Yaupon Holly
Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) in all its winter glory.
I love those translucent berries. And so will the cedar waxwings when they (with any luck) descend on us in March.
I am rather amazed at how much this tree has grown since planted as a weedy little thing in 2005. Not that it started out weedy, but it had been grown as a bush and I wanted a tree, so I pruned it ruthlessly. Its “trunk” is still an extremely odd shape, but it is straightening out slowly.
I realize that impatience is one of my besetting sins. When I want a tree, I want it now, so I don’t wait to look for one that would be more suitable. The only Yaupon holly left at Miles Nursery was this shrub one, so I took it and now have to wrestle with high-heading it so it doesn’t block the view of the marsh. The same thing happened with the Chionanthus virginicus (ginica?) in the front yard.
