Our littlest holly tree is doing okay

The winter of 2020 is mere days away from being officially over. We have twelve days to go until the spring equinox and I must say I'm definitely ready for it. 

The littlest holly on the manor (that I'm aware of, anyway) survived the winter in fine style. I'm happy to note it has grown a good bit since I first discovered it. I'm guessing it doubled in size since last April.

If I were brave I give it a shot of fertilizer but I need to go do some reading about hollies first. Even a little might be too much, or it may encourage too much growth too fast. It's always better to admit what you don't know and remedy your lack of knowledge. 

Over the coming days, Deuce and I will once again fight our way along the old tractor path to the southwest corner of the manor. When we get there, I'll be on the lookout to see if any other hollies are growing and mark them with reflectors so that as we clear the old path, we don't remove any youngsters by mistake. What would Holly Tree Manor be without holly trees?

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

A long time coming - berries on the largest holly tree

For years I've wondered if any of the holly trees would ever get berries. I knew that berries only form on old growth, so pruning is not recommended if you want to get berries. I also knew that hollies have both male and female plants, and the berries form on the female trees. This is the first year any of the hollies have produced berries, and it's only on the largest tree.

I didn't plant any of the fourteen holly trees on the manor. A lifetime ago, my grandfather purchased a male and a female holly and planted it in the lower corner of his yard. A walk through the nearby woods will show a person just how prolific those parent trees were. I'm sure my hollies are their progeny. 

When he purchased the home place, my cousin felled the holly trees. Holly trees can live well over 100 years and these two were probably about seventy and beginning to show their age. Even a light snow caused branches to break. We didn't want to wake up one morning and find our shared lane blocked by a fallen tree, and so I reluctantly agreed they had to come down at a time of our choosing. By then, I already had young, established trees. 

Will we have a little holly "baby boom" on the manor? It wouldn't be a bad thing. It would give me the chance to transplant a few young trees along the western stone fence to grow as a barrier to a neighbor who thinks target shooting into my hillside is okay. It's not. 

All we can do now is wait and see. Mother Nature can't be rushed.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

A young holly tree

Spring is the best time of the year to go walking around the property to take stock of what's new, what's old, what needs to be done, and what's a surprise. I found the surprise - a new young holly tree. I've marked it so it doesn't get mowed off when we make a pass through the woods with the brush mower. 

It has a lot of growing to do and I plan to give it every opportunity to reach its full statue. I've seen the holly trees on James Island, Virginia, and they are one-hundred feet tall. My grandfather's holly trees were perhaps thirty to forty feet tall. All the younger trees on my property are surely the offspring of that pair. 

I hope to live a good many years yet. Maybe I'll get to see this little guy reach fifteen feet. I'd like that. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

January snow

two holly trees in snow

It snowed today. Not a lot, and it certainly didn't impact the roads or my schedule. It was one of those soft, wet, clingy snows that turned the mountain white. 

I just took Deuce outside for his last trip of the day, and I was struck by the silence. The sky had cleared and Orion was rising. There was no wind and no noise. There was peace. 

This is where I'm supposed to be. I watched the snow fall today via security monitors at the day job. It wasn't until I got home that I could truly experience the wonder of the snow coming down, smell the newly cleaned air, and listen to the quiet. All the technology in the world can't replicate how it feels to be outside when it's snowing. 

It's not quite cold enough for this snow to last long. By the weekend, it will be gone and we'll be preparing for the next one, which likely won't be so gentle with us. Mother Nature does give us clues if you know what to look for. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor