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Holly Holidays

© Susan Ward

Home of the Holly

I always feel especially fortunate to live on Vancouver Island this time of year; like so many people, Christmas wouldn't feel complete to me without Holly cuttings to make into wreathes or use as trim or in vases inside the house to create a festive atmosphere.

Unlike a lot of people, I don't have to order Holly to satisfy my Christmas cravings; the West Coast is the ideal climate for Holly, so all I have to do is step out my door and cut as many sprigs as I desire. My little town (Comox) is a Holly lover's delight; practically every house and business has a Holly tree (or more) flourishing in its yard, festooned with bright red, orange or black berries. In fact, Holly does so well here that it's a problem weed in my yard; every spring I cull dozens of eager little self-starters from my lawn and garden beds.

While there are almost 400 species of Holly, when most people think of Holly, they're imagining the English Holly tree, (Ilex aquifolium), with spiny, deep green leaves and bright red berries. We certainly have a lot of these on Vancouver Island. In fact, Vancouver Island is the Holly production centre of Canada, and B.C. provides all of Canada's Holly.

Unfortunately, according to the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Holly production is a declining industry, as many of the older plantings in the Victoria area have been lost to urbanization. Leaf miner and twig blight have cost growers the entire crop some years, and there appears to be less of a demand as plastic versions deluge the marketplace.

Joseph Despard Pemberton brought the first Holly to Victoria in 1851, and there were more than 8,000 Holly trees established there at the turn of the century ("Home of the Holly",Times Colonist, December 18, 1999). The remnants of these magnificent orchards can be seen today as you drive through the Gordon Head area.

Two Holly Farms

If the state of the Holly industry in B.C. saddens you, there's nothing like a visit to a Holly farm to perk you up, either in person or vicariously over the net.

Clicking http://www.islandnet.com/~amblecot/farm.... will take you to Amblecote Holly Farm, about 3 miles east of Duncan. The farm, operated by Gaylard and Helma Stewart, has about 1400 trees, making it the largest Holly farm in Canada, and has been in operation since 1886. The website provides some interesting history about the farm, details about harvesting the Holly, and of course, opportunities to order gift boxes and arrangements of Holly.