Business

Boyd Mountain Farm: In the Holiday Spirit

At Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm, the Boyds and their staff have Christmas on their minds year-round. Darren Nicholson, when not playing with Haywood County’s own Balsam Range, is one of many helping out on the farm. “It’s a year-long process,” he says, “keeping trees healthy, mowing, spraying. In August we start tagging and fl agging trees. Every six months, they’re planting new trees.”

By the time the farm opens to the public on Friday, November 17, they’ll be ready, complete with the crew and assembly line techniques needed to sell about 700 Fraser firs a day over Thanksgiving weekend, the busiest time the farm has until it closes in December.

“Boyd Mountain is a little different,” Nicholson says, “because it’s really a family tradition. It’s a memory day.” Families can select their tree and have it cut, baled and tied to their vehicle, or they can use provided bow saws to cut it themselves.

Dan and Betsy Boyd own the 150- acre farm managed by their son David. Besides the linear landscape of trees along the hillsides, the farm also contains seven restored and comfortably furnished log cabins in high demand as vacation rentals this time of year.

Janice Hendrix’s family are regulars each November since discovering Boyd Mountain in 2009. “They do a great job of pruning the trees into the perfect shape,” she says, “and they are always so healthy and last the whole season. When you see the crews and the Boyd family working on the farm, you realize that much care, time and love has been put into the trees. My family has many wonderful memories we’ve made here and we plan to do so for many years to come.”

Boyd Mountain Farm is located at 445 Boyd Farm Road in Waynesville (Exit 20 off of I-40). Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thanksgiving Day and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from November 17 through December 10. To learn more, visit boydmountainchristmastreefarm.com. For cabin rentals, visit boydmountain.com or call 828.926.1575.

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