What is the difference between holly and ivy

Search Magazine. Holly and ivy have become inescapably linked to the Christmas period. Find out how to grow holly 3. Find out how to grow ivy 8. Ivy plants can reach up to 30m in height and live for up to years. Subscribe to Saga Magazine Treat yourself or a friend to a monthly mix of intelligent opinions, fascinating features and exclusive offers.

Find out more. See details. Three other plants are intimately associated with Christmas: holly, ivy and mistletoe — and in all cases their ecology is closely linked to their cultural uses.

Holly, like ivy and mistletoe, is a winter green and the bringing of green vegetation into the home is closely linked to rebirth both of spring and of Christ. But such a link does not explain why holly is linked to Christmas rather than Easter. Holly was an important element in deer parks and old hunting estates — and the name holly still survives in modern place names such as Hollins, Holm Hodder, Hollyoaks and Hollywood — and were important for winter food.

In the New Forest, in southern England, holly is still cut down as browse for the ponies. The spiny dense canopy of holly also meant that it was useful as protection. It was sometimes planted next to saplings of valuable tree species to provide some protection from grazing animals and it is not unusual to see holly growing next to oaks and other trees, either from deliberate planting or a result of seeds being deposited by birds roosting on the branches above. Holly has also been thought to protect the home — the holly you put around the door acting as flypaper for fairies, trapping any evil spirits who try to enter.

Holly and Ivy are often linked together at Christmas; this goes back much further, to the idea of the holly male and ivy female being burnt together at the pagan festival of Beltane. Ivy, like holly, is an important evergreen edible plant species in UK woodland.

The green of the branches helped people through the long Winter by having hope that come Springtime, food, warmth and new life would abound. We await that hope and wish you all a very Happy and Healthy Christmas! I have learnt to appreciate ivy with its subtle flowers and berries. Like Liked by 1 person. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account.

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