Charleston Living Magazine Nov-Dec 2021

(Right): A train ride for kids was added
to the Christmas Tree Farm; Rows of
South Carolina Christmas trees ready for
the season; On weekends, Santa makes an
appearance at the farm.
Fraser Fir and Balsam Fir, Lebanon Christmas
Tree Farm ships those fresh-cut from North
Carolina and stands them up in a forest setting,
so families can still get the experience of
choosing and cutting their perfect tree.
“It’s not a Christmas tree lot; it’s like you
are picking out a tree from the field, that’s
what we were going for,” Velarde said. “We
ship premium, top-rated trees that are fuller
and prettier.”
For a lifelong Christmas tree farmer in
South Carolina, Julianna is partial to the local
trees grown in Ridgeville.
“My favorite has to be the Carolina
sapphire; I call this the ‘Lowcountry favorite’
because it’s native to South Carolina, it has
a blueish tint to it and I love smell; it is so
fragrant and beautiful, it is definitely my favorite,”
Velarde said.
Lebanon Christmas Tree Farms takes
care of everything; providing saws and chainsaws
(although you can bring your own),
netting and even securing your tree on top of
your vehicle.
Starting on Nov. 20, the tree farm will
welcome people to the property for the 2021
season.
Julianna has built upon the tree-cutting
experience over the last decade, now adding
the weekend attraction “Santa’s Workshop”
with train rides, hay rides, hot cocoa
and apple cider, a food truck, meeting with
Santa and even letting children mail letters to
Santa, where each and every one gets a mailed
response.
“On the weekends, we have Santa, Mrs.
Claus and holiday arts and crafts and I usually
add more things each year, like a scavenger
hunt,” she said.
Many families end up picking a tree
and then spending hours exploring the fields
among rows of planted trees, visiting Santa’s
Workshop and enjoying refreshments and
activities.
“We have this holding station for trees
when people choose and cut their trees and
we always think someone cut down a tree and
left it here, but really they’ve been spending
the entire day on the tree farm. They always
come back and get their tree,” Velarde said.
Julianna said that seeing the same families
come back each year to the Christmas tree
farm is what keeps her going.
“It’s so sweet to see the families who
come every year and we get to know them. If
we didn’t see someone, my dad and I would
talk and say, ‘so-and-so didn’t come, we better
check on them.’”
This is a bittersweet year for Julianna;
it’s the first year Velarde is running the farm
without her father, who passed away in August.
Her husband, Cesar Velarde, was granted November
off from active-duty military to help
his wife and the business.
Owning and running a tree farm is a
full-time job. Pruning, watering, maintenance,
pest control and more are required to get the
full, bushy trees worthy of a holiday home.
“Growing up, my father taught me how
to plant trees, prune them, use fertilizer, spray
weed control...we were right there together
drinking iced tea while doing it,” she said.
“People don’t realize it’s a full time job, it’s
Monday-Friday and there’s always something
that needs to be done on the Christmas trees—
we even spray a food coloring-based product to
make them more traditional green.”
To keep the tree farm replenished, every
January, they take inventory of how many
were cut down that season in order to know
how many more need to be planted.
PHOTO ALEECE SOPHIA
92 | CharlestonLivingMag.com