There’s nothing quite like real fir. Here are the best places in London to buy a proper Christmas tree (or have one delivered from if you’re fancy)
Christmas isn't just a season, it's an opportunity to sink into a nostalgic, multisensory wonderland of tastes, scents, lights and colours. And the best way to do that is to get a real fir tree, which will fill your home with its irresistible pine scent. Deck it out with tinsel and baubles and you'll feel instantly festive, and ready to take on London's snowstorm of seasonal shows, winter pop-ups, and markets.
If you’ve got metres of space or just a minuscule spot for a tree, you’ll find something to help you get in the spirit at one of the many garden centres and pop-ups selling firs and spruces around London. Before you make your choice, here are some tips and tricks to getting the right one – and getting rid of it come January.
The Norway spruce is the tree that generations of Brits have grown up with: but although its shape is traditional and the price is affordable, you're likely to be hoovering its needles out of the carpet til Easter. The Nordmann fir is a pricier alternative that hangs onto its needles and is softer and glossier, which is great if you want less chance of pricking your fingers. If you're after a rich fragrance, seek out the rare Scots pine for its delicious scent, or make a fashion statement with the blue spruce, which has a gorgeous silvery hue.
Don’t buy a tree until you've measured the space you want to put it in, and don't forget to take into account both the height of your ceilings and the fact that the stand you pick will probably add an inch or two. A tree's width will likely expand threefold once it has been freed from its netting: ask your tree seller to snip it off your purchase if you want to check it's symmetrical. You can always chop away unnecessary branches, but remember, children under 12 should not handle chainsaws unsupervised.
If you’ve not arranged a tree pick-up, your local council should offer a tree recycling service. See www.londonrecycles.co.uk for details.
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Brothers Josh and Sam Lyle founded Pines and Needles as teenagers in 1995, flogging trees from a horse box on their Scottish family farm. They’re now based in 30 locations in London (including Crystal Palace, Victoria Park, Notting Hill and Kenwood House). The spots open from late November and have a unique selling point: kilted salesmen dedicated to helping you pick out various firs in sizes up a whopping 12ft.
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Camden Garden Centre is a great place to shop for numerous reasons. They employ disadvantaged Londoners, so you’re helping them help others. The fabulous staff have tons of knowledge. And, come late November, they sell great Christmas trees that are waiting to be spruced up with tinsel, bauble and twinkling lights. Need more festive flora? They also sell wreaths, holly and mistletoe.
Collection and delivery
British-grown trees of all varieties – including noble and Fraser firs as well as non-drop Nordmanns – are packed into branches of The Christmas Forest. There are 10 ‘forests’ dotted around the city (including Stoke Newington, Highbury, Ealing and Dulwich) from which you can collect your tree or you can select one for delivery. It’s an eco-friendly enterprise, too. Every tree that’s cut down is replaced with another and, so far, they’ve planted more than 250,000 trees in Africa. Keep an eye out for 'forests' popping up around the end of November.
Collection and delivery
Columbia Road Flower Market, a contender for London’s most visually appealing set of stalls, gets even more aesthetic with the arrival of bushy firs each winter. The stalls flog a range of evergreens and festive flora, each with its own deals and prices. Head down there on Wednesdays in the run-up to Christmas, when the independent shops lining the street stay open till 9pm and carol singers serenade shoppers.
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Alexandra Palace is a seriously Christmassy place in and of itself – so what could be better than taking a festive trip there for a Christmas tree? Nothing, that’s what. After you've visited the ice rink and marvelled at London's wintry panorama, head to the garden centre – a great spot all year round, but one that goes all out for Christmas, selling potted trees and freshly cut ones, and even festive lights and decor.
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This stately nursery has been a horticulturist’s paradise since 1851, and in that time, it’s learned how to do Christmas very well. In between its topiarised box trees and hothouses, it’s got a dedicated Christmas shop filled with sparkling decorations. Plus, you can pick up lush Nordmann firs in sizes ranging from two-and-a-half feet to more than ten feet tall, so there are options for the cosiest to grandest of spaces.
Collection and delivery
This independent garden centre is well-loved in Battersea for its wide array of floral bouquets, trendy house plants, potted firs and more. It’s also a cute AF day out, with homemade signs saying things like ‘plant magic’ lining the walls. Combine a botanical trip with your Christmas tree buying, or get one delivered if you’re local to the area.
Collection and local delivery
On the fringes of Wandsworth Common, you’ll find one of the largest nurseries in the capital – and one of the most wonderful. It gets even better at Christmas time, when it gets stocked full of trees of all different sizes and types, plus festive wreaths and garlands, lights and glittering decorations ready to create your own winter wonderland.
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The folk at this landscaping company trawl the country’s Christmas tree farms to pick out the perfect evergreens to sell. You can buy their fine firs – plus wreaths, lights, holly and bundles of spruce – at seven collection points across west London from late November. Or order one online for delivery, with the option of installation when the spruce gets to yours, too. Add on baubles, lights and other decorations to tick off everything in one go.
Collection and delivery
The online garden centre filling London’s homes and offices with lush houseplants of all shapes and sizes is upping its game for Christmas. Pick between Albie, a small white Spruce, Norman, a Norway spruce, or Nora, a Nordmann fir (and the UK's favourite Christmas tree). They'll deliver your chosen evergreen straight to your door: you can even pick one that's pre-covered in cute little pompoms, to save yourself a job.
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Christmas can be seriously wasteful, which is why Green Elf Trees was founded to bring a more sustainable approach to festive tradition. They offer the UK's only 'rent and replant' trees, which get returned to the wild after their stint indoors. Their business is zero waste, and its firs are even delivered on electric delivery vehicles to make sure you can enjoy your tree, guilt free.
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Fancy something a little more upmarket? Check out the Chelsea Gardener, a lovely little green oasis in the heart of Chelsea with some seriously nice festive bits to spruce up your home come Crimbo. Choose from a range of Christmas trees, plus all the necessary ornaments, wreaths and decorations to really make it sparkle.
Collection and delivery
Kensington garden centre Rassells has a lavish magic all year round. But things step up a notch every winter, when it's populated by a fragrant selection of top-notch Christmas trees, which are available to order or bought in-person when you stop by. Ask the on-site florist to rustle up some gorgeous festive wreaths and garlands for the perfect decorative finish.
Collection and delivery
In 1989, a disused swimming pool car park was taken over by Sunshine Garden Centre, bringing a new ray of light to a previously drab area. The store has been running ever since and is still an ideal spot to pick up a bushy, sustainable tree ahead of December 25. While you’re there, stock up on lights, decorations, gifts, festive food and cards – truly an unexpected festive one-stop shop.
Collection and delivery
You’ll only find the freshest of fires at online-only Creekside Christmas. The company collects its pines (traditional Norway spruces, Fraser firs and non-drop Nordmann firs) every morning to ensure only top quality trees are heading customers’ way. With an extensive delivery area across the capital, which includes central and postcodes N, NW, EC, E, SE, SW, WC, W, SM and CR, the Creekside team declare themselves the ‘cheapest supplier of Christmas trees to your door in London’. They can collect your old tree too.
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This large garden centre on leafy Bishop’s Avenue is a sparkling one-stop festive shop kitted out with crafty decorations and ornaments, gifts and trees galore – all arriving in late November. There’s even artificial foliage for those whose track record with houseplants isn’t great. Anyone with greener fingers should nab one of the lush, hand-picked, fir-real evergreens.
South Londoners know not to be put off by the fact that weekly Saturday get-together Brockley Market is in a car park, as its massive array of fresh fish, veg and delicious cheese and charcuterie is unmatched in the area. Come Christmas, it’s also a cracking place for all your Christmas tree needs – you can pre-order one to pick up later or choose your spruce in the moment.
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Petersham Nurseries might be truly joyous at any time of year, but it really comes into its own come Christmas. Visit the original Richmond branch to peruse British-grown trees in an assortment of shapes and sizes, alongside exquisite wreaths and imaginative decorations. Feeling arty? Join their seasonal workshops and learn how to make some new crafts to display over the festive period.
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Formerly the Truman’s social club, Big Penny Social in Walthamstow is the UK’s biggest beer hall. Not the place you’d necessarily search for a Christmas tree, sure, but you’d be missing a trick not to give it a go. From November 21, its outside garden fills up with beautiful firs for you to browse and buy. Plus, you get a free mulled wine or hot chocolate with every order. Now that’s a sell.
Collection and delivery
Looking for gift inspiration? Look no further than London’s Christmas markets. At most of them you’ll find foodie gifts, handcrafted pressies and usually a bit of glühwein to help you get into that merry spirit.
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