It?s Christmas time again and the smell of fresh Christmas trees is bountiful throughout the Island as local suppliers begin to stock up.

Approximately 11,000 evergreens are forecast to find homes on the Island this year according to Government Plant Protection Officer Claire Jessey.

The officers began inspecting trees that arrived in Bermuda last week. Four officers also went up to Montreal and Vermont to inspect some of the trees before they even reached the Island.

?Inspecting the trees before they arrive in Bermuda is a voluntary service we provide for suppliers. It?s a safety measure for pre-inspection as the trees are still standing on the lot,? Ms Jessey said.

The 40 containers that have been inspected and have landed on the Island so far have looked fine, Ms Jessey said. Inspectors look for a number of different pests and diseases that a tree can carry.

?One problem is pine needle scale which is found underneath the branches and it?s white so it is quite easy to spot. We also look for various rusts and diseases that may come here by hitching a ride on the tree. Carpenter ants are also a problem and they live inside the tree trunk. We look for those once the tree is here and we can look in the trunk once they?re cut,? she explained.

Island suppliers have already opened their containers and started to line their trees up preparing early for the big rush and Ms Jessey said she did not expect a shortage of trees this year. But she advised people to begin contacting suppliers just to be on the safe side to secure a tree. wanted to know how business was going with the tree vendors and headed to a few vendors to find out.

Trees were lined up along the walls at Gorham?s, Esso City Tigermart and the MarketPlace but there weren?t many people driving off with Christmas trees on their car?s roof or in the back of pickup trucks.

Gorham?s had the largest range of sizes of all the suppliers we checked in on, ranging from six to nine feet and priced from $69.50 to $89.50.

Brenda Madeiros, who was at Gorham?s said: ?It?s not too early to get a tree but I haven?t got mine yet.?

She added that she wouldn?t be getting her tree for another two weeks when it gets closer to Christmas.

But if consumers are worried about purchasing trees too early out of fear that they might not last long the Esso City Tigermart salesman explained that as long as the trunk of the tree was placed in water as soon as possible it would have a long life.

Esso?s trees are four to five feet and cost $50 or six to seven feet and cost $70.

At the MarketPlace?s Shopping Centre the sales lady explained that it was the first full day she had opened up the container to sell and that morning she had sold six trees.

The MarketPlace is selling their trees for $49.99 for a five to six foot tree and a six to eight foot tree is priced at $64.99.

For those holiday revellers who are allergic to evergreens or aren?t fussed about cleaning up pine needles everyday the Phoenix has some fake trees for sale.

An undecorated three foot evergreen look alike costs $39.95 while a six and a half foot tree equipped with its own white lights runs at $165.

The fake trees have their benefits in that they last for years to come but the smell of a fresh tree can sometimes never be beat.