Holly

Holly is definatley a plant or should i say a shrub which is what it actually is that we usually asociate with christmas but that is not its only use. Its most comercial use is to make wreaths as christmas decorations but it is also a very nice shrub to have in your garden. Holly as i have already said is a shrub, they can be brought as small shrubs from garden centers for about £10 each and soon grow into a lovely shrub with a thick almost tree like trunk at the bottom and lots of smaller brances growing off. The most important thing about planting holly is where you plant it, it realy needs to be by a wall or a fence as it grows very ...  Read the complete review

Holly The leaves of the Holly are sometimes used to treat rheumatism, but the berries are very poisonous. This bush grows freely all over the British Isles and is also found in central and southern Europe. The parts that are used for herbal remedies are the leaves berries and the bark. These are used in infusions or powdered as well as the juice being used too. We are all familiar to the holly bush being used at the Christmas holidays to decorate the house both inside and out, but it can also be used for some ailments. It is an evergreen bush or tree with glossy leaves. These are quite prickly and it has to be handled with care if you ...  Read the complete review

Holly. Ilex aquifolium. Generally forgotten for most of the year, it's once again about to take centre stage as a symbol of Christmas, surpassed only by the jolly man in red and fir trees, real or imitation. Maybe flashing lights have also passed it on the popularity polls of late but there's no doubt that where many of our oldest traditions have long since disappeared, decorating the house with holly has survived the test of time. Being evergreen, holly's first association with Christmas was as a symbol of Christ's eternal life, the white flowers in spring were said to symbolise his immaculate conception 9 months earlier, the red berries his ...  Read the complete review

I can legitimately use sex as an introduction to the holly family. If you think that’s just a headline-grabber, read on and I will justify. (Okay, maybe it is . . .) But so many people come to me with the question, “Why does my holly never produce berries?”. And the answer is sex. There are male hollies and female hollies. Male hollies produce flowers with pollen, with the potential to fertilise female hollies. (Sorry if I’m being too graphic. Gets a bit close to the bone sometimes, this gardening/nature thing.). Female hollies also produce flowers, with the potential to be fertilised by the pollen from male hollies. You know what’s ...  Read the complete review

Most people are familiar with the holly as a christmas decoration - shiny green leaves, red berries. It's also good as a garden plant. Holly as a hedge - if pruned regularly, Holly make an excellent, thick and impenetrable hedge that will keep anything out. The prickly leaves will put off any would be human visitors, but small birds and mamals will scurry through. By having a number of trees in a headge you stand a good chance of getting berries on at least some of them. Holly is evergreen, so even in Winter it wil add a bit of colour to your garden. Holly as a tree. You don't see holly trees that often as people tend to keep them pruned down to ...  Read the complete review