Month: Dec 2024

💚🌿🌲🌳Walking through the woods is always good for the soul. To find old paths where trees stand as guardians…..and rocks speak quiet memories of times gone by where those have walked before.

Our feet that touch the earth…..our breath upon the air…..the brush of branch and sound of forest’s sway…..in gentle breeze that warms the heart and chases cares away. For here we feel alive…..unfettered, free and wild…..each stone…..each leaf…..each cloud….that drifts above…..entwined in nature’s dance…..beyond all time and circumstance. For here we find the life in everything…..and here we hear the truths that nature brings…..🌳🌲🌿💚

~ Artist – Katie Daisy ~

FB post ‘Away with the Faeries’

Deck the halls with boughs of holly… but why holly? Where does this tradition come from?

Once again, we turn to the pagans. Both the Celts and the Romans brought evergreen plants into the home during winter, believing that their abilities to remain green throughout the cold months was magical and promised the return of spring. Christianity adopted the practice and holly was used as a representation of the Crown of Thorns, with the red berries symbolising the drops of Christ’s blood.

And so the tradition continued throughout the centuries – from 16th Century German wreaths to Victorian drawings on Christmas cards, the humble holly has been a hallmark of the festive season.

As Henry VIII wrote in his Christmas carol:

Green groweth the holly,
So doth the ivy.
Though winter blasts blow never so high,
Green groweth the holly.

Pictured below is a Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Camelliifolia’ and this particular type of holly is a hybrid which originated in Highclere estate. It has smooth leaves, however they do turn spikey when they have been attacked or pruned!

So, this year let’s continue tradition and deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la. 🥂

Mistletoe (Viscum album) has been a Christmas staple for centuries, but where does this festive tradition really come from?

The Ancient Greeks used mistletoe as a cure for many ailments, from menstrual cramps to spleen disorders. Celtic Druids regarded mistletoe as a sacred symbol of vivacity, as it was able to survive the winter, and hung it up for luck. In Norse Mythology, after her son had been shot with an arrow made from mistletoe wood, the goddess Figg declared that she would kiss anyone who walked beneath a mistletoe plant, in order to stop it being used as a weapon ever again.

But it’s in the 18th century that the practice of kissing beneath the mistletoe at Christmas time began among the ‘lower orders’ and made its way up the social hierarchies, becoming a beloved tradition by the time the Victorians were solidifying what we now recognise as Christmas.

Quite a folkloric feat for a semi-parasitic plant that survives by feeding off the water and sugars stolen from larger trees, a romantic tale for a plant whose seeds are mainly spread by birds wiping their excrement onto branches, and a lovely saga for a plant who’s ingestion is poisonous to both humans and animals!

So here’s to mistletoe, one of the most unlikely heroes of our Christmas canon.  

Post from Chelsea Physic Garden, London’s oldest botanic garden.

66 Royal Hospital Road
Chelsea, London SW3 4HS
Tel: 020 7352 5646
enquiries@chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk

Escape to the woods this Christmas and help protect over 1,000 healthy havens.

Become a member
There’s no better way to support The Woodland Trust than by becoming a member. You’ll be joining a movement of more than 300,000 like-minded people and helping us create healthy habitats for people and wildlife.

We are thrilled to be named as one of the National Trust’s 49 recipients of a ‘Trees of Hope’ Sycamore Gap sapling 🌳💚!

This big reveal takes place on the anniversary of the felling of the much-loved tree and our Biblins Youth Campsite will be the location for our sapling which was grown from the original trees seed.

Biblins is situated in mature ancient woodlands which are highly valued by visiting groups as well as members of the public who explore the numerous footpaths that weave through the site and immerse themselves in nature 🍂🐝. The site is a perfect location for one of the saplings where young Woodcraft Folk participants who were very upset to hear of the destruction of the Sycamore Gap Tree can learn about the importance of nature conservation.

Trees have been an important symbol in Woodcraft Folk’s 100-year history. The charity’s nature and environment principles encourage understanding, enjoyment and protection of our environment both locally and globally amongst our young members.

The arrival of the Sycamore Gap sapling represents hope and we can’t think of a more significant way to celebrate our centenary than planting the sapling as we look ahead to the future of the next 100 years of our youth work.

You can read more about the Sycamore Gap sapling here > https://shorturl.at/L0Txh

National Trust