A Grower Perspective

We had our first annual Christmas Tree decorating contest at Pleasant Hill Nursery and it was a lot of fun. All the office staff got into it this year. (Our plant production crews took a “wait and see” approach but now say they will do it next year!) There were only two rules: 1) You had to use a plant from the nursery, and 2) You had to incorporate some handmade or natural elements for decorations.

Once the trees were decorated and installed, we hosted an evening judging with four illustrious guest judges: Gregg and Becky Vollstedt from Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc. and John and Michelle Pellitier from Pellitier & Pellitier – Landscape Architect and Interior Designer.

Everyone was very creative and got into the spirit of the competition. It was wonderful to see what different plants people chose for their tree. I chose a large, very draped over Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ (Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar), Nancy chose a matched set of small matched set of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Ellwoodii’ (Elwood Cypress), Josh chose a small Cupressocyparis ‘Leylandii’ (Leylandi Cypress), Michelle chose a tabletop-sized Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Cyano Viridis’ (Boulevard Cypress) and Ashley chose a large, more traditional looking Christmas tree, a Picea pungens ‘Glauca’ (Colorado Blue Spruce). The most original choice for a Christmas tree, but one that turned out to be the most interesting was Dave’s choice of an Araucaria araucana, often referred to as a Monkey Puzzle Tree. The decorations were very inventive. Highlights included Ashley’s cinnamon dough birds and gorgeous glittered pinecones, Michelle’s mini-Pleasant Hill Nursery plants in pots, my plant photo garland and Nancy’s macaroni strung on pliable wire for her Italian themed tree. Josh’s saving grace to his very plain, last-minute-entry tree was that he chose a one gallon tree and displayed it in the arms of a monk statue that we just happen to have hanging around the office. And along with Dave’s interesting choice of tree variety was his equally “interesting” choice of adornments – a deer skull and antlers, a petrified Eggo waffle, a rattlesnake rattle, a poster of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper from Easy Rider and photos of his family. (Don’t ask!)

Customers and other visitors to the office really enjoyed viewing the trees. Each tree was very creative and original – in some ways reflective of the person who created it. (In Dave’s case, it was very reflective of who created it.) The trees served as wonderful office decorations and gave us great conversation fodder, lots of camaraderie and brought a new kind of holiday spirit to the office. And we all learned that Christmas trees can take many shapes and themes - that the spirit of the season is in the doing and in making holiday adornments reflective of your own beliefs and heart.