berries , Blogroll , Current Affairs , Gardening , Media , Mistletoe , Science

Mistletoe germination

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

End of March – the end of the mistletoe season for us, but the middle of the germination season for mistletoe seeds. Why the end for us? Well we spend much of February and March each year working with mistletoe, especially in neglected sites, and supplying mistletoe seeds and advice to those who want them.  The arrival of April is often a welcome break as mistletoe has dominated our lives since October! But for mistletoe […]

auctions , berries , Blogroll , Current Affairs , Gardening , Media , Mistletoe , social history , Tenbury Wells

Masses of mistletoe at the first auction of 2022

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

At Tenbury Wells yesterday, for the first of the two mistletoe auctions this year. Masses of mistletoe there, though less holly than usual. I was also left with the impression there were fewer buyers and sellers than normal, but that’s difficult to really judge. Most of the mistletoe was looking very fine, lots of berries and not much with yellowy leaves.  But there were several lots, more than usual, with under-ripe berries – i.e. not […]

berries , Current Affairs , druids , Food and Drink , Gardening , Media , Mistletoe , Orchard , social history

Mistletoe and Orchards on ITV today

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

Plenty of mistletoe mentions on ITV this morning – all within the 2 hour show Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh (on ITV Hub here).  Helped along a bit by Sir Cliff ‘Mistletoe and Wine‘ Richard being the main guest. Christmas swag-making featured about 30 minutes in – with plenty of mistletoe incorporated into a very long decoration.  Some good mentions of how sticky the berries are, and their need for light when germinating, but […]

berries , Blogroll , Current Affairs , Media , Mistletoe , social history

Mistletoe Auction#1 2019 – lively bidding for lovely mistletoe

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

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 […]

Current Affairs , Media , Mistletoe , social history

Mistletoe in December’s BBC Countryfile magazine

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

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  […]

berries , Biodiversity , Gardening , Media , Mistletoe , Other parasites , Science

Growing your own, for the common good, in NZ

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

My recent post about the new mistletoe-eating bird in Borneo reminded me of several other exotic (to us in Britain) mistletoe stories. One particular story from last year came to mind – a project in New Zealand where local residents were being given mistletoe seeds in an effort to re-establish local mistletoe species. The project, based in Christchurch, involved the collection of seeds by local ecologists and then the doling out of 20 seeds each […]

berries , Mistletoe , Orchard

Whitening up nicely

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

Some pictures of mistletoe in Gloucestershire Orchard Trust‘s orchards at Longney, near Gloucester, taken this afternoon. The berries, as you can see, are beginning to whiten up now – still very opaque and with a hint of green, but it won’t be long now until we get the full white berry effect. Most pics are from the apple trees, some still bearing apples, but the last few are of mistletoe in the riverside poplar on […]