Temporary Tinsel

December 18th, 2009

It is a nibble weird that a guy who describes his relationship to Christmas as “hostile” runs around greater Los Angeles in a floppy red Santa hat and answers his iPhone, “Merry Christmas, this is Scotty Claus!” But bummed as false merriment and gift obligations render him, Scott Martin — landscape architect and tree hugger in a literal sense — was unnerved by the sight of post-Christmas trees lying about like so much discarded sausage casing. What people really ought to do, he reasoned, was rent a Christmas tree, and return it, alive, to the nursery after the season. Mr. Martin’s idea, enabled by a rotten economy that made his free time greater and his potential labor pool deeper, is now manifest in his new business delivering live, potted Christmas trees that are taken away once the toys have been unwrapped.  You can try anything here, and no one will tell you it’s a bad idea,” said Mr. Martin, who is 30 and grew up in the South Bay here, where as a teenager he delivered trees for a nursery. “California is more attached to the green movement, so they are more willing to try this service here.”  (more…)

Entry Filed under: Green