After feeling guilty and disappointed with my Christmas tree choices over the past few years, I finally discovered a local gem that changed my whole opinion on the matter—Helemano Farms. I was fortunate to hear about them when I received an email at work from Malama Hawaii and was glad to know that a portion of our purchase would be donated to their organization.
I gathered the family on a Tuesday afternoon and we headed up to Wahiawa to find the perfect tree to bring home. Traffic was bad as usual, but I think our carbon footprint still ended up being less than if we would have bought a tree from the mainland. Trees from the mainland have to travel more than 2,500 miles to get here and are often carriers of invasive species.
As soon as we pulled in to the dusty, red dirt driveway we were greeted by a friendly guide who welcomed us to the farm. He mentioned that they had been quite busy, selling over 200 trees in the previous two days, which was great to hear.
After we described what type of tree we were looking for he told us to follow him down the path. Most of the trees were already taken in the front rows, so he led us towards the back, weaving in and out of hundreds of different Norfolk trees. Some were really tall, some were too wide, some did not have enough branches, but finally we spotted the one we wanted across the way.
Norfolk trees, sometimes labeled as “Charlie Brown” trees, are not typically the favorite choice among tree seekers-probably because they are not as full-bodied and lack the pine scent that Christmas trees usually have. I like to think of them as the “Hawaiian Christmas Tree” and they truly are the perfect tree for displaying fancy, sparkly ornaments because of the large gaps in between their branches.
Our helper measured the tree from the waste up to make sure there would be enough tree remaining to survive and regrow once he made the cut. Knowing that the tree would grow back made me feel better. I had almost made the decision to go artificial until I heard about this local alternative.
The tree was carried back to the front of the farm and wrapped in plastic netting for the drive back to town. I could have lived without the plastic netting because you never know where it might end up. Next time I will request to go without.
As soon as we got home we put our little tree in it’s stand and we were very pleased. It didn’t take over our living room like other bulky trees had done in the past. It was also nice that it didn’t block all of the natural light coming in through the window. This tree will stay green and beautiful for over a month and won’t leave a pine needle mess. What more can you ask for? Now comes the fun part—decorating!