Your Guide to an Evergreen Christmas

If you are familiar with Sun Valley, you know that our Arcata farm is located in the Pacific Northwest, in a region that has been rightfully dubbed, "The Redwood Empire." Here is where the world's old-growth redwoods--along with Fir, Oak, Spruce, and Cedar—reign supreme. These aromatic beauties stretch up the coast and inland to the mountains, providing us with an unbelievably gorgeous landscape as well as beautiful greens—West Coast Evergreens, that is.

Our West Coast Evergreen Division brings the forest to you. Our resident greens expert, Debbie Hartman (Queen of Greens!), has been working with Northwest flora for almost 35 years and has built valuable relationships with those who gather our greens. These are generations of foragers who know and respect the forest, so between them, our location, and Debbie, we have all the resources, wisdom, and experience we need to offer you a wide variety of quality Seasonal, Western, and Christmas Greens.

As you can imagine, the Christmas season is when our greens department really shines. And now, as the holiday season descends upon us (can you feel it?) West Coast Evergreen takes the reins. Right now we are filling the wonderful world of wholesale with our Christmas greens (now is the time to buy!), and we are also supplying the good stuff for Sun Pac’s Winter Bouquets, as well as our own Enhanced Seasonal Bunches.

This Ilex, Lily, and Cedar bunch is one of the seasonal favorites around here.

Before you pick up the phone and call your rep, I’d like to give you a chance to meet all our evergreen friends and learn a bit about where they're from and what they can do for you. So put on your best Christmas sweater, grab a cup of hot chocolate (or spiked eggnog) because it’s time for Sun Valley’s annual Christmas Greens Meet and Greet!

If you want them all, check out our Mixed Greens Season's Greeting Box

The main stars of our Christmas Greens are Fir, Pine, and Cedar, though Christmas really wouldn’t be complete without a few other special players. However, these three ~~kings~~ greens, are the ones that give us the signature smells and textures of Christmas, the ones that make us feel as if we're on a mountaintop even though we’re warm and toasty inside.

THE FIRS:

Pacific Silver Fir and Doug Fir (L--R)

Firs are high-elevation greens, very fragrant and have beautiful shiny, dark green needles. The Pacific Silver Fir (see photo above) is known for the silvery-white underbelly of its needles. Its cousin on the right, Douglas Fir, is a very popular Christmas branch that easy to work and highly recommended for DIY projects for beginner and advanced floral enthusiasts alike.

Noble Fir

Another favorite branch, the Noble Fir, is similar in shape to the Pacific Silver, but has blue-green needles, with a bluish underside. Debbie said that many people can get the two mixed up, but all you have to do is take a peek at their backsides to see what is Silver and what is Noble.

THE PINES:

Princess Pine

Next up in the meet and greet are the Pines. Pictured above is the high-elevation Princess Pine, also known as “Western White Pine.” As you can see it has lovely long needles and a soft, interesting texture. Pictured below is the Shore Pine, aptly named for its low-elevation setting. It is a local pine, found near the ocean shore, with dark green needles and small pine cones. Debbie said this had always been a favorite of the San Francisco flower market, and still is.

THE CEDAR:

Our next featured Christmas Green is one of my favorites, and according to our Queen of Greens, Port Orford Cedar is the Queen of Cedar! It has lovely long stems, 24-inch branches, and beautiful, lacy tips. It is also the best holder of all the greens, maintaining its color and vitality for weeks and weeks.

Port Orford Cedar

THE SPECIAL PLAYERS:

Two low-elevation must-haves for Christmas décor are our Berry Juniper and Incense Cedar. I love these specialty Christmas branches—they both have great focal texture and look amazing in wreaths. The gold tips of the incense cedar and the berries on the juniper really pop and add depth.

Incense Cedar and Berry Juniper

Close-up of incense cedar tips

Our seasonal greens, such as California bay leaf (great for wreaths!) European holly, red huck, blue prince holly, and heather are beautiful holiday fillers. Woodwardia (pictured below) is an excellent branch that designers absolutely adore--it has a rich, dark color, very tall stems (up to 4-6 feet long), and its dramatic shape looks amazing with other flowers and in large displays..

Woodwardia with orange for scale

CHRISTMAS GREENS TIPS AND TRICKS:

Greens are known for their lasting ability, but here are some tips to help keep these long-lasting branches looking green and lasting even longer—before you add them to your arrangements, be sure to store them in their boxes in cold temperatures (the colder the better). For example, Port Orford will last 3-4 months in a 34 degree cooler! This is because cold is their natural habitat (up on the mountaintop), so they respond well to it. Once you’ve made your wreath or arrangement, keep it looking fresh by using a spray bottle to mist it with water. Since evergreens absorb water through their needles, your misting will add life and sheen.

This holiday season, bring the mountaintop home with you, and have a lovely Evergreen Christmas.