This weekend officially starts the holiday season. For my girlfriend (and by association, me) that means getting a a real live Christmas Tree! Instead of buying one at one of those street corner Christmas tree shops that pop up out of nowhere, or a big corporate conglomerate such as Home Depot, we decided to stay local and head on down to Gethsemane Garden Center located at 5739 N. Clark Street.

As soon as we arrived we were greeted with very knowledgeable staff. After looking at a few trees that made us say “eh,” our helper found the perfect one. They wrapped it up, made a fresh cut at the bottom of the trunk for watering, and even strapped it to the top of the car before we left. Everyone of their staff was super nice and provided impeccable service.

I grew up in a fake-tree-and-other-holiday-stuff household, so to my surprise and my girlfriend’s chagrin, Gethsemane even had other holiday decoration made of real shrubbery and stuff. Wreaths, holly, and everything fake that my mother has ever decorated with is available here in its real form. Amazing.

If that wasn’t enough, Gethsemane Garden has a greenhouse that, uh, houses more plants. It was nice to warm up in there after looking at all of the trees. It is a little hard to believe that a place like this is just a five minute drive away from my apartment.

Remember, at the end of the holiday season, trees can be recycled. The Chicago Recycling Coalition lists the places in Chicago that you can bring your tree for environmentally friendly disposal.