 olmes Hollow Farm is a small family-owned and -operated Christmas tree farm and nursery, located between Victor and Rochester, in Monroe County, western New York.
The Christmas tree farm was begun in 1959 by Robert and Ellen Holmes shortly after purchasing the property. The farm consists of about 61 acres in a wooded valley, the remains of a glacial pond. The Christmas tree plantation covers about 23 acres of sandy loam in the valley, and is surrounded by wooded slopes, so that it is not visible from any roads.  This creates an air of isolation and solitude, although Eastview Mall is only 5 minutes away. The 3 acre pond and swamp adds to the diversity of the farm, creating a very special habitat and refuge for wildlife. The birdlife is extraordinarily rich given the range of habitats available. Gradually the surrounding lands are being sold to developers and housing tracts are springing up, but Holmes Hollow remains a peaceful haven.
 In 1989 Barbara Holmes and her husband, Andrew Fowler, and daughter, Josephine, returned to the farm to help her parents with the running of the operation. In 1991 Andrew started a small nursery to grow deciduous trees and shrubs for landscapes, taking over a half acre of sandy soil next to the swamp, which to that point had served as a vegetable garden for the household. Andrew now manages the Christmas trees and the nursery full time.
The winterberry photo (home page) is courtesy of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, from the Web site of Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, Maryland).
All other photos were taken by Holmes family members Andrew Fowler and Wendy Clark.
My Father's Garden is an article written about Holmes Hollow by Catherine Holmes Clark, daughter of Robert and Ellen Holmes.
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 Holmes Hollow Tree Farm is a retail cut-your-own operation. We operate a traditional farm without the gaudy trappings seen at many "disneyfied" operations. We open the day after Thanksgiving every year and continue through Christmas Eve. We also open after Christmas to accommodate those of Orthodox Faith who prefer to get their tree much closer to their celebration day.
Customers are greeted when they enter the farm and handed a map and information flyer and a saw, and directed to a parking area. Most areas are accessible by gravel road, but cars are not permitted to drive into the plantation blocks. Customers are encouraged to bring the whole family, especially the kids.
 Once the tree is selected the customer can cut it down and drag it to one of the balers at the parking areas, or request help from any of the staff wearing the red vests. The trees are pulled through the balers and wrapped in a light plastic mesh, making them much easier to get into or onto the car and into the house. The baling service is optional and free. Twine is available at all the balers to tie the tree to the car roof.
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The Holmes Hollow Nursery is a small retail operation specializing in the more unusual woody trees and shrubs. Although technically within the USDA Zone 6, the nursery's location in the valley actually creates a microenvironment equivalent to Zone 5.
 Plants are root-pruned to produce a fibrous root system to better establish in the landscape. Trees are grown in the ground in 14" root-control bags up to a 2" caliper (2" in diameter when measured 6" above the ground). This creates a large tree with a relatively small rootball, compared to balled-and-burlapped trees, and retains 90% of its roots upon digging. At 2" caliper the tree is dug and the bag removed either for immediate planting in the landscape or continued growth in above-ground containers.
Plants are also grown in commercial 1, 3 and 5 gallon plastic containers for quicker sale of smaller plants.
At the present we sell only at the nursery, and do not offer mail-order service. We can deliver within the Rochester area.
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