The festive season wouldn’t be the same without a sprinkling of holly

At Harlow Carr we’re in full festive swing with Christmas lights strung and beautiful baubles giving the garden some extra special sparkle.

One plant traditionally heavily linked with Christmas is holly, Ilex aquifolium. These days holly is not all that popular, partly because of its prickles and partly because of the lure of new and more exotic looking plants, but there are many benefits to growing holly, and a host of reasons why it is linked so much with to this festive time of year.

In pagan times people brought branches of evergreens into their home as decorations, helping people to think of the spring to come and to celebrate the winter solstice and the return of the sun that gradually begins to regain strength from this point in time. It was also thought to ward off evil spirits and celebrate new growth. When Christianity came about certain plants took on new meanings: holly’s prickly leaves came to represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified, with the red berries representing the blood he shed.

When it comes down to the garden there are over 400 different species to choose from, the majority of which are evergreen, providing year-round interest. Male and female flowers are usually borne on separate plants and to guarantee you have fruits, both sexes are needed. The fruits may be great for enticing birds into the garden, however, like the rest of the plant, they are poisonous, causing mild stomach upset if digested.

Ilex aquifolium is the common holly, growing to around 25metres tall in ideal conditions; with its dark green leaves, spiny margins and red berries, this is the holly we are most familiar with. This large shrub or tree provides great cover for wildlife and is an ideal plant to act as a wind break and provide shelter for other plants, if you have the space.

There are some lovely variegated varieties such as Ilex aquifolium ‘Golden Milkboy’ which has purplish-green stems and a bright golden centre to the leaf as the name suggests; the down side is that it’s a male plant so does not bear fruit. Ilex aquifolium ‘Handsworth New Silver’ has long spiny leaves with creamy-white margins and bright red berries, this contrast making it the ideal variety to add to any Christmas decoration.

There are a few varieties that you may not even recognise as holly, such as varieties of Ilex crenata. This is the Japanese holly or boxed leaved holly. As this name suggests, it looks more like the common box plant Buxus sempervirens, than it does holly. It will reach an eventual height of up to 5m tall, however, it can be clipped and maintained as topiary and is therefore a good replacement as a small hedging plant, if you are unlucky enough to suffer from box blight.

With such diversity, holly will always have a home in traditional Christmas decorations and in the garden, adding a bit of foliage and colour throughout the year.

Jobs for the week

* Take hard wood cuttings

* Reduce watering of house plants

* Harvest leeks, parsnips, winter cabbage and remaining root crops

* Insulate outdoor taps to prevent freezing

* Deciduous trees and shrubs can still be planted/transplanted if ground isn’t frozen

* Check greenhouse heaters are working correctly.

With thanks to Craig Woodhouse, Horticulturist at RHS Garden Harlow Carr

DIARY DATES

9 – 11 and 16 – 24 December: Magic of Christmas

Get in the festive spirit with our Christmas Activity Hunt; put on your best Christmas jumper and join our fluffy polar bears and penguins in the photo booth for a festive family snap. Get creative in the glitter emporium and make your own ‘Thank You Santa’ Christmas Eve kit. Normal garden admission.

November - March: Winter Walk 10-Year Anniversary Harlow Carr celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its Winter Walk this year. To mark the occasion, 5,000 irises have been planted and will bloom as the garden moves into early spring. Adorned with daphnes, witch hazels, birch trees and maples, the striking stem colours and variety of forms, textures and scents make this a must-see from November through until March. Normal garden admission.