By Jim McCausland, Sunset senior garden writer

My wife likes to start Christmas early—as in Thanksgiving weekend. That's when we head out to the Christmas tree farm with a saw and $40 in hand. She chooses, I cut, the farm bails the tree for an extra $2 so it fits into the car (see photo below), and we head home. It's ritual, and we love it.

I guess it would make sense to use an artificial tree, since you buy it only once, it's fireproof, it doesn't shed needles, and you never have to water it. But I'm a gardener, and I love fragrant things fresh from the land.

This year my wife picked a stately Noble fir (Abies procera). Its shape is full and perfect, its scent is fresh, and we know from experience that it will hold well for weeks indoors.

Once we get it home, we cut a half inch off the bottom of the trunk, position it in the stand, and add water. The fresh cut trunk takes up water better than one that was cut even 30 minutes earlier, so the tree remains fresher longer if I top off the stand's reservoir every day.

If the water ever falls below the trunk's base, the cut end seals and the tree stops taking up water and dries out unless I quickly recut another the base.

If you're a fan of fresh trees, I strongly recommend cutting them yourself. Ubiquitous U-cut farms make it practical, fun, and cheaper that most Christmas tree lots. And you'll get a better quality tree because it's fresher, and has probably been sheared at least once during the previous year to give it an even, full shape. The cutting process ends up being a great family ritual too, and I suspect that after a few years, you'll love it as much as we do.