Gardening

HOLLY BEARS THE CROWN

Mike Burks, Managing Director, The Gardens Group

There are many plants associated with Christmas, with the Christmas carol The Holly and the Ivy listing two – the holly representing Jesus and the ivy being the Virgin Mary, although there are some who say that it has pagan origins. Whichever is true, and of course both could be, both plants are really useful around Christmas.

Hollies can be in full berry at Christmas and are often used in wreaths, swags or even stuck in the top of the Christmas pud! It’s the female varieties that bear the fruit including Golden King, which is female, with Silver Queen a male. Golden King has wonderful golden variegation in its leaves and bright red fruit. There are some hermaphrodite varieties, which means both male and female flowers are on the same plant and JC Van Tol is one with a mass of red berries.

Ivies too are heavily used in wreaths and garlands and being evergreen are tough and can cope very happily with being hacked about; they are perfect for this role. It may be that the ordinary green variety is the best for such purposes but look out for the variegated varieties too such as Goldheart or the fine-cut leaf forms such as Sagittarius.

The leaf shape of ivy changes when the plant moves from its juvenile to its adult form when the defined finger-like leaves change to much more rounded shapes. At this stage the plant also starts to be able to flower serving as a really useful food source for many insects late in the year. Birds love the berries and they are also favoured by flower arrangers who use them when making Christmas displays.

Mistletoe has not been in high demand in Covid times but it’s very much a part of Christmas. It dates back to the 8th century as a tradition but it’s uncertain as to why. It certainly has links to druid rituals and is often referred to as having medicinal or even magical properties. The plant grows in the cracks and crevices of trees including mature apples and is semi-parasitic. This means that it has rootlike structures that penetrate the host obtaining water and nutrients, but it can photosynthesise without the help of its host.

There are many houseplants associated with Christmas, including the Poinsettia which is a type of Euphorbia. Traditionally, Poinsettias are grown for their red bracts (which are the leaves that come underneath the insignificant flowers). However, with modern plant breeding there are now pink, white, cream or even variegated forms giving a different twist. They originate from central America and the red leaves form when they have had 12 hours of darkness for a period of eight weeks or so. It is sometimes known as the Flower of Christmas or the Christmas Star.

A type of succulent, the Christmas cacti or Schlumbergera is often associated with Christmas but could also be known as the Easter cacti too! In fact, it can be in flower at all sorts of different times of the year. It is a pleasing plant and easy to propagate making it good fun for younger gardeners. Traditionally, the plants would be abandoned under the greenhouse bench for a few weeks in the summer and then be brought back upright, fed and watered, with flower buds following soon afterwards.

I love Amaryllis. They offer a wonderful huge flower and if bigger bulbs are grown there can be a cluster of flowers or a ‘succession’ and can ‘wow’ for many weeks. They make an excellent present especially as a kit with the bulb, a pot and some potting compost as the pleasure is in growing it yourself and watching the development of the leaves and the flowers. There are so many flower colours and shapes available now, but my preference remains the dark red which is stunning.

Plants are important throughout the year but can give special joy over the weeks to Christmas and into New Year.

WINTER BIRDS

Simon Ford, Gardener and Land and Nature Adviser

December can be quite a forlorn month, trudging through muddy fields with heavy clods of clay sticking to the wellies and the odd ‘caw’ from some rooks in a distant oak tree. Most of the trees and hedges are bare of leaves and only the odd brave red campion in the hedge is still in flower.

In the past, winter stubble would have been left by farmers, with weed seeds to sustain birds, but nowadays, it is much more common for winter wheat or barley to be planted in the autumn, which is devoid of food for wildlife.

Some hedgerow trees that have not been flailed, still have fruit and nuts, such as hawthorn, holly, crab-apple, spindle, hazel, acorn and beech-mast. These are very important for our birds as well as mammals such as wood mouse and grey squirrel. However, many species of birds fly south to warmer climes in the winter, where they can find ample food and do not have to scratch out a sparse living in the fields of Dorset. These include insect eating species such as swallows, house martins, swifts, cuckoos, flycatchers and chiffchaffs. They are known as summer visitors and will breed here, before returning to their winter haunts.

While many species that we love to see in our gardens and countryside are not going to be back until April or May, there is a corresponding group of birds known as winter visitors, which make the United Kingdom their winter home. These are generally species which breed in northern countries such as Scandinavia, Russia, Iceland and Greenland, but understandably cannot find food under the snow and ice in the winter, so come here to enjoy our relative balmy weather, thanks to the Gulf Stream. Most well known are the large flocks of geese, such as brent, barnacle and pinkfooted, whooper swans, waders such as the graceful avocets as well as widgeon, goldeneye and eider duck. These are drawn to the coast and large wetlands, such as the Somerset Levels, the Severn and Exe Estuary, Poole Harbour and the Fleet. They make a wonderful spectacle and draw bird watchers from near and far. Dress up warm and bring binoculars or a telescope to the hides at Slimbridge, Ham Walls, Greylake, Brownsea Island or Radipole Lake.

DKeith/Shutterstock

However, it is possible to see large flocks of rather beautiful birds in the thrush family, known as redwings and fieldfares, in West Dorset farmland and occasionally gardens. These birds are attracted to fruit such as hawthorn, rowan and also fallen apples in orchards and will work systematically along suitable hedgerows in groups, making quite a noise. Sometimes they will strip garden shrubs, such as the orange berries of Pyracantha.

Arguably the greatest spectacle of all are flocks of a once common and maligned bird - the starling. People think of them as a dowdy black bird which makes a mess, but they have the most beautiful iridescent green and purple feathers when caught in the right light. They also have an incredible vocabulary, but in the winter, they descend on favoured sites (often wetlands, with large willow trees) in their tens of thousands. As the sun begins to go down, they will fly to their roost sites from around the area and congregate to create wonderful displays, known as murmurations. These form amazing shapes which constantly change, before suddenly diving down to roost in their preferred trees. A trip before dusk to Shapwick or Ham Walls near Glastonbury is the South West’s version of the Aurora borealis or northern lights!

With food in the wild sadly quite limited on much of our farmland, many people will do their best to feed birds. Sunflower, niger, peanuts, grain, all provide food for various species of bird and can help sustain them over the winter. Allowing flowers to go to seed, will also provide valuable sustenance for species like goldfinches. Leaving hedges untrimmed on farmland with the many berries of black bryony, honeysuckle, hawthorn, sloes, spindle and buckthorn will be really beneficial for food and shelter. Birds will also need fresh water and this may need regular topping up and replacing if it freezes. It is recommended that feeders are regularly washed in something like Milton fluid, to avoid passing on debilitating and potentially fatal infections.

Wrap up warm and explore the countryside around Sherborne, or take a trip to our wetlands and estuaries for a real treat. Happy Christmas.