Last week, I visited Fashion Island last week to find out if they were in the process of putting up the annual Christmas Tree in the courtyard at Fashion Island. And on a warm afternoon, they were in the process of putting up the tree and adding branches to fill it in. Many of the branches were on the ground and the workers were in the process of creating and filling the tree. The tree branches were narrowed at the ends and placed into holes which were drilled into the tree trunk with shims. It was an interesting process. The tree is also anchored to the buildings. Curious about how the tree stays green throughout the season, the workers explained that after the tree was shaped, they sprayed it with a preservative and fire retardant which keeps it green through out the holiday season.