Christmas is said to come earlier each year, and at Olive’s Nursery (3402 Sherwood Way) it’s already been unwrapped in an explosion of holiday scents, deco and glitter.
Christmas trees, ranging from elegant silver variants standing 12 feet tall with ornate silver decorations, to simpler green ones festively dotted with ornaments, compete for space in the shop’s interior, where ornaments, garlands, candles and nativity scenes populate each surface.
Out to the west in the greenhouse stands the basic bare-tree forest of various sizes, shape and color, and a permanent installation of Christmas villages is set up in the back depicting both London and New York in Christmastime charm and Santa’s village at the North Pole.
At Olive’s Nursery Christmas isn’t coming, it arrived yesterday.
Owner Tommy Olive sells a couple of ladies ornaments and they leave happily with their purchases, continuing at 71-year tradition of customer service.
The first incarnation of Olives, a seed store in between Sassy Fox and Miss Hattie’s, was started by Tommy Olive’s grandfather. Four locations later, Olive’s has set root in San Angelo.
The family-owned nursery has been at the location on Sherwood Way for 48 years, and thus far continues as a family business with Tommy Olive’s son, John Mark, working hard alongside his father, and his wife Debbie doing the bookkeeping.
“She can do any of it, she can do all of it,” said Tommy Olive in praise of his wife and her contributions to the nursery.
“Our mission is to take care of your needs, indoor and outdoor,” he explained. “I am always happy to advise people on what they need.”
The Christmas Shop within the store is a long-standing tradition with orders for the year beginning as early as January and arriving in the summertime.
Set up of the Christmas store starts in August, “we put out the least conspicuous stuff first,” said Tommy Olive, “though some of it [Christmas Villages] is year-round.”
Olive mentions that many people like to get their shopping done early and not hassle with Black Friday or last-minute shopping.
“There’s a pretty large investment,” he explained, “you can’t sell it all in a week.”
This process of having some stuff year-round makes Olive’s one of the few—if only—Christmas stores in San Angelo.
The year-round Christmas store is not the only thing that makes shopping at Olive’s a unique experience—the attitude of the Olive family add to the charm.
“Writers go to bed thinking of a new stories, we go to bed thinking about putting garland over there, or that bench in front of that fountain and how that would look,” laughs Olive, speaking to how much their lives revolve around the nursery.
“We get enjoyment out of appreciation,” he said, “our joy is people enjoying it [the products].”
If you’re itching to get your Christmas decorations right now, Olive’s Nursery at 3402 Sherwood Way is ready and waiting.
Below a promotional video for Olive's Nursery's holiday shop, made by our very own Katelyn Robertson.
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