Q.  What kind of Christmas decorations do you have available? 

A.  At Kathan Gardens, we’re all about providing our customers with options. We cater to those patrons who elect to use our years of experience to decorate custom-order wreaths, swags and kissing balls, but we also offer a wide variety of ribbons, bows, decorations available for those folks who desire to go the DIY route. We sell pre-made bows that we bring in from manufacturers, but our forte really lies in the hand-made bows we have on display and available for purchase. If a customer so desires, we can make them a bow on the spot from any of the 50 ribbon patterns, materials, and widths.

 

Q. What size wreaths do you have available? What are the go-to items you recommend for decorating your own wreaths? Do you sell wreaths that are already decorated? 

A. We offer a wide variety of both single-faced and double-faced wreaths—pretty much any size you could want to accent those open spaces. Our sizes include: 8, 10, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 48 inch wreaths.  The smaller sizes are more common with the average consumer while the larger wreaths tend to be sold to businesses that want to accent their locations. The items we offer to decorate our wreaths are numerous and include a wide variety of pre-wired pinecones, winterberry and juniper berries, ornaments, and bows. As for go-to items that we don’t carry, customers can decorate wreaths with anything that suits their fancy or accents their personalities.  It’s really up to them. Some ideas include fruit such as apples, pineapples, oranges, etc. If you’re a dog-lover, a wreath decorated with dog snacks might be right up your alley—you get the idea.

If a customer doesn’t desire to decorate their own wreath, they can place an order with our team, describing what they want and let our experts create a work of art they’ll love. Customers are also able to place orders in person, picking out the exact ribbon they want from our selections of around 50 patterns, materials, and widths.

 

Q. What are the sizes and prices for your Christmas Trees?

A. Our Christmas Trees are purchased from a gentleman in Orford, NH.  We generally place our order in August and eventually get around 500 trees to sell during the season. When it comes to Christmas Trees, there are really two varieties that control the market: Frasier Fir and Balsam Fir. Although not as fragrant as Balsams, Frasier Fir tends to be the most sought-after tree, mainly because of its ability to retain its needles for a long period of time and strong branches. Balsam Fir is definitely more fragrant—providing the environment with that classic forest scent.  However, it doesn’t retain needles for as long, and the branches tend to be less robust, drooping if they’re laden with heavy ornaments.

The tree sizes we offer focus around the 6-8 foot tree, with the average being around 7 feet.  We price our trees anywhere from $42 dollars for lower quality Balsam and Frasiers, to around $69 for the fullest, 8-foot Frasier.  We also have several larger trees available, anywhere from 9 to 14 feet.  Our largest--a 14-foot, 250-pound behemoth—is a Canaan Fir (a variety of the Balsam), and sells for $169.

 

Q. Do you need to place an order on the phone/online for a wreath or Christmas tree?

A. Our store is open from 9-5 Mondays through Saturday, and from 9-4 on Sundays during the holiday season.   Customers can either call and set aside a tree or wreath to be picked up at a later date, or they can swing by and choose themselves.  We really recommend the latter option, since choosing the right tree or wreath tends to be a very personal matter.  It’s not unusual for some customers to spend an hour or more looking for that perfect tree. The good news is that the vast majority of our trees are in our 6000 square foot main greenhouse, under cover and protected from rain, snow, and ice.  There’s no shaking snow from a tree you get at Kathan Gardens. As an additional service, we will provide a fresh cut to the foot of the tree so it’s all ready to be placed in the tree stand.  We also offer free bailing and tie-down service for our customers—services you’ll often have to pay extra for at other locations.

 

Q. What are the favorite holiday plants you offer?

A. We carry a wide variety of houseplants such as Aloe Vera, Spider Plants, Boston Fern, Money Plants, Wandering Jew, a large selection of succulents, among others.  Houseplants with a Christmas flavor are centered around the Cyclamen, Christmas Cactus, and Poinsettia, with the most common holiday plant by far being the Poinsettia. Of this variety, we carry 4 ½” 6 ½”, 7” and large 10” hanging baskets in colors ranging from deep red to pink and white.  We also carry colored Poinsettias, where the leaves of the plant are dyed in various pigments, and sometimes sprinkled with gold dust or silver dust.  These tend to be specialty items, so we don’t have a large number of them at any given point. However, we can color the plants in-house, so someone can always place a special order if they so desire.

I’d have to say my favorite Christmas plant is the Christmas Cactus, however.  It is relatively easy to care for, has no thorns, and reliably provides beautiful blooms at the end of each year as if to say “It’s Christmastime!” It’s also a very long-lived plant.  We recently provided some advice to one of our customers who was given a Christmas Cactus by a close friend over 30 years ago. Given the name Mary, the plant had become a dear family member and held a lot of sentimentality.

 

Q. Anything else you would like to share with us about what you're offering this holiday season?

A. At Kathan Gardens, we’re all about making the customer happy and comfortable.  Our greenhouses offer cover for both product and customers alike, are wired for music, and lighted to make early evening shopping more enjoyable.  As an added bonus, we have a wonderful, heated gift shop attached to our main greenhouse, where customers can find that perfect gift for those hard-to-please friends or family members.  Come on in and check us out.  We promise you won’t be disappointed!

Happy Holidays everyone! #ShopLocal.