December is actually associated with two birth flowers: holly and narcissus. While both have long been symbols of peace and love, holly is most associated with Christmas and its religious symbolism, and as such, is the perfect holiday decor. Fresh holly produces blooms in the spring but stays green all year round, and the female plants, when pollinated, produce berries that ripen through the late fall. Because of its vibrancy and evergreen hardiness – in pre-selected Christmas colors, even – holly has become one of our favorite greeneries to decorate with over the holiday season.
Of course, in some cultures, narcissus is associated with the new year, but these are often celebrated in early spring -– such as Lunar New Year –- when daffodils, the most famous narcissus, start to bloom. If you want to add some symbolic paperwhite narcissus to your Christmas wreaths as an expression of purity, hope, or faithfulness, it’s best to use faux blooms, but holly can be picked fresh from your garden or bought from a nursery for live boughs to brighten up your holidays.
Ways to procure holly and use it as seasonal décor
Holly is an evergreen shrub (sometimes considered a tree) that likes full or dappled sunlight and loamy, slightly acidic soil. Its different varieties each have distinct zone preferences, leaf types, and even berry colors, so you’ll need to check the kind you have, but overall, holly can be grown in some form anywhere from zones 3 to 10. It works as either a border or container plant, too, so it’s incredibly versatile, but if you’re hoping it thrives in your garden, you’ll need to make sure you buy one male plant for every 10 to 20 females. Once established, you can take cuttings for wreaths, crafts, centerpieces, or even future propagations.
You can add sprigs of holly to vases of floral arrangements or stick them into garlands or centerpieces to add texture and interest. You can also take several cuttings of about 6 to 10 inches in length from your holly tree and twist them together around a grapevine wreath frame ($5 at Michael’s) or simple floral wire. Alternatively, you can bunch several small sprigs together into miniature bouquets, tie the bases with ribbon, and hang them upside down along your mantel or windows. You can even use a low-temperature glue gun to adhere some holly sprigs around the base of your Christmas candelabra for some added holiday flair. There truly are so many ways to make your home infinitely more festive with holly in your holiday décor.
