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For your interest
we have an archive newsletter section.
Please note that any special offers and prices mentioned may not
now be current.
A Christmas Star?
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas for many people without a poinsettia.
Poinsettias are native to Mexico, and they were named after America's
first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He brought the plants
to America in 1828. The Mexicans in the 18th Century thought the
plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Thus the Poinsettia
became associated with the Christmas season. Red is the most popular
colour, accounting for roughly three-quarters of all sales nationwide,
followed by white and pink. Poinsettias come in a variety of colours
from red, salmon, and apricot to yellow, cream, and white. There
are also unusual speckled or marbled varieties like 'Jingle Bells'
and 'Candy Cane' with several colours blended together. New varieties
are introduced yearly - check out the unusual variegated form we
have at the Garden Centre!
The actual flower of the poinsettia is small and yellow, but surrounding
the flower are large, bright red leaves, often mistaken for petals.
Do you know the best way to prolong the life of this popular Christmas
plant? "Avoid hot or cold drafts, keep the soil moist but not
soggy, and place in a room with sufficient natural light and temperatures
of around 60 to 70°F (15 to 20°C). Water when the soil begins
to dry. Once the leaves begin to wilt, it's too late.” Above
all, protect it from exposure to wind or cold on the way home from
the store. Poinsettias are highly sensitive to cold temperatures
and even a few minutes of exposure to 50°F (10°C) or lower
temperatures will cause them to wilt. "But when cared for properly,
poinsettias usually will outlast your desire to actually keep them!"
says Chris Day, our Plant Area Manager.
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A Rose for Christmas?
We're talking Helleborus niger here, of course. The purest white
flowers, translucent petals and dotty stamens, combined with delicately
pointed leaves, give the flower the appearance of a wild dog-rose.
Smooth olive-green stems only reach around 20cms and give the flower
a very dainty appearance.
Did you know the flower is used for winter decorations particularly
in Scandinavia? According to folklore, the Cornish refer to the
Christmas rose as 'The Virgin's Mantle'. In medieval times it was
said to be good for breaking bad spells and curses and was often
planted near the front door!
H. niger was first described in a 'herbal' in 1597, when it was
known as the Christmas Herb or the Christmas Flower. Nicholas Culpeper's
legendary 17th Century herbal refers to it. Interestingly, it was
regarded as a suitable treatment for insanity and depression.
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The Holly...
Kew's historic Holly Walk has the largest collection of hollies
in Europe with over 56 species and hybrids. Originally laid out
in 1874, most of the collection is over 130 years old. The tradition
of holly decoration lies far deeper in history with the early pagans
of Europe, who brought holly inside in the winter to provide fairies
with a warm place to sleep. The Romans sent holly branches with
presents during the December festival of Saturnalia, believing the
prickly leaves drove evil spirits away.
It has been reported that the last remaining commercial holly
farmer in Britain retired in 2000. The farm (Great Yarmouth, Norfolk)
is an area of 101 ha containing 500 trees of native and non-native
varieties.
If space is limited and you would like your own crop of berries
then consider growing Ilex J. C. Van Tol. It’s an hermaphrodite
so doesn't need a pollinator and will crop well within a few years
of planting.
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... and the Ivy
Ivy has been popular for decoration over the centuries and was
once thought to possess powers of protection against house goblins
that were at their most malicious in winter. The custom of decorating
homes with ivy and evergreens dates back to pre-Christian times
when they were associated with the eternity and represented life
continuing through the winter.
Research at Kew gardens has found that wild ivy continues to be
collected and sold for Christmas decorations. The scientists even
found one individual in England (East Sussex) using wild plants
such as bulrush, ivy and plantain to produce woven rings and brooches.
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Bearing gifts of...
Frankincense is the resin produced by various trees in the genus
Boswellia. The trees grow in the dry areas of north-eastern Africa
and southern Arabia. The resin is harvested by nomadic tribes, who
visit the trees periodically. They make small cuts in the bark and
return to collect the ‘tears’ of solidified whitish
resin a few weeks later. Trees can yield several kilograms of resin
each year.
Frankincense has long been valued for the sweet-smelling fumes it
produces when burnt. Ancient Egyptians used the resin in religious
rites, in anointing the mummified bodies of their kings, and to
treat wounds and sores. Incense containing frankincense was found
in Tutankhamun's tomb.
Myrrh is a yellowish-red sweet-smelling resin. It oozes from damaged
bark of certain trees in the genus Commiphora. The major commercial
source is Commiphora myrrha. The resin gums up the mouthparts of
attacking insects such as termites and its antibiotic properties
protect the trees against infection through wounds in their bark.
Frankincense and Myrrh, together with gold were the three gifts
given to the infant Jesus by the Wise Men. Commentators have found
symbolic value in the three gifts: gold suggesting royalty, incense
divinity, and myrrh his death on the cross.
Kissing under the mistletoe!
Since ancient times, the mistletoe has been one of the most magical,
mysterious and sacred plants of European folklore. The ancient Druids
considered the mistletoe to be a sacred plant and believed it had
miraculous powers. The Anglo-Saxons associated the powers of the
mistletoe to the legend of Freya, the goddess of love, beauty and
fertility. According to the legend, a man had to kiss any young
girl who, without realising it, found herself accidentally under
a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. Guys would pluck
a berry when they smooched the girls and when the last berry was
gone, there would be no more kissing!
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Christmas snippets
Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces, and firs
can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts,
or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition.
Electric tree lights were first used just three years after Thomas
Edison has his first mass public demonstration of electric lights
in 1879. The early Christmas tree lights were hand-made and quite
expensive.
One acre of Christmas trees provides the daily oxygen requirements
of 18 people.
Over six and half million real Christmas trees are sold in the
UK each year.
In the 14-16th centuries, the Aztecs used the poinsettia leaves
to dye fabric for clothing and the sap for medicinal purposes, including
to help control fevers.
A cut Christmas tree will soak up to a gallon of water a day!
Use a stand with a water reservoir to keep your tree fresh.
The Christmas tree was popularised in England by Queen Victoria's
husband, Albert.
Mistletoe grows most commonly on apple trees, but also on blackthorn,
hawthorn, lime, poplar, rowan and willow. It occurs from east Devon
to Yorkshire, and is particularly common in central and southern
England and around London.
The tallest living Christmas tree in the US is believed to be
the 122 foot, 91-year-old Douglas fir in the town of Woodinville,
Washington.
Tenbury Wells (Herefordshire) has the last remaining specialist
mistletoe auctions based on material gathered by local orchard owners
and travellers. Despite the English harvest, imports, mostly from
France, seem to be the source of most seasonal mistletoe at the
London markets.
December 12 is National Poinsettia Day in the United States. Never
heard of it? Believe it or not, the United States has observed this
official day since the mid-1800s. It honours the man and the plant
he introduced. Poinsett died Dec.12, 1851.
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All I want for Christmas
is....
… that special plant! Well, if you are looking for something
a bit different, why not see if we can source it for you! We're
busy taking special orders for larger and more unusual plants (trees,
perennials, shrubs and conifers) at the moment from a plethora of
suppliers who can supply bare-rooted or potted plants (depending
on species and availability).
Do come and ask Chris, Claire or Sarah in the Plant Information
Office if you need more information on this service... if we can't
for any reason not supply it we're more than happy to recommend
a specialist featured in the RHS Plant Finder who can. Now how's
that for service!
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All my pond fish want for
Christmas is....
…a new stainless steel pond heater available 2 models available
150w or 300w with 10m of cable £39.95.
And finally ideas for Christmas...
Around the shop we have put out a range of different goods which
we think could make ideal Christmas presents. These include some
classic shaped glazed pots from Clough Mill which are guaranteed
to be frost proof. Also some troughs and planters from Sandford
running from £15.99 including feet. Or for really good value
a set of three indoor pots for only £9.99. A very popular
present, albeit rather difficult to wrap up, is a bird table. The
plain traditional wooden tables run from about £24 but there
are also some very elaborate ones. Something different is a range
of pewter lanterns with several designs, or solar lanterns which
make ideal path markers in sunny positions where electricity is
not available.
Gift Vouchers
If you really do not know what to give a keen gardener, or even
a potential gardener, you cannot go wrong with a gift voucher so
they can choose for themselves. We have two different types available,
the first being one issued by the Horticultural Trades Association
which can be redeemed either with us or many other Garden Centres
throughout the country. If the potential gardener turns out to be
a non-starter, the voucher can be accepted by any Interflora Florist
instead.
The second is exclusive to our Garden Centre and can be redeemed
either in person at the Garden Centre, or against goods to be despatched
through our mail order service. As a run up to Christmas we are
giving a special offer on these. For every purchase of £20
worth of Garden Centre vouchers we are offering a £1 voucher
which can be spent here in either January or February next year.
This way you can treat your friends or relatives and have a bonus
for yourself as well!
More Christmas ideas and
Christmas trees in last months newsletter...
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Plant Finder
You may be interested to know that we have just completed our returns
for the 2003/2004 edition of the RHS Plant Finder and we now have
561 entries, 19 of these are plants which will be appearing for
the first time in the Plant Finder. Some, like the Apple Bramley's
Original will, I am sure, be listed for the first time by several
other nurseries but it will be interesting to see how many others
will have some of the more unusual perennials like Alstroemeria
hybrida Glory of the Andes, Astrantia major 'Bo-Ann' or the Hemerocallis
Mildred Mitchell or Serenity Morgan. If anyone is interested in
seeing a copy of our entries we can let them have the list.
Looking back on the file to the days when we were first asked
by the Royal Horticultural Society to submit entries for this most
useful book, that is back in the 1980s, I remember the time it took
typing out the entries on a typewriter with carbon copy held on
the file.
Nowdays it is so much easier with the data from our last year's
entry coming to me on disc, then when completed it is then e-mailed
to the RHS. However, with the 561 entries we now have, all of which
have to be checked, it is still quite a mammoth task to complete
it accurately!
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Nursery of the Week
I wonder how many of you saw that we were featured as 'Nursery
of the Week' in the Daily Telegraph. This was quite a surprise to
us as we are not Telegraph readers ourselves and it was customers
who brought it to our attention. Recognition of the service we offer
is good for our staff as it shows that their hard work is appreciated.
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New Product
Soft-Tie. This new tying material is going to be a ‘must’
for the practical gardener. It can be used as a tree tie, plant
support, cane tie or plant tie. It is versatile, strong, flexible
and durable. When one sees a product like this one wonders why nobody
thought of it before!
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Winner the Competion in last
Newsletter.
We were surprised that only one person got the correct answer to
the competition in the last Newsletter. The answer was Araucaria
araucana, The Monkey Puzzle Tree. Well done Mrs. Verrier –
we shall look forward to you collecting your Cyclamen.
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