Living Christmas Trees
by Justin Thomas, Virginia 
on 11.24.05
One Christmas tree option that is often overlooked is to find a potted, living pine tree. You can usually find one at your local nursery. Decorate the tree and use it during the holidays. Then when they are all over, you can put it outside on the balcony. Give your tree a trim next year and start it all over again. See also this previous article for more Christmas tree ideas.
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How about this: Every X-mas you buy a tree and after the holiday you plant it in your back yard so that as the years go by, you'll have a visual record of great holiday memories. If it's a bad holiday, well, plant it in your neighbors yard, I don't know. Obviously this is site specific as it wouldn't work in the city or Arizona.
My partner and I have bought a living tree for Christmas for the past 6 years. We don't own our own land at the moment, but a friend in the country does and we bring our tree to his place to plant after the new year. It's a wonderful tradition and we can watch how our trees have grown over the years. If you don't have land or know someone who does, there are many organizations, schools, clubs, etc. that would love to have a tree to plant. Even if you don't celebrate christmas, planting trees is a wonderful excerise and a great project to do with the family. Makes a great New Year celebration activity.
If you live in the mountains then you can often ask the local Forest Service whether they are thinning trees in local coniferous forests. My family has gotten trees from the Forest Service for the past 10 years (ever since our backyard tree supply ran out). These trees are often those which are growing next to each other so they are not the "perfect" tree as one side often has few or no branches. However, this makes them unique and more naturally beautiful!
If you live in the mountains then you can often ask the local Forest Service whether they are thinning trees in local coniferous forests. My family has gotten trees from the Forest Service for the past 10 years (ever since our backyard tree supply ran out). These trees are often those which are growing next to each other so they are not the "perfect" tree as one side often has few or no branches. However, this makes them unique and more naturally beautiful!