A business which only operates in one month of the year is opening its doors (or rather gates) this week for the Christmas rush.
David Ogilvy, runs Forresian Firs on the A96 bypass, and only has one thing to sell – Christmas trees.
And in the true spirit of the season, he is capping the cost of his trees at £50 to help ease the cost of Christmas. And smaller ones start at £35.
David, who is a sound engineer for the other 11 months of the year, said: “I just want to help everyone out. It’s been a tough year, and I thought what could I do?”
Sizes range from 4-5 feet and go all the way up to 10-12 feet, and there is a mix of Nordmann and Noble Firs and Norway Spruce. Customers can walk through the forest of trees and select the one they want.
You can’t get fresher
David will cut your chosen tree right there, wrap it to keep the branches in for transport and you can take it away or get it delivered (free of charge in IV36).
He said people travel from as far as Lossiemouth and Aviemore to get a fresh tree because they know it will last.
“I’ve seen trucks full of cut trees leaving in early November. By the time it’s in the supermarket and it gets to your house, it’s already half done.
“If you put one of our trees in a tub with water, it will last well into January and generally won’t drop any needles either.”
David took over running the business from his father Richard, which planted the trees around 10 years ago. He sells around 400-500 trees and plants 1000 each year to replenish stock.
Forresian Firs opens 9am to 5pm every day from 26 November till 23 December. Access if off the A96 Forres bypass. There’s a junction that turns into the back gates of Transition Town Forres, and Forresian Firs is signposted from here.