I’ve a neighbour who kindly lets me snip away at his holly tree, it bears bounteous amounts of blood-red berries, ideal for dressing the staircase, mantelpiece and dining table for Christmas lunch. I’ve no idea what they charge at the local florist or Saturday market, but I’ll bet it’s not cheap.
As for Ivy, it has its place in the garden, however, definitely ‘not all over the place.’ If ever you see it sprouting out from the ground, pull it up, otherwise, it’ll be a real pain when you come to planting anything there, as it’ll choke everything in its path.
Still, clearing an overgrown and neglected garden is one of the less glamourous tasks that keep me employed year-round. I recently cleared the whole length of a wooden fence, as the sheer weight of the ivy had all but pulled it down, it’s a bruiser and a brute.
The run-up to Christmas gets particularly busy with the paint & decorating/DIY side of work, dovetailing nicely, as things go quiet in the garden for a few months. It’s also nice to be indoors when the ground is hard as iron and the rain becomes horizontal with the wind.
On Christmas Eve whilst working on a client’s garden, clearing the ground before planting up, I discovered a garden path hidden beneath grass sods, brambles and ivy, they’d no idea it was there. A steady supply of warm mince pies and earl grey tea kept me toasty warm inside, as I listened to a Radio 4 three-hour play, ‘A Christmas Carol.’
And so another gardening year comes to a close, so I’ll sign off and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happier New Year.
