InTouch Magazine Articles Archive

Issue 13, December 2007

Gardening This Month

By Patricia Jordan. Author of "The Cyprus Garden" and "The Potted Garden"

Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner and it’s time to be decorating our homes again for the Festive Season? I expect that many of you will have at least one poinsettia. Poinsettias are the favourite Christmas plant in many countries and the Americans go overboard and have them to decorate cakes, cards, embroideries and clothing, as well as their homes.

Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner and it’s time to be decorating our homes again for the Festive Season? I expect that many of you will have at least one poinsettia. Poinsettias are the favourite Christmas plant in many countries and the Americans go overboard and have them to decorate cakes, cards, embroideries and clothing, as well as their homes. Their botanical name is Euphorbia pulcherrima, which means ‘very beautiful’ and they belong to the euphorbia family which includes many cacti-type plants. The Aztecs used the milky sap to control fevers and the bracts were used to dye clothes. Although the sap can be an irritant to those with sensitive skin, it is not thought to be poisonous. Just don’t get it anywhere near your eyes though!
In Cyprus too thousands of poinsettias are raised every year for the Christmas market. Cuttings are imported from Holland in July and nurtured and cared for by countless nurserymen all over the island so that by the end of November they are blooming beautifully and ready for you to buy. They have come to be recognised as the plant most associated with Christmas and have various common names such as Christmas Stars, Flower of the Holy Night, Short Day Plants and Flame Leaf.

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