Tuesday, December 11, 2012
If you haven't already, here's how to pick out the best tree for your home, preference and price point.
There are plenty of places in St. Louis Park to pick out this year's Christmas tree, including: With so many options, picking out a Christmas tree can sometimes make you feel like you're in "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Any given tree can either be too short, too tall, too bald, too bushy or have a myriad of other problems. So how can you tell which tree is the right one for you? To help select your favorite tree, the characteristics of the more popular species are listed below. Douglas-fir: This tree is generally available as a sheared tree and is the most common species found on tree lots. It has a nice fragrance and a medium-to-good shelf life. Because of the thick, bushy crowns, they do not lend themselves to large or heavy decorations…
Sunday, December 9, 2012
This week's roundup includes a new clinic, answers to some light rail questions, a man's fifth DWI-related charge and concerns about a bandshell's location.
Editor’s Note: Every week we bring you a sampling of stories from Patch sites in the west metro: Eden Prairie, Edina, Fridley, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Lake Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Richfield, Southwest Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and St. Michael. St. Michael Couple, Now Split, Takes Troubles to 'Judge Judy' A disagreement about a man's loan to his then-girlfriend for Homeowner Association dues was featured on the popular TV court show. See the video for Judge Judy's no-nonsense attitude and her ruling. Take a Digital Tour of the Revamped Southdale Center Just in time for holiday shoppers, extensive renovations at Edina's iconic Southdale Center are nearly complete. The mall has been open for business all along, of …
Monday, December 19, 2011
Do you know how the Christmas tree tradition began?
Long before the advent of Christianity, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. Some cultures believed evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness. The beginning of the Christmas tree tradition, as we know it, began in Germany in the 16th century. As waves of Germans arrived in America, in the 19th Century, many Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. Which U.S. state is credited with having the first Christmas tree on display? Editor's Note: Select your answer in the poll below and tell us how you know the answer in the comments section. We'll post the correct answer with our next holiday trivia question.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Minnesota Christmas-tree growers say their crop offers numerous economic and environmental advantages over artificial trees.
There’s more to love about a real Christmas tree than the pretty ornaments. Tree-growers in Minnesota cite a number of factors—both environmental and economic—that make their products preferable to their artificial competition. “Bringing a real Christmas tree into the home is a tradition that goes back centuries. The tree's pleasant aroma gives an instant reminder that Christmas is in the air,” says the Rum River and Hampton Hills Tree Farms website at CutYourOwn.com. Living trees, the site notes, are a renewable, recyclable resource: “Artificial trees, on the other hand, average a lifespan of only six years; then [they] are tossed in a landfill, where they lie in a composed state for centuries.” Adds Krueger’s Christmas Trees of Lake Elmo…
Friday, December 2, 2011
From parking lots to tree farms, in St. Louis Park and beyond.
Lots of families have strict rules against decorating for Christmas before the turkey is carved. Lucky for those families, we're a week removed from Thanksgiving and just more than three weeks away from Christmas. And where do most holiday decorations start? With a Christmas tree. And where do you get that Christmas tree? Well it depends. Lucky for you, Patch's little bird lets you in on five places to get a Christmas tree within an easy distance of St. Louis Park: 1) Knollwood Mall parking lot: B&J Trees brings "trees from a local grower to a lot near you." With locations spread out across the metro, B&J offers top quality Christmas trees and very affordable prices. It's peak tree time right now, so they're slinging firs from 9am-9pm, …
Caitlin Burgess
10:15 pm on Monday, December 19, 2011
Oh and by the way everyone, those who answered Pennsylvania were correct! more ›