This December we have our very own giant Christmas tree in the garden. A huge old holly tree that I fell in love with the first time we viewed this house and garden, enchantingly pyramid shaped and exquisitely decorated with an abundance of red berries, shining brightly like tiny baubles. It feels magical to have our very own berry-laden Christmas tree, providing shelter and food for the birds. Of course, George our cockapoo takes his role as self-appointed berry guardian extremely seriously, but never quite understands that the birds always have been, and most likely always will be, far quicker than him. Mr E says putting up outdoor fairy lights counts as gardening in December, and I wholeheartedly agree. I like to think the birds enjoy their festive glow as much as I do.
Just as the holly tree is a deliciously Christmassy image, so too is our nation’s favourite bird, the robin, whether it’s on the front of a Christmas card or an important character in my picture book series for children. There he is, perched proudly beside fat balls that look to me like tiny Christmas puddings, ready to feast and remind us that even on the coldest days the garden has its own celebrations. And a starling murmuration is the icing on the Christmas cake. A living ribbon rippling across the sunset sky – nature putting on its own performance, free of charge, for anyone who happens to glance up.
But for me, my favourite garden bird will always be little Jenny Wren, singing her tiny joyful heart out. She appreciates every tiny thing that comes her way and reminds me of the beauty of a happy heart. I’m hoping that she’ll be contentedly huddling with her family in our dry stone wall, just as she does in my fictional garden named after its conservation-minded keeper Dudley, while the blackbirds squabble over the food on the bird table and the rooks have their noisy dusk gatherings.
By day the garden seems to belong to the birds at the moment, but in the long nights, the garden definitely changes character. In the darkness, other voices rise. The long, haunting call of a tawny owl drifting through the dark, answered sometimes by a mate. The sharp, eerie bark of a fox – startling in its suddenness, yet thrilling too, a real call of the wild. Standing at the back door in the cold night air, it often feels like George listens with me, his ears pricked, both of us aware that the garden’s secret life is just beginning as ours winds down for the evening.
And it’s exciting because now, as we’re about to turn that corner between Christmas and New Year, I finally feel we can allow ourselves to indulge in looking ahead to the promise of next year, start noticing the snowdrop bulbs beginning to push through and, when those beloved seed catalogues start to arrive in the post, we really can begin to make plans for the coming spring.
For now, our holly tree feels like a beautiful Christmas gift. The blackbirds and thrushes will take their share, and George will continue to dash about beneath it as if rehearsing for a festive pantomime. For me, it’s the garden joining in the season’s celebrations in its own way – the holly and the ivy alive with birdsong. And if we look down at the ground as well as looking up at the birds, catching sight of those first tantalising tips of green from the bulbs, we can fully appreciate those little signs of life that show the garden is always moving forward, however slowly. Perhaps it’s nature’s way of slipping a few early presents under the tree.
Jobs for December:
· Save Christmas greenery – once you’ve finished with wreaths and branches, put them on the compost or use them as extra cover for wildlife
· Hang fat balls and feeders near shrubs so small birds have shelter and quick escape routes
Look and listen out for:
· Holly berries – the birds may strip them long before Christmas, so enjoy them while you can!
· Wrens – tiny but loud, foraging around log piles or hedges
· Starling murmurations
· Ladybirds – huddled in clusters in sheds or log piles
· Tawny owls calling
· Foxes barking
Get involved:
· Starting on December, 25 join ‘12 Days Wild’, The Wildlife Trust’s daily wild-themed prompt challenge. Lovely for Christmas/post-Christmas to keep nature awareness going.
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