Growing Wise : holly

Holly With a Twist

Elisabeth — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:13:00 GMT

In a few weeks, holly will start showing up everywhere, as people begin to deck their halls. One of the delights of having holly trees or shrubs is that you can cut your own holly, which is often fresher and better than you can buy in stores or garden centers. I am particularly lucky because my garden is home to a couple of variegated holly bushes."Variegation" means that the leaves of a particular plant are not completely green. A variegated specimen may have white or yellow leaf edges. In the alternate, a variegated plant might have white, cream or yellow leaves edged in green. Leaves can also be blotched or spotted with a contrasting color. The only constant is that plants with variegated leaves add sparkle to a garden. The Victorians loved variegation and it has made a huge comeback in the last fifteen years. My favorite variegated hollies combine the brilliant red berries that make the plants so wonderful in holiday arrangements, with glossy, dark green leaves edged in cream. The 'Honey Maid' cultivar (Ilex x merserveae 'Honey Maid') has this color combination. Sprigs of 'Honey Maid' work well in holiday wreathes and can be combined with pieces of regular green holly to add a little piquancy to indoor decor. In December I usually arrange a mix of hollies in a freshly polished brass tea kettle and place it on the coffee table in my living room. The combination of green, red and gold is perfect right through New Year's.If you decide to grow holly, make sure that you have a female plant, as the males do not set berries. If there are male hollies in your neighborhood, pollination may not be a worry, but if you have the room, buy a male variety as well. Either 'Blue Prince' or 'Blue Baron', plain-leafed varieties of Ilex x merserveae, would work well for this purpose. Remember that hollies like acid soil, but that once they are established, they pretty much take care of themselves.

Holly

Elisabeth — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:53:00 GMT

The weather outside is cold and blustery, with wind chills below zero. When I look out my dining room window I see the three big holly trees (which are actually shrubs) on the south side of the house. They are covered with bright berries, which is wonderful all by itself at this time of the year. Best of all though, is the fact that the hollies are full of birds. At various times during the day I can see sparrows, cardinals and blue jays, all with their feathers puffed out against the cold.

The hollies' growth is dense enough so that birds can find shelter within the branches and protection from the wind. It isn't exactly warm in there close to the trunks, but at least the thick green wall of prickly leaves keeps out the worst of the elements. I have never seen birds actually eating the berries, but the bushes are close enough to other food sources so that no bird has to venture far for food.

When you are planning for spring planting consider the birds and choose hollies or other large shrubs with dense growth. The old standby, arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), is a great choice for this purpose, as are some of the evergreen trees like pine, fir or spruce. Pick a variety that works for your particular location and climate conditions. The birds will thank you in winters to come.

Holly Days

Elisabeth — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:51:00 GMT

There is nothing like holly during the December holiday season. When I was growing up my mother used to order large amounts of the red-berried branches from a local florist. Half the holly was given away to friends; the rest was distributed throughout our house. The procedure was always the same. A few days before the holly order was scheduled to arrive, Mother would prod my father into taking her collection of brass and copper vessels down to the laundry sink in the cellar for a good polishing. When the holly arrived, Mother would parcel out boxes and bunches for friends, which she or my father would deliver. Afterwards she took the remainder and pounded the bottoms of the stems to help the branches take up water. When she had relieved her aggressions and was satisfied that the holly was properly conditioned, she arranged the branches in the twinkling kettles, bowls and vases.

Mother always saved one large spring for the top of our grandfather clock, which wore a festive crown for the entire holiday season.

Now I spread holly around my own house during the Christmas season. Mine comes from the big holly trees on the south end of my property, which are usually full of berries at this time of year. I add some pieces of variegated holly for contrast, but I put the bunches in the same copper and brass containers that my mother used. Most of my friends seem to have their own holly trees, but I do give branches to the church every year for the Christmas arrangements.

And, just like old times, I crown the grandfather clock with its own holly sprig.

Maximizing Plants

Elisabeth — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:21:00 GMT

My garden space is limited, so every plant that I install has to do something special for the landscape. For the longest time I have had trouble figuring out what to do with two robust variegated hollies planted at least ten years ago by the previous owner of my house. They sit, side by side, on a piece of choice garden real estate in front of my living room window, each taking up a space about three feet wide. The leaves are attractive, but the plants are doing nothing for the landscape. Every time I prune them I think of all the other things that I could do with the same piece of ground, and I feel mildly annoyed at my inability to either find a constructive use for the hollies or get rid of them all together. My thrifty soul frowns on the latter option.

The other day, while paging through an English gardening magazine, I came up with a couple of ideas. The two shrubs are identical, so I could use them to flank the entrance to the back garden or the bottom of the front walk. If I trimmed them into more compact round shapes I could even transplant them into two large square plant boxes and let the boxed specimens flank an entrance. This would make an elegant statement, maximize the virtues of the two hollies, please my thrifty soul and free up the space in front of the living room window for roses or clematis or any number of sun loving plants that I can think of. It sounds like a horticultural "win-win" situation, and I'll make a note of it on next spring's "to do" list.