The Winter Plants that Brighten up the Festive Season

Over the winter months, the countryside is a very different place to how it looks in the summer- the many bright flowers and leafy trees are gone, and this is a time for the evergreen trees to shine. Although it may look sparse, there are lots of plants that come into their own over the winter months, providing food and shelter for birds and other animals as well as of course adding that splash of colour and signs of life to the wintery woodlands.

At this time of the year, we remind ourselves that life continues underneath the cold earth and the tradition of bringing these plants into the home to decorate goes back many centuries – although nowadays you can just go to somewhere like this real Christmas trees Leicester based farm https://welfordchristmastreefarm.co.uk to choose a tree to take home.

As well as the Christmas tree, other plants that brighten up the dark wintery days include…

Holly – The glossy spiky leaves and the bright red berries of holly are synonymous with the festive season, and it is something that has long been used to decorate the home. The berries are an important source of food for many birds over the winter.

Ivy – Of course thanks to the Christmas carol you will always associate holly and ivy together – this tough and enduring plant can be seen scrambling across the forest floor and up trees – Charles Dickens was a fan of ivy, as you can see by his poem, the Ivy Green and the late flowers and berries are important for late flying bees.

Mistletoe is a festive favourite and has been revered for centuries. To the Druids it was a plant of fertility which is where the kissing tradition comes from!