Monday 24 December 2012

Season's Greetings

A holly, jolly Christmas to all.


I was going to post a seasonal photo here, you know a robin or something, but the local robin seems to have gone on holiday, so I settled for a cute photo instead. Actually, speaking of the robin, I have seen two of them in the garden recently, but not today. And two blue tits are showing a very early interest in the nest box. Ooh spring is just around the corner.

But back to today. I thought I would write about holly, traditionally used at this time of year. There are lots of holly bushes in the woods and hedgerows around here. So I decided to do a little digging; on the internet, not in the garden, it's too wet.

Apparently, way back in 1725, Lord Oxford and his entourage travelled through Sheffield. As they crossed over Birley Moor, Lord Oxford remarked on the large plantation of stunted holly trees, or hollin as they were known in those days. It was used for keeping sheep in the winter. Where the plantation ended became known as Hollins End, or Hollinsend as the area is known today.

Of course, those trees are long gone, but wouldn't it be nice to think that the holly tree in my garden, may be distantly related to those old trees on the moor. Distant in miles as well as time, but still possible I suppose.

Oh, and Lord Oxford also remarked about the bad state of Sheffield's roads as well. Some things never change.

29 comments:

  1. Seasonal Greetings to you and the cat xx

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    1. Thanks Jane. Don't know if I can pass the greeting on to the cat though. It was just passing through.

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  2. A Merry Christmas and a Happy 2013 to you!
    It seems that Sheffield's road's are no better than Edinburgh!!

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    1. Thanks, Angie.
      The council are due to repair our roads, in 3 years time.

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  3. I think cute cat photos are very appropriate for Christmas, I’ve got one on my own Christmas post!
    I was out in my garden today, just for a brief half hour, dodging the rain showers, my crocuses, daffodils and irises are well on their way up and I am soooo happy we have passed the darkest day and now are going towards spring! Have a lovely Christmas and all the best for 2013 :-)

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    1. Thanks Helene.
      I'm glad the nights are getting lighter, not that you can tell at the moment though.

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  4. Hi Crystal,

    Eh, our roads are supposed to be done up all spanking new.... Yeah. OK then. What are we betting they run out of money before they finish all the residential streets? Ours has got even worse this year with all the rain and then frost. Driving to work I have to swerve around to avoid the pot holes before I hit the major roads - not that they're much better!

    Anyway, have a wonderful Christmas.
    My Autumn Cherry is blooming... and it looks like it's trying to do its full, spring bloom rather than its winter bloom! It's a strange year isn't it? Hard frosts, ice and lots of rain yet bulbs are beginning to show and it looks like birds might be looking at potential sites!

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    1. Oh no, don't say they'll run out of money, our streets are in the final phase.

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  5. Lovely and cute. Merry Christmas!



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  6. Pretty photo and interesting info. Wishing you a very Happy Christmas :-)

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  7. Wooo hooo..... spring is just around the corner in Sheffield?!!! In which case, I don't care about the state of the roads, I'm moving!

    I hope you had a happy Christmas!

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    1. Ah but if it snows, you can't see the potholes, but you can certainly feel them.

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  8. Zdjęcie jest słodkie, a informacje wykopane w internecie bardzo ciekawe. Pozdrawiam.
    The picture is cute, and the information unearthed on the internet very interesting. Yours.

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  9. Happy New Year and I think it is a wonderful thought that your holly trees can be descendants of those long-ago plants from the moors.

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  10. Hope you had a very happy Christmas and best wishes for 2013!

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  11. I hope you had a good Christmas - Lord Oxford wouldn't have liked the roads around us either. Pot holes everywhere.

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    1. Our potholes will be gone soon, well in 3 years time.

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    2. Our pot holes go temporarily. They fill the holes with little patches that pop out the following year.

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  12. Yes, it is very interesting that last century, holly was used for emergency fodder for farm animals.
    When I moved in the rabbits knew this, they ate all my young holly plants

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    1. Wow, your rabbits must have been checking out the internet too.

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  13. Życzę Ci szczęśliwego Nowego Roku !
    I wish you a Happy New Year!

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