Christmas in the air (& field)

The pungent aroma of evergreens fills the air.

Christmas music wafts through the cold December air.

Walking through rows upon rows of 5- to 7-feet tall pines, firs, spruce and cypress, visitors to Wonderland Christmas Tree Farm have myriad choices for the perfect tree to take home. Interspersed with the mature, harvest-able trees are seedlings just waiting for their turn to find a home.

In the rural setting, just minutes from town, Martin and Jill Babb have turned a hobby into a business -- a business they moved from Omaha, Ark., when they moved to Pea Ridge in 2009 and one just now opening.

The Babbs said they want to provide a fun, wholesome family experience for Christmas on the 38 acres of Christmas trees ready for new homes. They have carefully orchestrated the experience for their customers, providing Christmas music playing over outside speakers and a hayride to transport customers into the fields to find their perfect tree. For those who prefer to walk, there are tree carts to carry the trees out of the field.

Trees to buy start at 5 to 6 feet with Virginia Pine. Fraser fir range from 7 to 14 feet tall. Prices begin at $36 for the shorter trees.

"We have everything except the gloves," Martin said, explaining that bow saws are available on site.

Martin made the tree carts by cutting and welding deer carts for customers to carry the trees out of the fields. Once back up by the shed, trees may be placed in corrals, then in the "tree shaker" to remove dead needles. The tree is bagged and placed on the customers' cars or in trucks. Babb built 16-inch wooden boxes for the vehicles to park between and ran twine through PVC pipe to thread the twine through the tree limbs over the car to tie it on.

On the front porch of the gift shop, there is a Santa letter box and wooden soldiers; inside there are ornaments, Christmas cookies, wreaths, Christmas outfits for children and assorted gifts for sale.

"We've had non-stop photo requests," Jill said. One couple scheduled a photography session at the farm and the young man proposed during the photo session.

"It's been really pleasurable," Jill said. "We'll do more of that after January, when it's calm."

The closest cut-your-own tree farm is Owasso, Okla., Jill Babb said.

The Babbs moved to Pea Ridge from Omaha, Ark., in 2009. There, they had a Christmas tree farm and decided to plant one at their new home. Some of their current customers are from Bella Vista and used to drive to Omaha to buy their trees.

Martin Babb is a ship captain and his work takes him away for weeks at a time. Growing the trees began as a hobby and flourished as Babb continued to educate himself on the trees. He experiments with different species and plants as many as 3,000 2-year-old seedlings every year.

"I started trying to grow trees," Martin said, adding that he eventually "figured it out."

"It's in him," Jill said of Martin. "He just loves trees."

Each tree has its unique characteristic. Some are aromatic, some have long needles, some have short.

Several acres of Fraser fir died during a hot spell, Jill Babb said.

There are pre-cut trees available as well as the cut-your-own. Lanes of "marketable trees" are marked with candy canes. Species available include Fraser Fir, Concolor Fir, Scotch Pine, Virginia Pine, Leyland Cypress, Eastern White Pine, Southwestern White Pine, Blue Spruce, Meyer Spruce and Turkish Fir.

Martin moved from California to Arkansas in 1977. Jill, originally from Illinois, moved to Omaha where the two met. In March, they will have been married 35 years. The Babbs have four grown children, 13 grandchildren with two more on the way. Three of their grown children help with the tree farm.