A holly tree grows outside my farmhouse in Pembrokeshire, a joy
when laden with scarlet berries at Christmas but a source of
irritation in summertime when prickly leaves are shed like drawing
pins across the lawn.
I have often pondered about its origins. Specialist holly
grower, Philip Lanc, has a delightfully curious explanation. "Holly
trees were planted outside houses in Wales to ward off evil
spirits; the origins of this tradition dates back to Celtic
folklore," he explains.
I can now sleep easily at night but rest will be in short supply
for Philip in the coming days because Christmas is one of his
busiest times.
He cultivates around 10,000 holly plants from seeds and cuttings
on his smallholding in Carmarthenshire. Unbelievably, there are 400
varieties belonging to the Ilex genus. Understandably he doesn't
grow all of these because it is a business he runs largely by
himself, although his wife, Fiona, steps in to help when
needed.
This said, he has an impressive range of plants at his nursery
at Llyn-y-Gors, St Clears, and they are a sight to behold at this
time of the year, adorned with plump berries.
This specialist nursery, thought to be the only one of its kind
in Wales, is labour intensive and he has numerous adversaries.
Field mice are a major pest, he admits. "Field mice love holly and
can cause a lot of damage."
Holly thrives in most conditions except waterlogged soil. "It
can tolerate almost anything but damp. It doesn"t like wet roots,"
says Philip.
He grows a mix of male and female plants because without that
balance there would be no berries.
It is surprising that birds don't strip these trees of their
vibrant berries as the ground grows hard in winter and their food
supply becomes scarce. There are many theories but the most
appealing has to be the one that maintains that a thrush will
protect a tree bearing berries.
"I was out in the yard the other day and there was a tremendous
commotion in one of the trees. I went to have a look and a thrush
was very noisily shooing away a blackbird," says Philip.
It could also have something to do with a chemical reaction
which makes berries unpalatable to birds when they reach a certain
stage of maturity.
Customers include farmers who use holly in hedging schemes. In
modern times farmers like it because its prickly leaf is a good
deterrent to livestock but in days gone by they were more likely to
have it for reasons of superstition. It was said that cattle would
thrive if a piece of holly was hung where it could be seen on
Christmas Day. It has been used widely for marking drainage
outfalls on farms because it is evergreen. Also, in years past,
farmers used holly for cart axles and to stop witches from flying
along the hedgerows.
Holly's association with Christmas dates back to pagan times
when it was considered good luck to bring something green and
living into the house in the depths of winter.
In fact there are so many stories associated with this one
species that it has a cult following in America. "There is a very
enthusiastic Holly Society of America, perhaps it has something to
do with the settlers going out there and needing a reminder of
home," suggests Philip.
His business is in its infancy but in five years' time he plans
to be at a point where he can sell cut holly as well as plants to
satisfy the Christmas market.