“Festival of Trees” – a new tradition begins
by
Debbie Clark
It’s that time of the year when the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge volunteers really get busy. With October came the decorating of the bridge for fall, and shortly after that volunteers have started preparing for the holidays. If you have not visited the bridge in the fall and winter, you are missing out on all the fun and the beauty of the holidays on the bridge.
In October, a large collection of beautiful colored pumpkins arrived at the bridge and the volunteers got out their paints, markers, flowers and thrift store finds and created pretty pumpkins. The volunteers used their imaginations to create some of the most unusual pumpkin designs. The “Pretty Pumpkins” event began October 12th and ends November 2nd on the bridge.
With the “Pretty Pumpkins” still on display, the volunteers have started the process of hanging strands of white Christmas lights in flower beds, trees, arbors, trellises, sheds and even on the bridge itself. It takes several weeks for the volunteers to get all the strands of white lights up and tested for the holiday lighting. Once the lights are up, the volunteers will have a day where they go and get cuttings from conifer trees, hollies and other shrubs for the wreaths and garlands that will be handmade by the volunteers for the bridge.
What most people do not realize is all of the seasonal features that we display on the bridge, start in a planning meeting in the fall with many of our garden volunteers suggesting different ideas on what we can do. Some seasonal features are planned as much as a year out from the actual date that it starts.
This year’s Christmas event is called “Festival of Trees” which will start on November 16th and runs to January 4th. The volunteers will be creating many different themed Christmas trees that will be found throughout the gardens. Plan to add “Festival of Trees” to your family’s holiday traditions.
The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge is looking for artifical Christmas trees from 3 to 6 foot tall. If you have a tree that you would like to donate, we would love to have it for the bridge holiday decorating. Trees can have lights or no lights but must include a stand. Please stop by the bridge on Tuesday or Thursday mornings when our volunteers are working in the gardens to donate your unwanted trees. Tree decorating begins November 1.
Would you like to be a bridge volunteer? Stop by the bridge on Tuesday or Thursday for a volunteer application.
Debbie Clark is a retired Master Gardener, Lake Lure Flowering Bridge volunteer and LLFB board member. Visit her Facebook site for more gardening at “Hickory Nut Gorge Gardeners”
