The outdoor artist market at Atlantic Station has sucked me in the past couple weekends, particularly the live Christmas trees for sale. Never mind my place is small, the mess of falling needles and my total lack of experience with "real" Christmas trees. Perhaps the thought of smelling fresh pine would make the season feel more alive (no pun intended), especially with all the joggers dashing through the streets in shorts last week - a far cry from winter weather.
Being frugal and more practical I ended up only purchasing a wreath, especially as the men working the stand humored me two weekends in a row and were willing to cut me a deal. But had I gotten a tree, they would have attached it to my car OR given me a shoulder strap so I could take the bundled tree home on MARTA. The thought of wrangling with a tree on the Atlantic Station shuttle and on the train was almost humorous enough to warrant the purchase.
There are several locations around the city selling live
trees...including at Atlantic Station and their sister location in Little Five Points next to Front
Page News. You can support local schools with the tree lot across from John Howell park in the Highlands. I'm still debating whether it is best just to stick with plastic trees, which don't involve the direct death of a tree, but there is the fact that buying a local fresh tree supports local harvesters. Joy Johnston on About.com has a nice comprehensive list of local tree buying locations.
You can also recycle your tree on January 8, 2008 to ease your conscience. Join the city-wide effort to make mulch and support wildlife, which are much better options than burning your tree during one of Atlanta's worst droughts. Here is the list of Christmas tree drop-off locations. Enjoy the pine, and if you've had any luck replanting your Christmas tree after the holidays, do let me know.