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Compositions in Red and Green
Nature celebrates the Christmas colors
It is pretty cool having a palm tree that celebrates Christmas! Its seeds wait until December to turn bright red. Many Adonidia merrillii line the west side of my house and are scattered all over the grounds of Villa Flores. They not only brighten the holiday season but grow less enthusiastically (meaning not very tall) as the similar-looking Royal Palms.
I understand their smaller size is why they are popular in Florida in the USA and other warm places. We like our lawns and gardens to stay under our control! I love the stately Royal palms and have many growing on my property — some I planted and others planted by the birds.
We can thank the Celts for associating the colors red and green with a holiday, but it was not Christmas. It was the winter solstice. We can also thank them for the Christmas tree. Both predated (by a long shot) the Christian era.
But let’s not quibble about that. And it wasn’t a tree but holly (you know, pointy green leaves with bright red seeds, usually growing on a bush?!) that started it all.
