Holly orders

Festive f i xture can delight us all year

SOME think it is unlucky to bring holly inside before Christmas Eve or remove it before Twelfth Night.

So maybe if you’ve had a difficult year, you’ll want to observe these traditions not only to protect your home from lightning but all kinds of bad stuff and evil spirits.

Single men should also note that carrying a prickly leaf (the pricklier the better) in your pocket will make you more attractive to women, which might be useful if you hope to meet someone special this Christmas.

Hollies are real toughies, will grow in almost any soil and can withstand severe weather and coastal conditions.

Plant them in free- draining, moisture-retentive, slightly acidic soil and they’ll romp away.

You don’t need a large garden to grow holly but as most varieties are “single sex” with only male or female parts, you will only get berries if there is a “he” plant in courting distance of a “she” plant.

If you have room for only one holly then you must grow a self- fertile variety such as the popular Ilex aquifolium J C van Tol.

This has rich dark leaves with few prickles and readily produces a crop of bright red berries, even if there are no male plants anywhere nearby.

When loaded with the berries, it’s a real showpiece and looks especially dramatic against a bank of clean snow.

If you prefer variegated foliage, check out J C van Tol’s offspring Gold Flash, which has leaves that are splashed with a bold gold streak.

There’s also Silver van Tol, which has upright fleecy leaves that are edged with a cream-white.

The vast majority of hollies have red berries but some, like the variety Bacciflava, are yellow. Bacciflava is very handsome and has creamy yellow berries. But because it is female, there needs to be a nearby male holly.

As birds prefer eating red berries, these bright fruits usually remain until well into the spring.

Perfect for problem places, hollies are resistant to pollution so they are a good choice for a hedge in urban roadside gardens. It will also make a great burglar deterrent here.

They are extraordinarily responsive to pruning too, even producing new growth from the oldest and thickest branches. This makes them excellent for shearing into topiary shapes.

When the weather warms up in spring, mulch hollies with well-rotted manure and a handful of fertiliser.

If the leaves on mature varieties are turning a sickly yellow, then treat them to a dose of Epsom salts – it’ll perk them up no end.