"Of all the trees that are in the wood the holly bears the crown"

Another silkscreen print, this time using three screens. Early '80s. I have always liked Holly. Holly does not grow in Idaho where I grew up, but I saw it when we visited family in Oregon. It always seemed like the perfect Christmas green. Shiny green leaves and beautiful red berries. What's not to love? Oh yeah, stickers. Those points on the leaves are sharp! But to look at—so beautiful.

My sister was married a few days after Christmas and the wedding had a very Christmas-y theme. Of all my bridesmaid dresses (I was a bridesmaid a LOT for a few years) the one for Beck's wedding was my favorite—long, red plaid taffeta skirt with a white crepe, french-cuffed shirt top. My grandmother shipped several large boxes of holly from Oregon to decorate the church.

When we bought our first house in Oregon the first yard purchase was a holly bush. Imagine my chagrin when I learned, just recently, that English Holly is considered an invasive species, which we are discouraged from planting in Oregon. We didn't plant it, but we have some out front and I don't plan to pull it out. When I posted the photo of my terra cotta ornaments the other day there was a sprig of holly from our yard in the photo. I will always think of it as an Oregon plant.

By the way the title of the post comes from the carol, The Holly and the Ivy. English Ivy, also abundant in Oregon is another invasive species.