A-Z Challenge - 'I' - Ilex

My A-Z posts this year are based on my garden – flowers, animals, the birds and the bees, butterflies - with a bit of poetry thrown in. For some letters I am expecting to cheat somewhat – wishing they were here.

I – Ilex, Ivy, Iris, Impatiens

The holly and the ivy, now are both well grown,

Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.

Holly Bush

 I feel quite justified in including holly under ‘I’ as the Latin name for it is Ilex. Our garden holly bush is well manicured but the blackbirds have left a berry or two – you just have to look hard enough.

Holly Berry

We can’t claim to have an ivy hedge like this:

Ivy Hedge

 This is the best we can manage growing from next door.

Ivy 'Hedge'

Blue Tits (see B) using this nesting box will be happier when the ivy surrounding it grows to provide a bit more cover.

Nesting Box

We have a few blue irises in the garden.

Blue Irises

 But we had to go to Cornwall to find some yellow ones.

Yellow Iris - Cornwall

 Impatiens glandulifera is a grand sounding name but it masks an invasive species imported to the UK.

Indian (Himalayan) Balsam

 Fortunately we have none in the garden. It has however started to swamp some local woods,

These are the impatiens we prefer to see,

Busy Lizzies (Impatiens)

These annual plants are available in many colours and bloom non-stop until the autumn. There is no need to get impatient with them.

Poem:

• The Holly and the Ivy – English traditional Christmas Carol

Photo attribution:

•  Ivy Hedge - Public Domain Images
• Busy Lizzies – Andrew Fogg; CC BY 2.0.