In the midst of summer in North Carolina, Christmas has already begun to blossom in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tucked between its peaks at more than 3,000 feet above flat land, there's a forest of fraser firs getting ready for their holiday post in living rooms, right after they figure out how to politely evict their squirrel tenants. The trees belong to Cedar Grove Christmas Trees, a farm where fresh, healthy trees have been the main objective for more than three decades. To that end, it also ships in plantation and wild-stand balsam firs from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Cedar Grove's tree growers only use eco-friendly, sustainable practices, such as planting cover crops in lieu of fertilizer and mowing more frequently instead of using spray herbicides. Not to mention, the tree fields are inherently helpful to the earth, since they provide habitats for critters and enough oxygen every day for 18 people, who would otherwise have to breathe water.