That's a good question, Nancy. I can't say I know what holm is, but I do know that in the American west it is found on the range. I believe there is a song about that. Elsewhere, holm is found where the heart is.

Neither of those things tell us what holm is, but I do have a guess, and it's something green. Time will tell if I am close.

TM

The obvious springs to mind, but I suspect I should not go with that. I will wait for clues.

I bet your snow looks beautiful! Nary a flake fell here.

Cynthia

I have a couple of things in mind but I'm waiting for clues.

Annette

A favorite song came to mind when I read your list and it seems that my guess would be too obvious, but to sing the song, holm would need two syllables. I need to plant more to keep the deer away!

Am I on the right track?

Cynthia

Lovely song too,I'll bet. We can't grow the prettiest version of this plant in my neck of the woods, which makes me blue.

Nancy.

Sorry, haven't been able to connect with Garden Web all day, just kept timing out. Not that it matters as I do not know about holm. Perhaps an evergreen shrub.

I have been having issues as well. They have a pop-up trying #sellus. Hate that. This is not that tough, though the plant is...lol.

Nancy.

I am also feeling a bit prickly about not being able to connect earlier. Still, it is working now. If I am right, it can be either a tree or shrub. I have both versions here and love them crowned with snow. The ivy, I can do without.

Hope you are no longer a blue girl, Nancy!

Cynthia

Bobbie, it is not that far from what you might think. TM, don't overthink it all. So do you decorate with Holm, Cynthia?

Nancy.

i also had trouble logging on earlier. If I'm on the right track we grow a lot of it here on the island, both in home gardens and also it's commercially farmed.

Annette

Holm, holm on the range.

Too silly?

I was thinking it was pronounced like hole with an m on the end. But maybe it is pronounced with the hol part sounding the same as the first syllable of the plant that I believe we are all thinking of. That would make holm, holm, on the range ridiculous -- not even up to the level of silly.

TM

Yes, Nancy, if it what we all are thinking, I do decorate with it. I have several out front that have become too big and shapeless, so I hack off huge branches (probably the cause of their lack of shape-sigh) to bring in this time of year. I have a tall floor vase (well, sort of tall-3') that I fill with some branches.

TM, I was pronouncing it the same way in my head.

Cynthia

TM, I think it is like Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, lol. Yes, it is the one major green in carols that was not mentioned!!

Nancy.

Holly

I'm going with Holly too.

Annette

Jolly holly.

TM

Yes, holly was my first and last thought, too.

Cynthia

Sorry this is coming so late - busy, busy, and I went to bed early last night!!
The answer is of course, holly. This is an archaic spelling. Ilex, or holly, a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide.

The prickly leaves represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus because of the thorns.

In Scandinavia it is known as the Christ Thorn.

That's it - is was a simple one, but I liked the spelling as I had never heard it before!

So, for everyone:

Thanks for playing. I have a more challenging question next week. I think.

Nancy.

Ah, the life of a working woman! Thanks for the stars and your illustration is gorgeous! I thought this was a very fun question even though we all got it. I had never heard that before.

Have a marvelous week all and thanks for the fun, Nancy.

Cynthia, who is counting the hours until Friday at 3:15! ;)

That is a nice illustration. The summer we spent in Scotland our car was parked next to a huge holly tree. It was not thought of fondly as was the prickly kind of holly. Though it was very pretty it was placed incorrectly.

Will be fun to work this bit of trivia into conversation at a holiday party.

Or in Scrabble!

It's funny. I had just been looking at a Bluestone catalog and thinking how nice a holly plant with red berries would look in our back yard against the white snow that we have been getting so much of this year. I think I will have to get a pair for next year.

Thanks for the fun, Nancy, and really, don't feel that you have to come up with a big challenge next week. :)

TM