Christmas must be coming, this Holly Bush has a mass of red berries…..well this bush is in full berry and doing us proud. Yet many that can usually be relied upon to carry berries are not fruiting this year.
I and others have mentioned that the seasons this year have not gone to timetable or acted in what we have become to think is normal. Autumn has been late. But fruiting has been variable. Record crops of Apples and Pears, a good Harvest in the fields is reported by farmers. In the woods the situation has been much more variable. Rowan have been spectacular, our trees have been heavy with bunches of berries. Elsewhere Conkers were small and Sweet Chestnut so small that they were not worth picking. Oak trees in the same woodland are varied, some still have lots of Acorns others are and were devoid of any fruits. Yew Trees usually by now carry there wax like berries but this year are mostly bare of fruit.
Ornamental garden shrubs show equally varied crops of berries whilst some still carry some colourful fruits the most are now bare….and the Birds are being increasingly disappointed in their search to stock up on some vital energy giving food. Overall I reckon birds and wild animals will have slim pickings this winter
So Christmas is coming and at least we have one bush that can provide that seasonal festive symbol…
30 Days till Christmas Eve
24th November
(C) David Oakes 2015
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 
Thanks! You remind me to put on my shoppinglist for Christmas (Yule) a wreath of holly. I make it myself, as here you cannot find them ready made as in England. Probably not as beautiful but all mine, I will hang it on my front door together with a few led lights on batteries. 🙂
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Homemade is probably a better option…more charecter
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These pictures do make me feel jolly!
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Keep smiling (-:
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I always thought that holly was a bush, like yours. In this crazy place they are trees. I was amazed.
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I was once told a bush becomes a tree when it reaches (I think but memory fades) 2.5 meters in height. Holly here in our woodlands does range from low shrub, to thick hedges to taller and thinner trees. Not all have berries (wrong sex…yep wrong sex) but this year many that should and normally do are bare
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Wow, that is a spectacular tree, but I didn’t need the little reminder of 30 days to Christmas 🙂 Silly how we seem to stop all normal thought at about this time and completely focus for a month for one day called Christmas. In the cities it seems to have become a total focus on consumerism and the basic reason for the holiday has become blurred. But that said the berries and bush look wonderful.
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I must admit that ‘highlighting’ the time scale to Christmas is done to lessen my dislike for the run up to Christmas. What with Black Friday Sales which now seem to be migrating into Black Friday Week, the constant TV adverts I just feel we have lost our way…..so that reminder was really saying ONLY 30 (now 29) days to endure the commercial hype till Christmas proper
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Fully agree with you on all that. I tend to try and put my head in the sand over the next month but it all still filters through.
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such gorgeous berries
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Holly is so pretty and so festive. Good reminder that Christmas is coming!
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The other benefit is that it does brighten the garden in the winter days (-:
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It certainly does! It’s always a treat to see those red berries amidst the starkness of winter with its lack of color.
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