Christmas is the season for traditions and for many that means heading out to choose a Christmas tree.
It may be a branch of pohutukawa, a pine tree in the flush of growth or spruces and cypresses trimmed to perfection.
Over two decades, several varieties of evergreens from northern hemisphere countries like Serbia and Korea have been grown by Classic Christmas Trees on the outskirts of Greytown.
Serbian Spruce, White Fir, Arizona Blue Ice - the tree names conjure up a Narnia-esque landscape of snow, ice, sleighs and reindeer. Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
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The business has been so successful, the present owners who are latecomers to Christmas tree farming, are recommending others take up the pruning shears when they call it a day.
Families make an annual pilgrimage to choose their tree, waiting for the gate to open and sometimes taking a couple of hours to make their selection, according to Pauline, who with her husband John took over the farm from Paul and Monica Mallinson during the pandemic lockdown last year.
Serbian Spruce, White Fir, Arizona Blue Ice - the names conjure up a Narnia-esque landscape of snow, ice, sleighs and reindeer.
Pauline trims each tree twice a year to create the perfect cone Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
The Norway Spruce is hugely popular with a fabulous fragrance and able to hold the decorations perfectly, Pauline says.
She says the tallest trees go first, often to commercial customers, and other people choose for aroma, longevity or anti-allergenic properties.
One Christchurch customer comes up every year for a tree that is wrapped in wet cloths and bundled into the car and onto the ferry.
This season Pauline chopped down the very last Blue Ice - a three-metre high specimen for a local store.
"I counted the rings ... it was nearly ten years old that one. When I cut them down I say thank you very much and I'm very sorry," she laughed.
The pandemic has not dampened people's desire for the trees.
"They just wanted some joy in their lives with a fresh tree at Christmas," Pauline says.