(English holly [Ilex aquifolium] is a favourite since childhood, though it's invasive here. Owing to sexual reproduction that demands a male and female tree in close proximity, and light requirements hard to meet in our woodlands, most feral North Pacific hollies either bear patchy, uninspiring fruit, or none at all.
But this grand girl grows right out in the open, near a forest well-invaded by others of her kind, and so sets memorable finery this time of year.
Her vibrant berries, scarlet against glossy, forest-green foliage, fairly pulsate in the dreich North Coast Christmastide.)
Appearing also on My Corner of the World.
Holly is beautiful, I can see some from my window!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed. A little bittersweet here, where it can threaten the balance and is frequently the target of eradication campaigns. But as I said above, I've loved holly all my life, for its beauty, its association with Christmas, and its Druid past. Just because it's inconvenient sometimes, doesn't change that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment!