God's Christmas trees

Christmas is over, the decorations are packed away and the gloomy weather in central Alabama seems to produce nothing but gray skies and dark days. 

But have you noticed the holly bushes and trees all over town?  They are gloriously bright with glossy deep green leaves and the most abundant crop of rich red berries I have ever seen. 

Apparently our summer and fall weather was perfect for the production of holly berries--moderate heat and plenty of rainfall.

According to British folklore, (where our holly bushes originated) an abundant crop of holly berries signals a cold, long winter. 

I prefer to rejoice in God's gift of Christmas trees that keep on giving right through a dark, gloomy and wet holiday.

Christmas colors

One of the nicest benefits of living in the south at Christmas time is the amazing greenery available for decorations.  Every year I fill my home with fresh greens in glorious shades and textures, mingled with bright red holly berries and huge pine cones from my southern long leaf pine.   These baskets will last three to four weeks, filling our home with the colors and fragrance of the outdoors the entire holiday season.

We've moved

The USDA has revised its official Plant Hardiness Zone Map using more accurate data and my backyard has now been officially moved from zone 7b to zone 8a.  If you've been reading my blog you know that I have always considered my backyard to be on the border between the two zones because I have had pretty good success with growing plants that are considered hardy for zone 8a.

There are some interesting changes with the new map.  One is that they used 30 years of data rather than just 15 years of data on the previous map, which creates a more accurate picture of cold hardiness.   Agricultural scientists now know that weather patterns cycle over 10-15 year periods of time so using a broader scope of data created a more accurate picture of  temperature patterns.

New technology also allowed for more detailed evaluation within zones.  You can actually request the hardiness zone for your zip code on the USDA website (planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Default.aspx) to find the hardiness zone for your own backyard.  This is a wonderful feature because there are often geographical considerations that may affect the hardiness just in your specific location.

I enjoy my new location.  Check out the website to find out if you have moved too.