Tag: evergreen

#365daysofbiking Archbishop of the hedgerow

December 20th – In Telford where I’d nipped for one last task before Christmas, the weather was mild and fairly dry, but it did feel Christmassy and my mood was lifted by the abundance of holly on the Hortonwood cycleways and hedgerows.

Holly is such a beautiful evergreen and the veritable archbishop of the hedgerow, it’s easy to see why the pagans loved it as a symbol of midwinter regeneration.

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September 21st – A horrid, horrid day. Laden with a cold, the sun was out but I was in. Feeling cranky, miserable and ill, I battled technology and social media at home, and finally left for a restorative ride at 5pm. 

The air was still poor, but it caught the sun beautifully. Looking from Hammerwich over the fields to Brownhills, I was fascinated by the glow of the Lichfield Road as it rose to cross the Anglesey Branch. Riding over to Wall and back through the lanes around Chesterfield, the villages and old building looked beautiful, as did the odd flower of the evergreen, growing in the hedgerows at Wall.

It may have been a terrible, terrible day, but the golden hour was just what I needed.

September 18th – From the Indian, back to the Indian summer. Darlaston, in and around Victoria Park. The leaves are turning and falling, and the park as clean and perfect as usual. Surrounded by beautiful houses, I will not cease banging on about this jewel of a place until everyone gets it.

I was intrigued by the scarlet berries on the holly-like evergreen; copious and beautiful, they seem to be holly, but the leaves don’t look much like holly leaves; more like a cross between laurel and holly. A curious thing.

Anyone know what it is?