Grass Clippings
Winter Solstice and seasonal celebrations
I am writing this pre-dawn on a bleak morning, outside the ground is frozen solid and snow still lies across the course. A joyous thought is that next week is the winter solstice. It’s at this time of the year which our connection to plants becomes more tangible. As the earth spins in orbit, like a wobbling spinning top, this planet tilts on its axis, the arc the sun moves through during the day will rise and fall across the year as the earth’s pole points either towards or away from the sun.
Our winter solstice occurs at the minimum point for the northern hemisphere, when the Sun is lowest in the sky and the North Pole is pointing away from the sun. The shortest day lasts 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds in London. This means that the length of day during the winter solstice is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than the summer solstice. The world ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin solstitium meaning ‘sun stands still’, because the apparent movement of the Sun’s path north or south stops before changing direction.
At the winter solstice, the apparent position of the sun reaches its most southerly point against the background stars. Over the millennia, the significance of this period has shaped our understanding of the natural world, our beliefs, and religions. Our greatest fears have hinged on the fact that winter brings the darkness, when little grows and the severe weather could damage the sowing of crops for the next year. In the past, agriculture and the success of the crops was felt by one and all. A good harvest was one to celebrate and give thanks for while a hard winter brought caution for possible hard time to come.
Whether it was the justification to thank the gods, or to bring cheer into our lives at the bleak period the celebrations are ingrained in our culture. Celebrations in and around the solstice, under the old Julian Calendar, the winter solstice occurred on 25th December. With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar the solstice slipped to the 21st, but the Christian celebration of Jesus’ birth continued to be held on 25th December. The pre-Christian festival, the Feast of Juul, was observed in Scandinavia at the time of the December Solstice. Fires would be lit to symbolise the heat and light of the returning sun and a Yule log was gathered and burnt in the hearth as a tribute the Norse god Thor.
Present day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from pagan Juul. Christianity adopted many of the pagan rituals into the winter festivities as a way of bringing the familiar to the populous. Down the ages and across cultures the human need to celebrate the passing of winter, the end of another year is timeless. In modern UK, people visit the ancient site of Stonehenge to celebrate the winter and summer solstice and to glimpse the sun’s rays through the stones which are lined up with the path of the sun. The reasoning that ancient inhabitants of Britain at that time spent so much effort in the construction of a site of such complexity and scale is lost to us now. The evidence can only steer us towards the fact that this was a monument was possibly created to souls past and that they were honoured in ceremony and remembrance. A notable act that we should not forget in modern time too. To all Members of this distinguished Club, glad tidings for the season and wishing you health and happiness for the coming year.
The King and the Pontfadog Oak
Our King is well versed in the practice of planting trees, as part of his Curriculum Vitae as Prince of Wales, he has inevitably planted a small forest across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. But last week, he plied yet another stainless-steel spade on a unique specimen as tree planting goes. The rare sapling had been successfully grafted from the historic Pontfadog Oak which fell in a storm in 2013. During the visit to Wales, the King and the first minister met with young volunteers who take part in Erddig Grow, a project which works with partner organisations to support people’s wellbeing through nature. The ancient Pontfadog Oak, which fell in a storm in 2013, stood at Cilcochwyn Farm, near Chirk, Wrexham, and was cared for by generations of the Williams family. It was thought to be one of the world’s largest and oldest oak trees. In 2013, The Crown Estate propagated the original Pontfadog Oak tree and planted a tree in Windsor Great Park. A further five Pontfadog Oaks were then grafted from this tree; three have been gifted to National Trust Cymru, and two are cared for by the National Botanic Garden of Wales. The sapling was planted in memoriam to honour the late Queen Elizabeth II. Also attending were Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust and Lhosa Daly, director for Wales, National Trust Cymru. His Majesty has long been a supporter of our work at Erddig, including opening the property to the public in 1977, and a visit to mark its 25th anniversary in the care of the National Trust in 2002. The Erddig estate contains vast orchards of trained fruit trees and is home to over 200 apple varieties. The group also saw the penny farthing His Majesty rode on his first visit to Erddig in 1977. I believed he declined to attempt to repeat the cycle around the estate on this occasion.
Ticking off the tasks in your winter garden
For those of you lacking a little exercise in the last few weeks, gardening is a great way to burn off a few mince-pie calories over the next few weeks. Getting out in the garden while we have a few sunny days is great way to catch some winter sunshine and ward off those winter blues. Check out the job list below to see if ticking of a number of the tasks will get you ahead of the curve ready for spring :-
♣ Protect terracotta pots from cracking in freezing weather by bringing them indoors or wrapping in bubble polythene
♣ Rake up accumulated fallen leaves in borders that could be harbouring slugs and other pests
♣ Plant bare-root roses and other deciduous shrubs, plus ornamental trees
♣ Hang bird feeders near roses to attract hungry birds that will also pick off any overwintering pests
♣ Cut stems of berried winter shrubs, seasonal flowers and evergreen leaves for festive decorations
♣ Move plants in pots to a sheltered spot if conditions turn very cold, as their roots are more exposed to the elements
♣ Pile straw or bracken around the base of tender shrubs and climbers to protect them from falling temperatures
♣ Plant fragrant winter shrubs in pots on the doorsteps, including chimonanthus, sarcococca and Daphne odora
♣ Prune climbing roses between now and February
♣ Hard prune overgrown shrubs and hedges while they’re dormant
♣ Check stored bulbs and corms regularly for any signs of rot