business for environmentally conscious resident Mr. Bruce Lorhan.

He single-handedly managed to turn his backyard into a forest of endemic Bermuda cedar trees -- nearly wiped out by a mid-1940s blight.

And he plans to put them on sale this Christmas, encouraging residents to consider the Island's valuable environment and buy a "re-usable tree''.

Cedars dominated the Bermuda landscape before the juniper or cedar scale, brought here accidentally, destroyed about 80 percent of the trees over the course of six years.

Mr. Lorhan's trees are all sold in pots, which they can be kept in for up to two years before being planted in the ground.

The painting company owner started growing cedars at his Orange Valley, Devonshire home seven years ago.

Through a substantial investment in time and money for pesticides and fertilisers, he managed to grow a staggering 1,000-plus healthy cedars.

"It's a lot of work watching out for juniper and cedar scale -- the blight that killed them all off in the first place,'' he said. "They have to be sprayed regularly.'' Mr. Lorhan has been casually selling his cedars, often as customary wedding cake-toppers to be planted before the bride leaves home.

He sold about 75 as Christmas trees and gifts last year, he said. They can be bought as three-inch-high saplings. And as "apartment-size'' or seven-eight-foot-high Christmas trees.

They also make great environmental Christmas presents, he noted.

And he offers bulk prices to encourage people to buy several at a time to help in reforestation of them.

Prices start at $3.50 for saplings to $100 for seven-to-eight foot trees, which includes delivery, he said.

"In the olden days they used to go out into the forest, pick out a tree and cut it down for Christmas,'' Mr. Lorhan said. "Now you can come here and pick out a tree, use it over Christmas and then plant it your garden. Why have a tree you have to throw out?'' He added: "I give out a fact sheet on how to look after your cedar tree and I'm always on call.'' Mr. Lorhan began planting cedars out of an interest in reforesting all of Bermuda's endemic trees -- palmettos, olive wood. The cedar crop took on a life of its own.

This year, by the way, is "1993 plant-a-tree year'', he noted. Mr. Lorhan can be reached at 236-3134.

REUSABLE CHRISTMAS TREES -- Environmentally conscious Bermudian Mr. Bruce Lorhan shows off his backyard forest of 1000-plus Bermuda cedars, which he plans to sell as Christmas trees or gifts this season.