Commercial Christmas Garland

Garland is the piece that ties a program together. Lighting draws the eye and props stop people walking, but garland is what makes railings, columns, entrances and storefronts look deliberately decorated rather than merely lit.

Everything here comes in 10 foot sections, which turns a long run into arithmetic rather than a custom order. Diameters run from 12 inches to 24 inches: Scotch Pine at 12 inches, Mountain Pine and the decorated ranges at 14 inches, Deluxe Mixed Foliage at 18 inches, and Torrey Pine and Bristle Pine at 20 inches. Some decorated styles are also sold by the foot for runs that do not divide neatly into sections.

Choosing a diameter. Match it to the distance people view it from and the mass of what it is attached to. A 12 or 14 inch garland suits handrails, doorframes and interior use. An 18 or 20 inch garland holds its own on civic building facades, thick columns and long exterior runs, where a thinner garland reads as a line rather than as decoration.

Lit, unlit or decorated. Prelit garland arrives with commercial LED or incandescent lighting installed, which saves crew hours at the busiest time of year. Unlit garland gives control over the theme and lets you spread electrical load across circuits on larger installations. Decorated ranges come with shatterproof, UV protected ornamentation already attached.

Measuring a run. Measure the actual path the garland follows, including corners and any drape you want between fixing points, rather than the straight line distance. Draped runs consume noticeably more than a tape measure suggests, and running short mid-installation is the most common avoidable problem on a garland order.

On how long commercial greenery lasts in service, see how long commercial Christmas decorations last.

Pre-decorated garland typically ships in 2 to 6 weeks, and that window widens as the season approaches, so a district ordering in September has fewer options than one ordering in June.