The Ancient Holly

Mike Howe says:

January 17, 2014 at 9:46 am

I wouldn’t like to say, I’m no holly expert 🙂

Reply
1. Gallivanta says:
  
  January 17, 2014 at 10:19 am
  
  Supposedly there is one in England that is 400 years old; that’s ancient! And holly is a plant that we are encouraged to remove from our gardens and landscapes because it likes the NZ climate far too well.
2. Mike Howe says:
  
  January 17, 2014 at 10:52 am
  
  Yes I can understand that holly would pose a threat to your native species because it can dominate the under-storey in woodlands, and can shade out other plant species, as it does here. But you don’t often see old trees that have managed to get away from the constant pressure of sheep and, in North Wales, deer and goat browsing. And the one pictured there will have had to contend with some pretty harsh winters. A really nice thing about this place, which unfortunately I don’t have a picture of, is the bright red holly berries drop into the little stream that runs alongside and over time several holly trees have grown along the bank where again sheep haven’t been able to graze the young saplings