Collin Atter: Calgary's King of Christmas Trees
Deck the Halls: Rows of real Christmas trees on display at Plantation Garden Centre in Calgary on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Plantation Garden Centre is located in Calgary’s NW and is a community mainstay for real Christmas trees. (Photo by Matthew Siu/The Press)
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is no stranger to Colin Atter, Calgary’s King of Christmas Trees.
For the long-time owner of Plantation Garden Centre, located in Calgary’s Northwest, the Christmas season is accompanied by hard work, familiar faces and plenty of trees.
Every year, the garden centre is aglow with lights, festive products and rows upon rows of real Christmas trees.
“This is a fun, fun season. We love it,” said Atter. “People are coming in happy, they’re happy to grab their tree, they come with their family.”
“It’s a big deal, a tradition for people.”
For Atter, who opened up his store 19 years ago, selling Christmas trees was a ‘no-brainer’.
As a garden centre, their primary revenue comes during peak gardening seasons in the spring and summer, selling flowers and house plants. But once winter rolls around the transition to Christmas trees was natural.
“Right from day one, our very first year, we brought in a couple hundred Christmas trees,” said Atter. “It was successful right off the bat.”
Now, every year, they bring in around 1500 trees of varying sizes and species.
While it is undoubtedly hard work, Atter has a deep passion for what he does, one that finds him unloading and unpacking thousands and thousands of trees over the years.
“It’s always about finding the perfect tree, right?” said Atter. “And perfect doesn’t mean the shape, it means perfect in their eyes.”
“So finding these trees, finding this specific tree for somebody, you really have to listen for what they’re asking for.”
Learning the ins and outs of each tree and what makes every variety special. How someone might look at one tree and think it’s ugly, but another person may come and think it’s the perfect tree for them.
Not to mention the traditions and memories that have been built over the nearly two decades he’s been in business“We’ve been doing it long enough so that now we’ve seen kids who were just born, who have bought their Christmas tree here their entire lives, now turn adult.”
Deck the Halls: Rows of real Christmas trees on display at Plantation Garden Centre in Calgary on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Plantation Garden Centre is located in Calgary’s NW and is a community mainstay for real Christmas trees. (Photo by Matthew Siu/The Press)
“Everybody loves this season, right? We’re open in the evening so people can come get their tree under the lights,” said Atter.
“It’s almost like what the movies are made out of.”
So, if you’ve never tried a live Christmas tree before, the king of Christmas trees has some tips for you.
For most people, size is the most important thing to nail down. If you only have 8ft of room to work with then you’re looking at a six-to-seven-foot tree.
Next, picking out a tree is an exercise in all of one’s senses, some varieties are more fragrant than others; leading to a house filled with that nostalgic, festive scent but not last as long.
While others hold their needles better; giving you that picture-perfect Christmas tree for longer.
Some staple varieties that Plantation Garden Centre carries are; the Balsam Fir, a wider variety that is more fragrant but does not last as long.
The Fraser Fir, which is taller and narrower, as well as holding onto its needles the longest. Atter also claims that the Fraser Fir is also the tree best suited for Calgary’s dry climate for this reason, and makeup 90% of the trees that they bring in.
“Nobody wants to have needles falling off halfway through December.”
Alongside these varieties, they also bring in Douglas Firs as another staple, and varying year to year, other varieties; such as Noble Fir, Nordmann Fir and White Pines.
However, due to shortages in recent years those other varietals are becoming increasingly difficult to bring in.
