Spark

So Christmas is over for 2010 and New Year’s Eve is beckoning. Before all the parties kick in, make a resolution to chip in. If you had a fresh tree this year, please consider recycling your Christmas tree and turning it into a resource.

Bonus! Trees collected in many cities are recycled into mulch, which is usually made available free residents.

Adding mulch to your planting beds is one of the very best things you can do for your plants. However, freshly made mulch will remove nitrogen from your soil as it decomposes, which is detrimental to your plants’ health. Advice from The Organic Gardener blog…

• Keep damp decaying mulch away from direct contact with plants. It could cause rot.
• Some organic matter breaks down to cause an acidic reaction in the soil; e.g. pine needles, some wood chip mulches. Don’t use around lime loving plants.
• Many organic mulches have relatively high carbon content. This means that soil micro-organisms will take nitrogen from the soil to balance their ration. This causes temporary soil nitrogen depletion:

1. The solution is to leave organic mulch on the surface where it is intended to be.
2. Alternatively add nitrogen to the mulch. Comfrey leaves, comfrey tea, worm compost tea, garden compost tea, diluted urine, will all help to redress the balance. Also fish meal, fish emulsion, seaweed extract, plus the 3 fertilizer teas, might be sprayed over any plants likely to be effected.

Austin area resources… If you live in the City of Austin, just set your led outdoor christmas trees on the curb and it will eventually become Dillo Dirt! Easy peasy.

If you live in an apartment or Vacation Condominiums or if you don’t have City of Austin garbage service, drop off  your tree at Zilker Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the following dates:
•    Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011
•    Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011
•    Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011
•    Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011

Mulch is available on a first-come, first-served basis to Austin starting in mid-January. Round Rock and Georgetown readers – scroll on down to find out where you can get your free mulch!

Travis County is also accepting trees from December 26, 2010 until January 9, 2011 at these locations:
•    Del Valle Softball Complex (Behind the Southwes Rural Center)
•    RM 620 Low Water Crossing (beneath the RM 620 bridge)
•    Travis County Satellite Yard #1, Johnny Morris Rd. ½ mile s. of Hwy 290E
•    Manchaca Fire Hall, 1310 FM 1626

Round Rock residents can recycle their Christmas trees from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning Tuesday at the Round Rock Brush Recycling Center at 310 Deepwood Drive in Round Rock. Need more info? 218-5540.

• The city will give away small trees while supplies last to residents who bring in their Christmas trees for recycling on Jan. 8.
• The Christmas trees will be shredded into mulch which is free to Round Rock residents.

Georgetown will also collect trees curbside or you can bring them in to the Collection station – free mulch available year round. Check out the deets here!

It’s not too late! If you’re still bustling about prepping your home for the festivities, here’s a last minute inspiration tip from Ashley. When decorating a mantle, it’s best to start with a color scheme. Consider using a mostly monochromatic palette with one additional color to make it all pop. There’s no reason you have [...]

Just a quick note this week so you can get on with all your holiday festivities. Gratitude is the attitude for me this week – so grateful that we are now on the way to longer days. Happy to look back at this year and be grateful for the people in my life; golden long [...]

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Today’s post comes from our seamstress, Leslye Womack of Best Dressed Windows. She and her handy hubby came up with a unique solutions for displaying her Christmas village. This is a DIY that you can try too! Or you can simply follow the links, https://www.phsgreenleaf.co.uk/christmas/, and entrust everything to professionals. Need a new way to [...]

With the ease of communication and travel to all parts of the world, it’s no wonder that the greater world would make it’s way into our inner sanctuaries. The second part of our color trend series for 2011 is all about going global when it comes to color, pattern and textures. The Sherwin Williams color [...]

My friend (visiting from NYC) and I went to Blue Genie Art Bazaar for Christmas inspiration over the weekend. We were not disappointed! Much beauty, much creativity and many surprises were there waiting for us, all sparkly and bright (a giant slice of cake with a candle on top for $225 – calorie free). The [...]

Tis’ the weekend to start decorating for Christmas if you haven’t already done so, like me. Really, I’m in shock that it’s only three weeks until the big day. So far I have three pine trees, 150 feet of evergreen garland, four boxes of decorations and a partridge in a pear tree. Scratch that. But [...]