THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412090326
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
THE SIGN AT THE entrance to Holiday Christmas Tree Farm reads, ``Caution: Stumps and holes in field.'' But an excited 2-year-old who came with his father to pick out a tree, squealed, ``Look, Daddy, that sign says `Buy your Christmas tree here today!' ''
Harry Gard, co-owner of the tree farm, told the story with great merriment. ``He was just the cutest little fellow,'' he said, ``but they're all that excited.''
Ten years ago, Gard, a retired peanut farmer, and Roger Emory, a manager at Ford Motor Co., decided to start a Christmas tree farm on 5 acres along the busy southern end of Battlefield Boulevard.
They planted 2,000 trees and waited patiently.
A tiny tree has to grow for six years before it's the right size to adorn someone's home for the holidays - six years of irrigating, spraying, pruning and pampering.
The seedlings, purchased in lots of 1,000 from the state Agriculture Department and individual growers at about 25 cents apiece, are only 6 inches high when they're planted.
Five years ago, the first trees were big enough to sell. Since then, Gard and Emory have sold between 1,000 and 2,000 a year.
This season, the trees sell for $38 each. The price is the same whether the tree is 6 feet tall or a towering 12 feet tall.
``The trees we grow are near perfect,'' Gard said. ``They're so fresh, you couldn't light them with a match, and they'll stay green until April.
``What kind of people want to cut their own Christmas tree? Happy people, pleasant people. We never get any grouches. Families are looking for something they can do together. They all come - grandparents with kids with their kids,'' he said.
The average family takes 30 to 45 minutes to select their tree from among the thousands growing on the farm.
On a recent, unseasonably balmy night, the Robert Carlow family was searching for the perfect tree. It was dark, and Sara, 5, and Nicole, 3, were in charge of the flashlights. They were getting quite a thrill out of scaring each other as they ran among the shadowy trees.
``We had to come at night because we both work during the day,'' said Robert Carlow, 29. ``But it's OK, really, because we're doing something different. We're starting a tradition at our house.''
As a youngster growing up in northern Massachusetts, Carlow said, he and his brother always cut the family tree. Going to the Holiday Tree Farm brought back fond memories.
Carlow and his wife Dina and their young family, who live in Princeton Halls, were looking for a tree ``as big as the house will hold.''
Gard said he always recommends buying a bigger tree than you think you'll need, because ``you can always cut it down when you get it home, but you sure can't stretch it . . .''
He said there are always people who want something he doesn't have, short-needled pines and ``other things that grow high in the mountains.'' But the long-needled white pines grow best here in Chesapeake, and they grow fast enough to make growing them a worthwhile business.
Growing Christmas trees is a long-term investment, Gard said. ``And you don't just walk away at the end of one December and come back at the beginning of the next December.''
The farm does most of its business during the two weeks just before Christmas, selling about 200 trees each weekend in December. Sales seem related to the weather: Crisp, cold, clear and sunny days bring out the most customers.
Although all the trees on his lot are white pines, no two look quite the same. But each is lush and healthy, pruned to a familiar Christmas-tree shape.
``It's genetics,'' explained Gard. ``Each one looks different, just like children look different. But they're all beautiful, and they require less decorating, because the beauty is in the tree itself.''
At Holiday Tree Farm you can cut your own tree with either your own saw or one borrowed one from the owners. Or, if you prefer, they'll cut the tree for you.
Each time a tree is cut, another is planted in its place. The farm also sells various types of cut trees and trees that still have their root balls intact so they can be transplanted.
``You can probably find just about anything you want here,'' said Gard. ``But what you'll always find here is happiness and memories. We're a throwback to another time.'' MEMO: Holiday Tree Farm is located at 3035 South Battlefield Blvd. It is open
from 2 to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and
Sundays through Dec. 23.
[For a related story, see page 15 of The Clipper for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: ON THE COVER
Dwight Steele and his son Daniel shop for a Christmas tree at
Blue Ridge Evergreen Nursery on North Battlefield Boulevard. Staff
photo is by Steve Earley.
by CNB