The origin and purpose behind the name of the Christmas Fern appears to be speculative and uncertain, but it is believed that this fern is thusly named for two reasons. The first reason is because it remains green in December (evergreen), and the second being that its fronds have been used for Christmas decorations.

It has pinnate leaves and dense cluster of lance-shaped fronds. Each pinna is long and narrow, with a small part near the stem that juts out at a right angle, which some say resembles holly, a boot or a stocking. This fact brings more speculation about its name, as the resemblance makes one think about Christmas stockings or Santa’s boot. The fronds are 2 – 3 feet long. The stipe or leaf stalk is grooved shallowly and stout, with dense light brown scales. The leaflets are dark and shiny. It grows in a finely- textured, asymmetric clump with a dense crown that sprouts fiddleheads; and it is persistently evergreen. The smaller leaflets at the top of the fronds are the fertile leaflets. Although this fern is rhizomatous, it does not naturalize or spread, but the clumps, which will increase in size over time, can be divided at the roots, for propagation. The rhizomes of the smaller plants must be below the surface of the soil to ensure growth.

The underside of the frond tends to have spore-bearing structures (sori) that are so close together, that it can be difficult to see the individual dots. The fiddleheads appear in April during the spring. It thrives well in dry to medium moist soil that is organically rich and well-drained. If the soil is not well-drained, the crown tends to rot. It does well in partial shade, however it will tolerate direct sun, so long as the soil is kept moist and the exposure to the sun is not for extended periods of time, so as to cause sunburn on the leaves.

The Christmas fern presents itself as a problem-solver for shady spots and rock areas, as it thrives well in these places. These ferns are superb for erosion control, doing well on stream banks, in or near trees and along stream banks. It is low maintenance and is resistant to pests and diseases. Even deer tend to leave the fern alone. As a deciduous plant, it literally mulches itself, as old fronds fall to the ground in the spring, just as new fiddleheads are emerging.

When other flowers have gone dormant, the Christmas fern will remain a strong focal point in a shade garden, as it highlights the beautifully colored autumn foliage and flowers, as well as winter snow, with its evergreen presence. With Christmas fern, your garden will always display life, even in the barrenness of winter.

A Fiber Optic Christmas tree has strands of pure glass or see through plastic tube surrounded by a reflective coating. Light can go into one end of the strand and for long distances through each strand to the end where it shines into the room.

The result is a spectacular light show of any color imaginable that change on a color wheel. The use of fiber optics for Christmas trees is a great idea in its inventive applications using this form of light display for many reasons.

An artificial fiber-optic Christmas tree can change your household Christmas decorating theme into a fabulously attractive display of twinkling lights that changes the shade from one color into a more dazzling array of other colors. In addition you can add a Fiber – Optic Christmas tree you can decorate the front of your home’s entrances with smaller LED Fiber-Optic Tree.

LED Christmas Trees or as they are also called fiber optic Christmas Trees come straight to your door ready to plug in and enjoy. You an also order this type of tree pre decorated or add your own assortment of decorations to complete the look your personalized Fiber Optic Christmas Tree.

You can add garlands of flowers, ribbons, shells or candy to the mix and have an adorable good looking Christmas Tree. Or you may chose to leave the Tree as is, and concentrate on decorating other parts of the living room or get another tree for another room as well.

Fiber Optic Christmas Trees do not give out heat, only light so they are a must for fire safety. The LED lights provide a 200,000 lifetime span of hours of pure enjoyment of your special Fiber Optic Christmas display. That works out to about 20 Christmas years of life out of your one purchase so it is more economical and energy efficient than other types of Christmas Trees.

You can cover your tree with cotton strands to simulate snow, or decorated with glass ornaments as there is no heat given off therefore no fear of fire hazards. Today with young and modern customers just any old tree will not do for a Christmas holiday. If you pick up any old tree at any old store you will be setting for less and you will get less for your money as they quality is just not present.

A smart and wise investment is a LED fiber Optic Christmas Tree because they are very energy efficient using ten times less in energy that the average Christmas bulbs. Fiber optic Christmas Trees last up to 20 years and therefore are more economical than other trees.

This type of tree is also very safe since they produce no heat there is no danger of catching fire like a real tree can as it dries out in your living room.

The Fiber Optic Christmas tree is virtually indestructible and the bulbs are not inter-dependant – if one bulb burns out it does not affect the whole tree. Fiber optic Christmas Trees come in 4, 5 feet tall for apartments, bedrooms spare rooms, or condo apartments. The larger Christmas Trees range from 5 feet or up to 10 feet tall in green, white or frosted colors.

The most magnificent White Fiber Optic Tree I have seen is a Pre-Lit Artificial Tree, with L.E.D. circuit technology and has over 9,900 optic light tips for a dazzling display. The Fiber optic Tree with the easy set up in minutes, can be the most beautiful acquisition for any style of home.

There are no motors of fans or color wheels needed with this Christmas Tree and no need of halogen bulbs that require a fan to cool them off. The tree has reinforced branches for extra strength if you wished to add decorations and more ornaments.

In summary the benefits of a Fiber Optic Christmas Tree are many and the savings on energy are enormous as well. If your in the market for a new tree this year you should look at this type of tree and it will be the most spectacular Christmas decoration of your home.

Teri Salvador is a freelance article writer on many topics but with a site primarily on dog health issues that offers frequently updated articles on natural remedies, pet product reviews and current articles on pet foods. You will read it first on http://www.DogHealth1.com even before CNN gets around to covering the story.

The first few years the kids enjoyed it and we spent many hours looking in the woods for the perfect tree. My husband’s thought was why cut down a 20 ft tree and just harvest the 6 feet of the top of the tree. Sorry to say that is about the only way to get a natural tree.

Now the two older kids 17 & 15 find spending time with the family boring, “Why can’t we buy a tree”, “It’s cold out here, pick anything, just cut a birch tree down, does it matter? So I took my 9-year-old son out, he still saw the adventure of finding the tree exciting. We found one right away and not too deep in the blackberry bushes. So we planned on cutting it down on a Sunday. Sunday’s here in Maine are the best bet since we still have hunting season for about another week. Sunday finally came and our plans changed since a big winter storm was coming in and my husband had to leave for work early. Well I guess we could wait until the next weekend but the tree wasn’t all that big around I’m sure we could cut it down ourselves. So as soon as my husband was off I told the kids my brilliant plans to which the older kids were not as excited as my 9 year old and I were. They complained about how cold it was and it would take forever and they didn’t want to walk very far. Well great news it isn’t too far a couple of fields away and it isn’t all that big around. So we dug around in the barn for two hatchets and we were off.

We got to the tree and of course I had to hear about the stupid blackberry bushes and why didn’t someone make a trail. I didn’t say all that much other than muttering why do teenagers have to be such party poopers.

My youngest the gung ho outdoor enthusiast wanted to start the cut, which he chopped for about five minutes. I think the older kids started thinking; if we chop really fast we can get done faster. My daughter started the next round and she chopped for another 5 minutes and then my oldest son continued. They all took turns and we were laughing and joking. Finally we watched the last chop and the tree started swaying and fell. We chopped it to where we thought was the right length and the two older kids dragged it home. My youngest a little disappointed on not being the one that got the last chop was a little upset and said so. I told him I saved the most important job was some one needed to take the handsaw and make the end even to fit into the stand. His little face brightened and he was so happy about his important job.

I guess dragging your kids kicking and screaming to make a happy memory was worth the aggravation because during that time of teamwork and togetherness, no one cared about how cold it was, or how many thorns were sticking into your legs. We were as one as a family working together for the same goal, sure it ends up looking like a Charlie Brown tree all the same but being perfect didn’t matter. What mattered is we did it together and that is good enough for me.

The very first artificial Christmas tree was nothing like the fabulous recreations of woodland beauty we see today. Today an artificial tree not only looks great, but it will continue to look its best throughout the holiday season and can be reused every Christmas, making it an economical choice. In addition to being quick and easy to set up, artificial Christmas trees have a compact design for easy storage.

Once you have your Christmas tree in place, be it real or artificial, you need to decorate it. Whether you are decorating a natural evergreen or an artificial tree here are some tips for making the entire experience a little less disorganized. If you have little ones that are prone to pulling ornaments off of trees, it may be a good idea to invest in one of the already decorated trees that have ornaments that can’t be removed.

Ornaments

Last year if you packed everything in an organized way, you won’t waste time sorting through damaged ornaments and piles of old tinsel. When decorating, place ornaments openly on tables so that family can move about freely and add their special touch to the tree at will. This may also help to keep your precious glass ornaments away from the prying fingers of children. Whatever ornaments you decide to go with, you will want to space your ornaments and have large and small ones spread evenly amongst the tree branches.

Lights

Did you know In 1882, Thomas Edison’s assistant decided to use his boss’s invention to add a more “twinkly” effect to the Christmas tree – lights that ran on electricity. What an invention! If you wish to wrap lights or tinsel around your tree, do it before you hang the ornaments. This will help protect the ornaments from falling off while you work. I like to bury the lights just a bit inside the branches, so I add them as I put up the branches a couple of rounds per layer. This creates some depth to the tree, a few glowing lights hidden inside the branches. Be generous with your lights as they give the tree an opulent effect and give it impact when viewed at night.

Garlands

Any type of Christmas tree including the real, artificial or wall mounted Christmas tree looks great decorated in garlands of popcorn or tinsel. You could also make garlands with white and green licorice snaps. Use your imagination, think outside the box.

Whether you’ve decided to have a real tree or an artificial one, everyone can enjoy the ritual of hanging the lights, draping the garlands and swags and trimming the tree with your favorite Christmas ornaments. This is family time at its best.

Artificial wreaths are made from plastics and other petroleum based products. You’d have to be living on the moon to not know that petroleum is not a renewable resource. This alone should motivate people to not purchase artificial wreaths. Most artificial wreaths are made in China whose demand for petroleum is increasing by 25% a year as more Chinese can afford to have cars. Petroleum is used to make the plastic for artificial wreaths and more petroleum is used to transport them to the United States.

The biggest reason people buy artificial wreaths is because they last for many years. They have an expected life of nine or ten years. Most people don’t keep them that long and of course they end up at the landfill where they will stay for 5000 years or more.

Live Christmas wreaths have many environmental benefits. They’re recyclable if you take the wires and rings off. Many communities have recycling programs in place during the holiday season to pick up your Christmas trees and wreaths. They are chipped and made into mulch. However, Christmas wreaths are usually kept on doors far past the holiday season.

Real Christmas wreaths are a renewable resource. The trees are not cut down to harvest the branches used for Christmas wreaths. Around 12 to 18 inches of the branches are cut off or tipped as we say in Maine. These branches continue to grow year after year. Real Christmas wreaths are more of a renewable resource than even real Christmas trees. Even though Christmas tree farms typically plant up to three more trees for every one they cut down they are still cutting one down. Tipping trees is kind of like pruning your shrubbery. The branches grow back.

Live balsam fir trees used for Maine Christmas wreaths are the most fragrant of all the fir varieties. Approximately 85% of Maine is forests. Forests are very important in the fight against global warming. Trees take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and release oxygen. Burning fossil fuels to produce plastics adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere contributing to global warming.

Consumers concerned about the environment should choose a live Christmas wreath over an artificial wreath as it is recyclable, renewable and less of a contributor to global warming.

If you do decide to decorate your Christmas tree with a particular theme, you may want to think about shopping for your Christmas tree decorations early. Around the months of October and November, the majority of individuals start shopping for Christmas decorations. When this occurs, the selection of decorations available drastically decreases. When you want to theme your Christmas tree, there is a good chance that you will want certain types of Christmas tree decorations, such as lights and ornaments. If you want to make sure that you get exactly the Christmas tree decorations that you were looking for, you are advised to start purchasing Christmas decorations as soon as they become available or as soon as you make the decision do decorate your Christmas tree a certain way.

If you are unable to find the Christmas tree decorations that you were looking for in one of your local retail stores, you are advised to give online shopping some thought. In fact, if you are planning on having a somewhat unique Christmas tree theme, you will find it easier to find what you are looking for online. When searching for themed Christmas tree decorations online, you will want to perform a standard internet search. For instance, if you were planning on having the theme of your Christmas tree be a popular cartoon character or a well-known Christmas symbol, such as an angel, you will want to tailor your search to exactly what you are looking for.

In addition to everything that was mentioned above, it is also important to examine the time that it will take to theme a Christmas tree. When it comes to themed Christmas trees, most tree owners want to get their Christmas trees exactly as they envisioned it in their minds. Unfortunately, that can take a lot of time and experimenting. It does not mean that you shouldn’t theme your Christmas tree this year, it just means that you many want to examine whether or not you really have the time to do so.