Jonathan Briggs reports on mistletoe matters
There’s a Black Friday sale on at the English Mistletoe Shop for the next few days, ending at midnight on Sunday 1st December. 15% off Mistletoe Grow-Kits and Grow-Kit Gift Cards. Only on the main English Mistletoe Shop site at englishmistletoeshop.co.uk
A good turn out of both people and mistletoe lots for today’s mistletoe auction at Tenbury Wells. Mistletoe looking good, lots of berries, again, though perhaps not quite as plump as some previous years. A few lots had yellower leaves – which won’t fetch as good a price as the greener stuff. But there were masses of nice green stuff too. Some lively bidding for lovely mistletoe! Only two auctions this year – the second […]
Or just a generic Christmassy-themed retail-fest? The phrase Mistletoe Market is fairly uncommon here in the UK – the mistletoe auctions at Tenbury Wells are sometimes called this, but not often. We also have a few Mistletoe Fairs – some more mistletoey than others (of which more in another post soon) – but we have few events formally called a Mistletoe Market. But cross the atlantic and the US is brimming with ‘mistletoe markets’, some […]
The December issue of BBC Countryfile magazine is now out – and there’s a 6-page feature on mistletoe and its traditions. Nicely-written. Though perhaps, as the author, I shouldn’t say that. There’s a screenshot of a couple of pages below – but you’ll have to buy it to read it. Mistletoe Information: for general mistletoe info visit the Mistletoe Pages website. And for mistletoe books, cards or kits to grow your own mistletoe visit the English Mistletoe Shop […]
Yes, it’s almost that time again, the mistletoe season. Indeed my first mistletoe gig this autumn is less than 2 weeks away, so I need to get back into mistletoe mode very soon. Here, for starters, are some diary dates for Tenbury Wells. Only two auctions this year – on the mornings of Tuesday 26th November and 3rd December – details at https://nickchampion.co.uk/auctions/holly-and-mistletoe/ The main Festival Day, complete with Druid Ceremony is on Saturday 7th […]
Very busy with mistletoe stuff this season – I’ve got loads of things to blog about but am having a bit of difficulty finding the time… I usually post a summary of the wholesale mistletoe prices at the Tenbury Wells Auctions – so here, for the record, are this year’s figures, taken from Nick Champion’s reports: Tuesday 27th November 2018 Mistletoe 1st Quality to £3.00 per kg to average £1.75 Mistletoe 2nd Quality to £1.00 […]
The first of this season’s mistletoe auctions is happening on Tuesday morning – and I’m guessing that a lot of stock has already arrived on site, with more coming tomorrow. This is ‘proper’ traditional mistletoe, gathered from the old apple orchards across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. If you want to attend you’ll need to be at Burford House Garden Stores, Burford, Tenbury Wells, WR15 8HQ on Tuesday morning. And you’ll have another chance on the […]
With the centenary of the Armistice tomorrow it seems fitting to briefly re-visit the tradition of mistletoe as a symbol of peace – which is now often overlooked. Tradition holds that the Romans considered mistletoe a plant of parley, and that opposing armies would negotiate peace treaties under a mistletoe growth. This may, or may not, be strictly true but I doubt mistletoe played an active role in the 1918 peace negotiations. Other traditions also […]
Almost November, so time to look at how mistletoe is looking for Christmas this year. And, again (this is several years in a row now) it’s looking fairly good. The female plants I’ve looked at are festooned with berries and it would seem we have yet another ‘bumper crop’. Of course it’s not a crop, not in the conventional sense of something grown for harvest, as most simply grows where it wants to and isn’t actively […]
Tenbury is hosting its mistletoe auctions and festival again this year. Mistletoe Auction dates are: Tuesday 27th November Tuesday 4th December Tuesday 11th December All take place at Burford House Garden Stores, Burford, Tenbury Wells, WR15 8HQ and are organised by Nick Champion. Buyer information is downloadable here Seller information is downloadable here Registration documents are available here Druid Mistletoe Ceremony is on Saturday 1st December This is organised by The Mistletoe Foundation who […]
