Ok here is how it works for those interested…

Find a 22 ft Bay tree – yes the same kind of tree that you get bay leaves from.

Find a rope

• Tie rope to tree and gradually pull it over till you have the top close enough to cut off.
• Tie another rope just about 7ft from the top and tighten to a fence of something down at ground level.

Get a bush saw

• Tie an old broken rake to the bush saw
• with metal wire
• wrap some gorilla tape around the saw handle holding the old rake handle tightly

now you have a saw that can reach up easy

• Take care to loosen the first rope that is pulling the top of the tree over – this avoids tension on the saw.
• Cut the top of the tree off just above the 2nd rope [about 6.5ft down from the top of the tree]

Now you have a tree top a bay tree top.

Carefully loosen ropes, put away saw, and say thanks to the bay tree —

Now for the bit that’s interesting – how to keep it green…

• Get a 3.5 litre plastic container
• put a towel in it
• put bits of brick and stuff in it to pack the tree trunk into.
• Then put the container [with the towel tree and bricks in] into another larger clay or decorative pot
• pack stuff around the plastic container inside the decorative pot..
• Stand up and admire the tree..

Fill up the inner plastic pot with water each day.. the bay tree top will continue to be green for well over a week with no noticable degradation in the leaves and no leaves falling off  – and smell fragrant as well.

On the whole – not a bad experiment in pushing the bay tree Christmas envelope.

Decorate easily