DECK THE HALLS

When we think of ‘decking the halls’ we think of bringing indoors greenery from the garden and woodland for Christmas decorations. Excluding the Christmas tree this would be holly, ivy and mistletoe.

Let us think of the traditional carol ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ and then relate it to the actual plants.

‘The holly and the ivy when they are both full grown, of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.’

The plants convey both Christian and pagan ideas. The druids used holly to celebrate the winter solstice; it was also used in saturnalia rites dating back to Roman times.
The holly symbolises man and the ivy woman. It is thought that the words of the carol were associated with an ancient fertility dance.
There are symbols of paganism and Christianity in that the green represents the continuing life throughout winter, the red berries represent the blood of Christ and the prickles on the leaves the Crown of Thorns Jesus was forced to wear at His crucifixion. To get lovely red berries on a holly tree or bush in the garden both male and female plants are needed.

The much-maligned ivy is a wonderful plant for decoration with its long tendrils and shaped leaves.
It can be twined through the stair rails or over the mantelpiece; it also looks pretty against a white cloth for Christmas dinner. 

It is an excellent habitat for wild life being evergreen and it provides homes for many insects and birds in our garden. The flowers bloom late in the year and it provides ample pollen for bees and then the blue berries are food for the birds when all else is eaten. Have you noticed that at a certain height the leaf shape changes and the plant seems to become a tree. I learnt recently that if you take cuttings from this part of the plant it grows with the new leaf shape.

 The mistletoe is also brought indoors at Christmas again a custom from pagan times. Not only is it used for making a kissing bough or ring but for hanging in the doorway to protect the house from witches.

  The plant is a semi parasite; that means it derives its water and some minerals from its host but makes its own food from photosynthesis of the green leaves. It is spread by the birds eating the white sticky berries and wiping their beaks on the bark of apple, oak or poplar trees in this country. There are many different varieties of mistletoe throughout the world. A different variety grows in North America and it is the emblem of the state of Oklahoma in the USA. In France you can see huge balls of mistletoe growing on the poplar trees on the side of the road. That which grew on oak trees was the most prized in ancient times as it was thought to be more ‘powerful’.

There is a large and famous Mistletoe market in Tenbury Wells. The next auction is on December 8th. Farmers bring their mistletoe from all over Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire where it is most abundant to be auctioned there. It also grows in parts of Somerset.

If you buy mistletoe do make sure it is English and not French to help maintain the tradition.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

As well as a well stocked garden nursery, they have an outstanding garden and
a meadow where the native trees they planted now form an attractive
and colourful copse. The meadow attracts a wonderful collection of
butterflies and moths and other wildlife.
The Coles have always collected and grown their own seed when they felt it
interesting or desirable. They have a good selection of rudbeckias, both annual and perennial, and some echinacea.

Rob will guide you around the garden and explain the meaning of the names.

Visitors are able to purchase specimens of the plants they see around the garden.