Aroundtown Magazine Nov/Dec 2023 edition

MEETS
Billingley have won
“
numerous awards,
including best
Norway Spruce and
best container grown
tree at the British
Christmas Tree
Growers Association
Awards.
”
Santa might have one busy
day out of the year, but at Billingley
Christmas Tree Farm there is never a
quiet day. Andrew and his team work
constantly throughout the year, doing
many tasks by hand.
“We have a few weeks after
Christmas to do some dusting down
but then the planting starts again
in February March time. We plant
three-year-old baby trees, known as
transplants, that come from Denmark
or Germany. They get put in the gaps
between the stumps left behind from
the trees felled at Christmas. For
every tree we cut, we plant another in
its place.”
Importing these transplants
has become another area of the
business. When we visited, Andrew
told us how they were expecting a
delivery of 14,000 transplants from
Denmark that would then be sent to
other growers across the country.
From these spiky saplings do the
mighty Christmas trees grow – albeit
in six to eight years’ time.
They grow six varieties of
Christmas trees including the
customer favourite Nordmann Fir
with its glossy appearance, and the
traditional Norway Spruce. There are
also Fraser firs popular in the US,
Blue Spruce, Lasiocarpa Spruce,
and a range of Blue Whistle trees
native to Korea.
“This year has been ideal weather
for growing Christmas trees; not too
dry or hot and not too much rain
either. But it’s not been as good
for the arable crops that we still
have here.”
The weather might play a part,
but their bountiful crops are also
down to sheer hard work. It’s not a
case of planting trees and watching
nature take its course. The work is
labour intensive, with weed and pest
control, pruning, propagating, and
checking the soil’s PH levels just
some of the daily tasks.
They’ve spent more than twenty
years in this industry and continue to
progress, developing new methods
and ensuring the Billingley team have
the know-how to keep trees in their
best possible condition.
For their commitment to
producing high quality trees,
Billingley have won numerous
awards, including best Norway
Spruce and best container grown
tree at the British Christmas Tree
Growers Association Awards. This
year, they were asked to host the
annual event and welcomed TV’s
Yorkshire Vet, Peter Wright, to the
farm in October.
With thousands of trees on
site, all growing at different stages,
you might be wondering how they
work out which ones will be for sale
each year.
From September onwards,
Andrew and Adrian spend a month
or so assessing the quality and
height of the trees. They tag which
ones are bound for commercial
homes like hospitals or hotels, which
ones will be going to wholesale,
and which ones will be available for
visitors to buy direct from the farm.
In October, they open their VIP
ticket sales, an idea that was started
in the Covid lockdown of 2020. The
sale of Christmas trees was given a
stay of execution in Parliament, so
businesses could remain open if they
sold Christmas trees.
“The idea was to pre-book a time
slot which helped us keep within
social distancing guidelines. But the
following year we were inundated
with requests customers to do
it again.”
November is when the farm
opens for people to come and
choose their tree at their leisure. The
whole site is turned into a magical
experience, with yuletide joy a plenty.
There’s a sleigh stop for hot
drinks, and the most charming grotto
with twinkling lights, roaring fire,
and Mr and Mrs Claus waiting to
greet children.
Visitors can also meet the farm’s
resident animals, with two pygmy
goats, two donkeys, and four
reindeers named Alta, Aspen, Clint
and Cupid.
By early December, for anyone
who hasn’t yet bought their tree,
they fill their two large barns with cut
trees that can be taken home the
same day, along with a selection of
baubles and decorations.
Then after Christmas, they
even offer a recycling service where
trees are chipped and spread
back onto the crops, aiding their
sustainable practices.
Maybe amongst it all, the
Stentons might get chance to
enjoy their own family Christmas.
No guesses where they get their
tree from...
6 aroundtownmagazine.co.uk