Christmas Succulent 2010

Long ago I had a housemate who wouldn't let me put up a Christmas tree. So instead, I navigated this command by erecting a Christmas succulent instead. That ginch hasn't lived here in a long time but the Christmas succulent tradition has stayed and I even gave away some little succulents last year so everyone could one day have a Christmas succulent. This year it is a little one, which was destined for pastures elsewhere but has stayed on to give us all some Christmas cheer. The usual ornaments have returned

Along with the requisite black star

And voila, one lovely Christmas succulent, that wont drop pine needles and needs no care, attention or water!

The Christmas Cheese Platter

I trust everyone survived the hectic whirl that is Christmas. I got to spend two days of it with my rellies in Gisborne. On Christmas Day we enjoyed an amazing and mostly traditional meal, though I did chime in with the cheese platter. It was a bit awesome if I do saw so myself! Tomatoes from the balcony garden, a camembert, a brie, a roquefort I requitioned from other purposes but vow to replace, a trio of firm cheeses which included red leicester, pear paste, two kinds of biscuits and some red currants for Christmas cheer.

All involved loved it! Oh and I am not too keen on photographing myself on this blog, but for Mum's sake I couldn't help but include this pic. This Christmas I proved to everyone that I am a little less scared of babies that I first thought, because I got the task of calming down santa's littlest helper on the day (I think he was trying to eat my shoulder at that point and despite the obstacles he faced in my odd body shape he seemed content.)

Succulent Presents

We are doing a Kris Kringle (a sort of secret santa) this Christmas with all my relatives. It helps me greatly because I am a bit cash strapped and buying pressies for everyone (or making them which is usually the case) can get quite expensive. I got one of the easier rellies to get a pressie for, and it was a tad lucky because I had already made part of her pressie a while back, an apron. Don't worry she won't find out, she has two small children so has little time for the internet. :)

However, despite the one present clause the other rellies are getting a little something extra from me this year and it didn't cost a cent. Two of the succulents had babies, lots of babies actually.

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I potted them up using leftover pots and some special succulent potting mix I bought with my nursery voucher (also hidden in this picture is a pressie for Miss L, 3 sunflowers germinated, just for her, although you can only really count two thanks to my awesomely bad photography!)

Here they are all wrapped and ready to head north for the night.

I hope everyone has a wonderful christmas!

The Post-Christmas Post

Five Christmas Meals
Four Days
Three bowls of custard (sans pudding)
Two Parents Visited
One Messy Apartment

but no Christmas Ham!?!?!?!? I can't believe that the traditional Christmas Ham did not make an appearance at any of our functions. Twas not because inept balcony gardener and family miraculously turned vegetarian overnight, nor did we realise that pigs are beautiful and intelligent creatures (a truth rather than simply a myth created by the producer of Babe) but just an oddity that shall be remedied next festive season.

However here are some piccies of how my new garden joined in the festivities

First we have an updated picture of the Christmas succulent, and yep the big box was for me!!!


The table decoration for the first ever Christmas Eve meal at my place (and yes i omitted ham, but i omitted Turkey too so maybe it was not a traditional meal afterall


And a salad to accompany said meal, with produce entirely procured from the balcony


Suffice to say my mother's face when she saw the garden for the first time was priceless, and I am still smiling from it

The Christmas Succulent

Behold the Christmas Succulent.



This is the second year the Christmas Succulent has featured in my household, and i think it is about time the history of the Christmas succulent is told (i am an historian after all)

About this time last year, it being my first Christmas in my own home (i don't count the year i spent it abroad in Prague, travelling is not living, it is just plain, good fun) and although my parents were not visiting i thought it wise to follow tradition and put up a Christmas tree. Alas my housemate at the time was not a fan of Christmas, and thus wished me not to put such an abhorrent amount of plasticised or living festive greenery in our apartment. Apparently a black fake Christmas tree would be acceptable but at over $100 i wasn't going to fork out that sort of cash for a one off bit of cheer. She also approved of the chocolate Christmas tree i made, another tradition i picked up from my lovely mother, but as tasty as it was, it did not really invite one to place presents underneath its nutty, honeycombey, chocolatey branches.

Several days later i liberated this succulent from a friend's garden waste and planted it on the balcony. It was happy in the balcony paradise, and fitted into the home almost immediately. Then i struck up an idea - the housemate had said no Christmas Tree but she never said no Christmas succulent.

So out to the shops i pranced, picked out some colour co ordinated sparkly goodies, and a black star (black tree, black star, i could simply claim to have misheard her) and ran back with glee to decorate my new succulent quasi-Christmas tree. He looked such a treat in all his finery.

This year, he is bigger (in major need of a prune, a pot change or a relocation to my birth mum's backyard) but just as beautiful. My folks are visiting this Christmas so they can enjoy his Australianish Christmasness.

And the new housemate loves him too (as she does the rest of the garden for she is a top inept balcony gardener housemate)

Thus is the history of the Christmas Succulent. It may not be 'traditional' but it is becoming tradition here.