ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN Colchester Evening Gazette - Tuesday Dec 17th 2002

This year's crop has benefited from the wet autumn

Perfect Weather for Christmas Trees - by Laurence Cawley (Chief Reporter)

The weather's been strange this year. Tornados, floods, and one of the wettest Novembers in history - Essex has seen it all. Bad for sun-lovers, but great for Christmas trees. The crop of trees at Fred Smith's in Boxted is one of the biggest ever thanks to the frequent deluges the firs have seen this year. And the trees from the 41-year old firm are spread across Colchester. Tim Smith, Fred's son said some of the tallest trees stood above 28 feet tall and had been sent to pubs in London. He said "This year has seen a lot of growth in the trees and we have had a lot of responses for our bigger trees. With the climate changes we seem to be seeing the trees have grown three to four feet this year alone. To be honest we've got to try and hold back their growth a bit, but that's a big job.

"This year we have done virtually all the churches and schools in the area, which is great." Surrounded by trees it also seems Mr Smith has the Christmas spirit. This year he gave a few trees to Colchester General Hospital. The firm's trees are also sent out to surrounding towns and villages including Clacton and Frinton. But it's not just a bumper year for giant firs, the Boxted nursery has also seen a good year for mistletoe and holly wreaths.

The business was started by Fred Smith 41 years ago, more or less by accident, but has developed into a key part of the family farm as fruit and vegetables have declined. The business was started when Fred set a few fir trees out at the front of the house to grow into a windbreak. But as Christmas approached, people kept asking if they were for sale - and the business took off.

All members of the family pitch in with the business and trees are planted along avenues allowing customers the chance to walk up and down before picking out the tree they want. It's a good job they're arranged this way because with the amount of growth this year customers might have found it difficult seeing the wood for the trees.

Can't see the wood for the trees - Fred Smith with son Tim with some of this year's bumper crop of Christmas trees
-- picture by Steve Brading -