It’s no secret that our team takes the holidays very seriously. From our 25 themed Christmas trees, to our Christmas light show, right down to our custom-made holiday greens–we spend months preparing for the holiday season. While we know you can get your Christmas greens like wreaths, boughs, and grave boxes from many places, we wanted to tell you about what makes our process unique in providing you with fresh, handmade products worthy of your holidays.
Harvest:
It all starts with quality greens. One of the things that make our wreaths unique is the variety of greens used in them. We use classic common greens like Fraser and Douglas fir, harvested from unfit Christmas trees. When the trees are shipped to us, there are often several that are too short, cracked, or crooked. While they don’t make a great option for opening presents under, their branches are still a great option for making decorations.
But we don’t stop at the usual! Having several acres of nursery and woods gives us the opportunity to harvest unique greens from our grounds. We’ve incorporated golden cypress, spruce, pine, and cedar into our wreaths and even made pieces out of magnolia. This mix of greens gives our pieces added dimension and unique flair. It’s also a more sustainable way of harvesting since we don’t require a big truck to haul the branches to us. Our customers get the added benefit of the freshest greens available to us and a less expensive product to boot.
Preservation:
An essential element to making greens last is preventing them from losing moisture. We use a product called Wilt-Pruf, a biodegradable anti-dessicant to improve the longevity of our greens. Before any decorations are added, wreaths and other wired greens are dipped in a vat of Wilf-Pruf and left to drip dry. Dipping the greens, versus spraying them, ensures that all needles are coated with Wilt-Pruf for a longer-lasting product.
Assembly:
Santa has his elves and Colonial has a full staff dedicated to making the holiday magic happen.
On slower days, you’ll see our register staff creating bows and attaching decorations to picks. Our florist LeeAnn will venture to the back of our grounds to harvest redtwig dogwood and winterberry holly to create custom porch pots and holiday arrangements. Nursery assistants fill boxes with screenings for weighted grave boxes and cut branches off Christmas trees.
Owner Eric has been very involved in making wreaths for decades. He hand cuts and assembles the vast majority of our wreaths using a foot-pedal clamping machine. Because he constructs the pieces by hand, he decides the combination of greens and orientates them for a fluffy, full look. Pre-constructed live greens often become flat in the shipping process. Ours travel about 50 feet from construction to purchase, keeping them in prime conditions for when you take them home.
The Christmas Experience:
So much of our lives have been pushed into the online sphere that it can be easy to forget the benefit of shopping at your local retail locations. We strive to provide a holiday experience for everyone walking through the doors. This includes two dozen themed Christmas trees in our gift shop, greenhouses decorated with all things Christmas, and of course, our Christmas light show. Take this as a sign to get out of the house and experience that magic at Colonial. You’ll find Christmas surprises around every corner and quality holiday items for your home. Plus, you get the satisfaction of supporting a local, small business! We hope that you’ll stop by Colonial this season for your wreaths, graveboxes, and more this holiday season.
