MERRY CHRISTMAS!
It’s hard to be original in a Christmas blog and this is my 9th year of trying. In the past I’ve looked at poinsettia, mistletoe, ivy, amaryllis, and the Glastonbury Thorn. I’ve even looked at the ghastly xmas lights at Chiswick, and Victorian artificial flower decorations. Could I bear to look at the history of Christmas trees or Holly ? Actually NO I couldn’t.
Then I thought of having a day off and just referring you a really Christmassy post that came in from the Gardens Trust’s equivalent in New Zealand, about how a parachuting Santa nearly crashed through the roof of Auckland’s Wintergarden, but while I’d recommend it to you, that would be a bit of a cop-out.
Finally it occurred to me that very little has been written about Christmas Roses. Maybe that’s because they’re not roses and don’t often flower at Christmas. However they were once called the Christe Herbe because of a nativity legend associated with them so that was a good enough excuse to make them my contribution to the festivities this year.
I don’t often write more than one post on a garden. But then few gardens are quite as extraordinary as Babylonstoren. 
Back in September I was in South Africa and taken to see Babylonstoren, an impressive “new” garden about an hour north of Cape Town.
The Garden History Blog 
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