HELP! GOBLIN ATTACK!! (Holly)

Member Name: Shazzy

Product:	Holly
Date:	02/12/03 (1026 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks beautiful when laden with berries during winter, A large bush makes a good home for birds

Disadvantages: You need two to get berries on one

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 blood. Legend has it that the berries were originally yellow, turning red only after the crucifixion.

Christmas, however, is a relatively modern celebration whereas holly is one of our oldest native plants.

As far back as the first century, roman writer, Pliny, wrote that planting a holly close to the house would ward off any evil spirits that may be lurking as well as providing protection against witches. Our holly is at the bottom of the garden, about 30 feet from the house so I'm hoping it's close enough.

By medieval times things had changed slightly. Rather than just protecting against any old evil spirit, holly was now said to protect specifically against house goblins. I can assure you that I've not once seen a goblin in this house (although my mum did once try to buy me a teasmade), so I can only assume that our two bushes are doing the business. At around the same time it was also considered unlucky to cut down an entire tree rather than just removing a few branches.

Holly was also said to predict the coming winter weather. People once believed, and I'm sure some still do, that a heavy crop of berries predicted a long, cold winter as the berries would supply extra food to keep the birds alive. It sounds reasonable enough but we now know that th
e amount of fruit is a result of a good summer and bears no relation to what will happen with the weather ahead.

Not to worry though, regardless of whether you can predict the weather with it, a heavily laden holly is certainly a sight to behold and it's unfortunate that the introduction of mechanical hedge trimmers along with the destruction of our hedgerows has affected its availability at Christmas, pushing prices up. All isn't bleak though. The general decline in free roaming, grazing farm stock that previously destroyed young holly seedlings has meant that the numbers are again increasing.

Holly bushes are one of the easiest shrubs to grow. With their dark, glossy green leaves they made superb hedges, especially as a backdrop to a colourful border. The variegated varieties make excellent specimen plants. With so many to choose from, I couldn't possibly describe them all. There are varieties with pale leaves, blotched leaves, large leaves, tiny leaves, spiny leaves and those without any spines at all. Pop along to any good garden centre at this time of the year and you'll no doubt find a decent selection on offer.

Hollies are slow growing shrubs. A 40cm example (a common size when sold) will take about 8 years to reach a height of 1.5 metres. In other words, although they made lovely hedges, if you're in a hurry, this isn't the plant for you. As a specimen it's perfect as it isn't anywhere even close to rampant so won't grow out of control and if you're able to let it develop into a dense bush, it'll provide a safe nesting site for a variety of birds.

The big drawback with holly is the need for two plants if you're to get berries on one. One must be female, the berry bearing plant, the other male. We have ours planted together in the far corner of the garden by a mature field maple. There's plenty of room for them there, one's variegated, the other dark green, and I thi
nk they look lovely, with or without berries. If you're lucky enough to have a large garden, you can always tuck the male away out of sight behind the shed or garage, along with the composter, bins and other necessities that you'd rather not display.

If you're happy to grow two hollies, or happen to know that there's definitely a male growing close by, you'll find these extremely hardly shrubs a doddle to grow. While they prefer good, well drained soil, they'll tolerate just about any toil and position; full sun or shade, windy or sheltered, sandy or clay. They're even happy growing in seaside gardens.

Pruning isn't necessary other than to remove sprigs for Christmas decoration or to maintain a particular shape or size. A good going over with a pair of secateurs after fruiting is all that's needed to keep a small bush looking tidy, larger specimens can be clipped with shears. Left alone they'll reach a height of 12 metres (40 feet), and look magnificent. Don't worry though, it really is easy to control.

I think I'll wait another couple of weeks before bringing any holly into the house for Christmas but in the meantime I'm crossing my fingers that our bushes will continue to keep the goblins away.

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