After Christmas, when your tree has served a charming tradition, your tree can have an afterlife as protection for the wildlife.
HANGING TWEET TREATS
Here, at Helen’s Haven, we put our tree in the Mixed Border to go form hanging glitzy ornaments inside to tweet treats outside.
- Making Tweet Treats: Gather the kids, birdseed, cranberries, bagels, peanut butter and string. Spend a couple hours creating treats for your birds
Detail of Lily's tweet treat
Other “ornaments” to hang include orange halves, popcorn garland, and suet balls.
WILDLIFE COVER
When the birds come to the tree for tweets, they will also find cover. Whether the tree is upright in the yard or lain on its side, the birds will enjoy a quick escape from prey and the elements. Christmas trees provide cover as a whole tree or with the side limbs snipped away and piled for a wildlife brush pile.
WINDBREAK
A tree erected downwind of the prevailing wind can offer your bird friends some protection from the cold, desiccating winds.
Come spring when the foliage returns, winds settle down, and natural food sources abound, your tree can be chipped and turned into mulch for the garden or material to delineate paths.
A Christmas tree’s afterlife will be the birds winter delight!
Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™
Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.
Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum
Gardening With Confidence ™ 
Jen said
Love this idea! I’m doing Project Feederwatch this year and have some feeders hung on my deck. I’m thinking I may just put the tree out there after Xmas and let the birds “use” it. I bet they’d love a protected spot to hang out close to their food source.
Les said
Great minds…
This morning I filmed my regular TV spot and the topic was getting kids involved with nature by doing things like making bird feeders. Apple halves covered in peanut butter and rolled in bird seed, then hung from trees. Funny coincidence isn’t it.
gardening with confidence said
Jen, that sounds perfect! So glad you enjoyed the post. H.
gardening with confidence said
No coincidence Les, just the thinking of like-minded friends! H.
Carole said
Well, since this is pretty much the post I intended to write today and didn’t get to, I just linked from my site to here because you did such a great job!
Merry Christmas!
gardening with confidence said
I doubt that Carole..but thanks. Merry Christmas to you, my friend. H.
Alison Kerr said
Merry Christmas Helen. If I had a real tree I’d do this. My artificial tree is 17 years old this year and looks almost as good as ever. Have a great holiday.
gardening with confidence said
Merry Christmas Alison, I hope you have a great holiday and get another 17 years out of your artifical tree!
Stevie said
Wonderful post – I’ll try this with my nephews one of these days. They said they’ve never seen a woodpecker so a nice fruit and nut one will bring them some Northern Flickers for sure!
gardening with confidence said
Stevie, your nephews will love doing this project and the rewards of the visitors coming will give them a great since of accomplishment. I have a peanut feeder and as soon as it is up, the woodpeckers come. I think I’ll get the kids to do a nut one after the holidays. Happy Holidays, Stevie!
compostinmyshoe said
Our birds would think they died and gone to birdy heaven!
gardening with confidence said
Mine do to…Haven that is…Helen’s Haven ;~}
The Write Gardener said
My first thought after seeing “hang tweet treats” was “I wonder what Helen’s doing with Twitter??”
I don’t feed the birds here. They can fly and I can’t. ;~P
gardening with confidence said
Yeah, it bugs me that I can’t fly either! Hey T.C. Congrats on moving forward with your book! Can’t wait!
Janet said
Your kids look like they are working serious business…….and having fun while doing it! We did a lot of birdseed things when the kids were little.
Merry Christmas to you and your family! Hope we get another chance to get together in 2010.
gardening with confidence said
Merry Christmas to you too Janet! H.
joey said
A delightful post, Helen, and beautiful reminder of gifts for our treasured wild life. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and joyful New Year!
gardening with confidence said
Merry Christmas Joey! H.
Gail said
Helen, I don’t have sweet little children or grandchildren to help me make treats for the birds…but I will anyway! Maybe my grownup son can be talked into this activity! Have a good holiday! I’ve loved meeting you and reading your posts this year! gail
gardening with confidence said
Gail me too..Merry Christmas! H.
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