As I walked between the rows of Norfolk pines, the sun above was hot and the red dirt below a little muddy from recent rain.

It wasn’t exactly a classic winter wonderland scene with snowflakes fluttering onto a forest of tall pines . It was the Hawaii version — a visit to Helemano Farms in Wahiawa, the island’s only Christmas tree farm, to pick out a locally grown tree.

And you know what? The experience was well worth the trip.

This year, Helemano Farms is offering Norfolk pines, Leyland cypresses (a special hybrid of Monterey cypress and Alaskan cedar trees) and, new this year, silver-blue Carolina Sapphires and evergreen Japanese Yoshino cedar trees.

A visit to Helemano Farms in Whitmore Village was on my to-do list for years, but the days in December would fly by, and getting the Christmas tree would be a last-minute dash to the lot (though you can also buy the farm’s trees at Whole Foods Market).

By buying a local tree, you help eliminate the risk of invasive pests, primarily yellow jackets and slugs, shipped in from the mainland. This year, 11 containers were held for treatment, according to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. You also support a local, family-owned business.

The late Hawaii executive Mike O’Brien started Helemano Farms in 2002 as a retirement project. He began planting Norfolk pines that year, ultimately more than 15,000. Today his family continues to run the farm.

It’s a fun excursion for the whole family — and that includes your dog, as long as it is on a leash. I know the experience of running excitedly between the rows to find the right tree will be something my son, now in kindergarten, will remember.

Friendly workers at the farm offer to take a family portrait by your tree, cut it, wrap it and help load it onto the car. Some folks spend up to an hour walking around the farm looking for just the right tree.

We were easy. We found ours, a Leyland cypress, within 15 minutes.

The Norfolk pines, originally from Australia’s Norfolk Island, are a vibrant green and do not shed. When you cut a Norfolk above the very bottom branches, its stump will keep on growing. The Leylands, fast-growing coniferous evergreens, are fuller and softer, without as much gap between branches, and have a very light pine scent.

Melissa Salgado, a mother of two and a surf instructor at Hans Hedemann Surf School, has bought her family’s tree here for the past four years.

Besides being an earth- friendly choice that supports a local business, she says she keeps returning because staff at the farm have always been helpful and patient. Driving out to Helemano Farms from Kaimuki is a nice road trip.

“We just love being able to choose our tree that is growing out of the ground, right in front of us,” she said. “I feel like it brings us closer to nature in that way.”

Helemano Farms opened for the season the day after Thanksgiving. Norfolk pines start at $45, while Leyland cypress trees start at $60, depending on height. There are also wreaths for $25 and jars of mountain apple jelly and lilikoi jelly for $10. Open noon to sunset from Wednesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to sunset on Saturday and Sunday. Visit helemanofarms.com.

Nina Wu writes about environmental issues. Reach her at 529-4892 or nwu@staradvertiser.com and read her blog at thegreenleaf.staradvertiserblogs.com.