BLOOMINGTON -- You don't have to travel far from Bloomington-Normal to get a fresh Christmas tree. Yuletide evergreens are available at several locations around McLean County.
In south Bloomington, Growing Grounds is stocked with a couple hundred trees. The plant nursery and lawn and garden center at 1610 S. Main St. is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
"That's just the No. 1, best Christmas tree there is," said Dale Naffziger, the store's owner, in a phone interview about their Fraser firs sourced from Barr Evergreens in North Carolina.
Heights of his trees range from 5 to 10 feet tall, with just a few reaching the latter height.
"My grower outdid himself," he added about the "beautiful trees."
Digging roots
Some 20 miles north in Woodford County, Panther Ridge Farms in rural east El Paso is entering the holiday décor and agritourism markets.
"Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year," Ashley Hodel expressed her love for this festive season as inspiration for their farm's venture into Christmas trees.
Nathan and Ashley Hodel offer Angus beef, meat chickens, fresh-laid eggs at their homesteading operation at 2313 County Road 1200 North, El Paso. They also planted approximately 2,100 seedlings across their farm for future harvests expected five years away.
What Christmas trees like
"They'll clip the tops right off and chew it down to basically a little stub," Nathan Hodel explained about deer damaging young seedlings before they installed protective fencing.
Tree décor
Ashley Hodel plans to build a holiday décor shop on site as part of her long-term vision while already operating an existing shop that offers custom floral arrangements and other festive items such as lighted ornaments and plush animal decorations popular among children.