Ready to move on from petunia and sunflower gardening, Wilma eventually settles on the idea of growing balsam trees. She orders “sixty-two dozen small starts” and enlists the help of Parker, her five-year-old neighbor. After measuring straight rows and digging holes, the pair plants all 744 trees. They care for the young trees as the years pass. Although some are lost to mice, deer, moose, and bad weather, 597 trees are finally ready to sell the year Parker turns ten. Between individual sales and a city tree lot purchase, almost all the balsams are gone by Christmas, leaving Wilma and Parker ready to order seedlings for spring planting. Warm watercolor and gouache illustrations capture the quiet comradeship of the neighborly duo during the regular cycling of the seasons, as trees and boy grow up together. (Ages 5–10)

When Wilma decides that her garden needs a new beginning, she gathers string, scissors, shovels, sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and Parker, her five-year-old neighbor. Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many they plant, how many perish, and how many grow to become Christmas trees. This companion to the award-winning Pumpkins: A Story for a Field is a lyrical, behind-the-scenes look at the intricate lives of Christmas trees. Includes an author's note about the history and cultivation of Christmas trees.