Best Place To Buy A Christmas Tree

The Great Outdoors Garden Adventures

December in these parts don't resemble the snow-dusted greeting cards scenes that fill the stores. There are plenty of days when shorts are perfectly appropriate attire. Where is one to find a winter wonderland and get into the spirit of things? Right on South Congress, where the good folks at the bucolic Great Outdoors nursery set up their Christmas trees among the permanent collection of gorgeous plants, garden accessories, and trees that inhabit the nursery year round. The yuletide trees are kept in water while they await adoption, which ensures minimal needle expulsion. Sizes range from lilliputian to grand two-story monsters that grace local bank lobbies. And while you and the kiddos (bring the kids, it's a fairyland delight that resembles the Secret Garden) peruse the forest, the aroma of freshly baked cookies compete with the piney smell of evergreens. Munch the warm Christmas cookies while the staff goes the extra mile of putting your selection on a super shaker machine that releases all loose needles before they bag the tree and put it safely in your car for the trip to its new home. That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

The Great Outdoors Garden Adventures
2730 S. Congress, 512/448-2992
www.gonursery.com