Our garden

Bonsai, garden trees, houseplants and the odd volunteer seedling.

This is our little online catalogue of everything growing in our garden, made for friends and family. It's a work in progress, and there's always something new going in.

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Trees & shrubs
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Holly (tall)
After the tidy-up, 5 Oct 2026

Holly (tall)

Ilex aquifolium (likely)

A tall, leggy holly on a single pale, knuckled trunk, with sparse, almost spineless glossy leaves towards the tips.

Common name
Holly (tall)
Section
Trees & shrubs
Spot
Patio (for now)
Soil
Nursery compost, topped up with fresh compost
Options
Bonsai · Patio pot · Plant out

Bonsai

Bonsai: a tall, bare trunk, so it would need cutting back hard to bring the growth down. A longer-term project.

From
A local nursery (old stock), Oct 2026
Age
About 5 years (best guess)
Next repot
Around Mar 2028
Edible
❌ No: the berries are poisonous.
Hardy
✅ Fully
Garden-centre price
about £20
Did you know?

Most hollies have separate male and female plants. Female plants usually need a compatible male flowering nearby to produce berries, although some cultivars are self-fertile.

RHS guide

Care & updates

Next root check
Oct 2027
  1. Root check

    Out of its pot for a look. Roots fine, so back in it went, with the weedy surface scraped off and a thin layer of fresh compost on top. A shrubby stowaway was lifted out and potted on its own.

    Back in its pot, surface cleared
    Back in its pot, surface cleared
  2. Observation

    Nursery-stock check: scratch-tested alive and shooting; it should fill out once settled.

Root records (1)
  • Root ballView larger, with details
    Healthy; well rooted

    Fine roots right through the rootball, holding the pot's shape, with no heavy circling. Weeds and a stowaway shrub on top cleared.

All root records →

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Santa needs the decorations sorted.

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