FLOYD, Va. (WFXR) — Everybody has a vision of their “perfect” Christmas tree.
“I’ll have people say a open and skinny tree was perfect for how they wanted to decorate it. Some people want the really full, thick branched tree,” said John Houston, owner of Sweet Providence Farm in Floyd.
The farm mainly grows Frasier Firs, but also offers Concolor Firs, Scotch Pines, and White Pines.
“Luckily, I have a little bit of everything. I always tell people I can find the perfect tree in their mind.”
The first tree was planted at Sweet Providence Farm in 1999. John and his father have been selling trees since 2005 with John buying the farm in 2014.
While each season can vary, John says about 2,500 trees are sold per year on average through their tree lot and choose-and-cut farm combined.
A few years ago, the business decided to open the season on the weekend before Thanksgiving. This year, the Christmas tree farm opened on Nov. 21 and it was noticeably busier than expected.
“People wanted to go ahead and get out of the house,” John said. “A little stir crazy and looking forward to the holiday to get out with the family.”
John says they sold about a hundred trees at the choose-and-cut farm in Floyd, as well as about a hundred trees at their Roanoke tree lot at Hunting Hills Plaza, during their opening weekend. This is about double the amount of trees they’ve sold in past opening weekends.
“We’ll have to wait and see how sales go this year,” John explained, “but it’s off to a good start.”
As cars pulled into the farm’s parking lot over the weekend, John noticed more younger families checking out the Christmas trees.
“Of course we have people that have been buying from us for over a decade now,” he said. “I’ve seen their older kids start families and start their own traditions already. A lot of young couples bringing their small children out for their first Christmas tree.”
Sweet Providence Farm also offers online ordering and delivery this year. Those wanting to buy a Christmas tree can send a message to the Sweet Providence Tree Delivery Facebook page or call (540) 200-9428 to request a tree. Once a delivery time is scheduled, the tree will be delivered to your front door.
Bryan Dowd, who is in charge of delivery, says their delivery schedule will be based on location:
- Monday and Tuesday: Roanoke County and the City of Roanoke
- Thursday: Montgomery County and the City of Radford
- Friday: Floyd County
Dowd says they’re working on delivering any large trees and special orders on Saturday.
Latest Stories
Get breaking news, weather, and sports delivered to your smartphone with the WFXR News app available on Apple and Android.
