But what she liked most of all was the noise the wind made in the old fir trees. She often left what she was doing to go and stand under them with her face turned up, listening and watching the swaying branches as the wind whistled and whirled through them…That strange music in the tree tops had a special fascination for her and she could not stay indoors when she heard it. ~from Heidi, Johanna Spyri (Puffin. 1956)
Bring home the high alpine beauty, and heady scent of the mountains to your landscape with Alpine Fir or Mountain Hemlock.
Alpine Fir, native to our own Cascades, feature soft needles on evenly spaced branches. The narrow steeple shaped tree, festooned with white or colored outdoor light strings, becomes a wonderful Christmas tree. Where ever you choose to plant it, listen to wind as it blows its music through the branches. What does it sound like? Where does it transport you?
Another striking high mountain option is a Mountain Hemlock. This handsome native tree is narrow and pyramidal in its appearance and growth. The slightly drooping branches look fernlike; the needles dark green to chartreuse.
Despite their ability to grow very tall in the mountains, we have found that both the Alpine Fir and Mountain Hemlock grow very slowly in our environment. This makes them ideal for use as focal point or accent in nearly any landscape. Consider them in a rock garden, near a waterfall, or planted as a trio on a raised berm.
Our trees are legally harvested from alpine areas in Eastern Washington by an experienced tradesman, ensuring you get a quality root mass that can establish quickly in your yard. Good drainage is absolutely mandatory as these trees are used to growing on rocky hills. If your soils drainage is problematic, you must amend your soil and build a mound for your new trees to get established on. Come visit Squak Mt. today to experience an Alpine Christmas this season.