma of blue spruce make them deer-resistant.

Landscaping Trend
For Privacy and Beauty, Consider a Living Fence
In many neighborhoods - particularly newer ones - privacy can be an issue for homeowners who like to spend time outside. Even if you love your neighbors, you don't want to feel like you're "on display" every time you go outdoors. And you don't want to see everything your neighbors are up to, either. The traditional solution to privacy questions has been fencing, often the six-foot stockade variety. But there's a much greener and attractive solution than that. More and more homeowners are turning to "living fences" to provide both privacy and beauty year round. Living fences are not uniform hedges like boxwoods that have to be trimmed three or four times a summer. Homeowners and landscapers now are mixing trees, shrubs, evergreens and flowering varieties for maximum appeal and minimum maintenance. Or they use spring flowering shrubs like lilacs with fall foliage beauties like burning bush to provide color through the seasons. Some even incorporate architectural elements like sections of split rail or picket fencing with evergreens or hollies for a varied or patterned look. Living fences can add to the beauty of a yard, while also attracting songbirds and colorful pollinators like butterflies. For more and more homeowners, they have become a great, green solution to the perennial problem of privacy.