VenetiaJane’s Garden
@venetiajane.bsky.social
Sharing the wonders of flowers and nature, gardening, plant history, folklore, art, and poetry. Bedfordshire photographer for the National Garden Scheme charity. #SolaceInNature #DailyBotanicalBeauty
https://www.venetiajane.co.uk
https://www.venetiajane.co.uk
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Nothing feels more personal and special than opening a card with someone’s own handwriting inside.
Nature-themed Christmas cards, created from my photography, are now available on my website. Please see the thread for the link.
#ChristmasCards #SmallBusiness #ShopUK
Nature-themed Christmas cards, created from my photography, are now available on my website. Please see the thread for the link.
#ChristmasCards #SmallBusiness #ShopUK
7 Dec: Legend tells of a bird with a broken wing who begged each tree for shelter from the cold. All the trees refused; only a fir tree offered it sanctuary. For this kindness the Frost King decreed that the North Wind should never blow away its leaves in winter. #FolkloreSunday
December 7, 2025 at 12:30 AM
7 Dec: Legend tells of a bird with a broken wing who begged each tree for shelter from the cold. All the trees refused; only a fir tree offered it sanctuary. For this kindness the Frost King decreed that the North Wind should never blow away its leaves in winter. #FolkloreSunday
As daylight wanes and the nights lengthen toward the #WinterSolstice, the Christmas Rose’s pale petals seem to glow at dusk, gathering and holding the last light of day.
December 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM
As daylight wanes and the nights lengthen toward the #WinterSolstice, the Christmas Rose’s pale petals seem to glow at dusk, gathering and holding the last light of day.
6 Dec: Cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix, is the flower dedicated to St Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated today. Through the compassion and generosity of his legendary miracles, he became known as the gift-bearer, bringing joy and hope to all at the year’s darkest time.
December 6, 2025 at 7:03 AM
6 Dec: Cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix, is the flower dedicated to St Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated today. Through the compassion and generosity of his legendary miracles, he became known as the gift-bearer, bringing joy and hope to all at the year’s darkest time.
On 5 December, the eve of St Nicholas’s feast day, old French tradition tells of Père Noël travelling from house to house on a gentle donkey named Gui. Laden with baskets of sweets and toys, Gui brings good fortune too, for his name means “mistletoe,” the ancient charm of luck.
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 AM
On 5 December, the eve of St Nicholas’s feast day, old French tradition tells of Père Noël travelling from house to house on a gentle donkey named Gui. Laden with baskets of sweets and toys, Gui brings good fortune too, for his name means “mistletoe,” the ancient charm of luck.
4th December is St. Barbara’s Day. On this day there is an old countryside tradition of cutting a “Barbara branch” from a cherry tree. The branch is kept in a pot of water by the stove, and if it blossoms by #Christmas all the household’s wishes will come true the following year!
December 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
4th December is St. Barbara’s Day. On this day there is an old countryside tradition of cutting a “Barbara branch” from a cherry tree. The branch is kept in a pot of water by the stove, and if it blossoms by #Christmas all the household’s wishes will come true the following year!
4 Dec: Old lore tells that when Mary gave birth, the stable was bitterly cold. With no dry logs, a shepherd cut fresh ash wood. Green wood should not burn, yet the logs blazed. Folk say that’s why ash, however green, still burns brightly, and brings us welcome warmth to this day.
December 4, 2025 at 8:07 AM
4 Dec: Old lore tells that when Mary gave birth, the stable was bitterly cold. With no dry logs, a shepherd cut fresh ash wood. Green wood should not burn, yet the logs blazed. Folk say that’s why ash, however green, still burns brightly, and brings us welcome warmth to this day.
December’s #FullMoon is the Cold Moon and Oak Moon. In this lunar month the #Yule All-Heal rite was kept: on its sixth day white-robed Druids cut mistletoe from the oak with a golden sickle. Given to each home, it was said to deepen prayers, stir dreams and seal a kiss of peace.
December 3, 2025 at 8:00 PM
3 Dec: On winter nights the fairy queen and her elves polish holly leaves to make them shine. The prickly leaves wound their tiny hands as they work, but they have no care, for every drop of fairy blood turns into a bright red berry, adorning the holly for the #Christmas season!
December 3, 2025 at 8:11 AM
3 Dec: On winter nights the fairy queen and her elves polish holly leaves to make them shine. The prickly leaves wound their tiny hands as they work, but they have no care, for every drop of fairy blood turns into a bright red berry, adorning the holly for the #Christmas season!
Cold nights have worked their frosty magic on these ‘Golden Hornet’ crab apples, turning each one a different shade of gold, russet and dark plum. A little of nature’s alchemy, and suddenly the tree is decorated with small painted Christmas baubles!
December 2, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Cold nights have worked their frosty magic on these ‘Golden Hornet’ crab apples, turning each one a different shade of gold, russet and dark plum. A little of nature’s alchemy, and suddenly the tree is decorated with small painted Christmas baubles!
2 Dec: In #Norse lore, Frigg watches over marriage, fertility & motherhood. When her son Baldr fell to a mistletoe arrow, she knelt beside him in grief. Her tears touched the bare sprig that struck him, and each drop turned into a white berry—a reminder to cherish those we love.
December 2, 2025 at 8:00 AM
2 Dec: In #Norse lore, Frigg watches over marriage, fertility & motherhood. When her son Baldr fell to a mistletoe arrow, she knelt beside him in grief. Her tears touched the bare sprig that struck him, and each drop turned into a white berry—a reminder to cherish those we love.
December’s berried gifts.
December 1, 2025 at 7:36 PM
December’s berried gifts.
My husband bought me this book by Jane Hall @clothofnature as a surprise advent gift. I have only looked at the first page (no peeping ahead!), and already know each page I turn in the lead up to Christmas will be filled with lovely magical surprises from nature! #BookChatWeekly
December 1, 2025 at 12:00 PM
My husband bought me this book by Jane Hall @clothofnature as a surprise advent gift. I have only looked at the first page (no peeping ahead!), and already know each page I turn in the lead up to Christmas will be filled with lovely magical surprises from nature! #BookChatWeekly
1 Dec: The ‘Christmas Rose’ or ‘Winter Rose’ (Helleborus niger) is one of the birth flowers of #December. An old legend says that when humankind fell from grace and Paradise lay shrouded in snow, the angels carried this bloom to earth as a sign of love and mercy. #Plantlore
December 1, 2025 at 12:30 AM
1 Dec: The ‘Christmas Rose’ or ‘Winter Rose’ (Helleborus niger) is one of the birth flowers of #December. An old legend says that when humankind fell from grace and Paradise lay shrouded in snow, the angels carried this bloom to earth as a sign of love and mercy. #Plantlore
Wildflowers found on a lovely, sunny walk through the village on the last day of November. Prickly sowthistle, yarrow, wood avens, red dead-nettle, cyclamen, bramble, white dead-nettle, hawksbeard, feverfew and some hazel catkins impatient for spring! #TheWinter10 #WildflowerHour
November 30, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Wildflowers found on a lovely, sunny walk through the village on the last day of November. Prickly sowthistle, yarrow, wood avens, red dead-nettle, cyclamen, bramble, white dead-nettle, hawksbeard, feverfew and some hazel catkins impatient for spring! #TheWinter10 #WildflowerHour
The name #Yule is sometimes traced to Old English hweol, “wheel”, a reflection of the sun’s circular journey through the solstices and equinoxes. At the #WinterSolstice, that ancient wheel turns from darkness toward light once more. #FolkloreSunday
November 30, 2025 at 9:27 AM
The name #Yule is sometimes traced to Old English hweol, “wheel”, a reflection of the sun’s circular journey through the solstices and equinoxes. At the #WinterSolstice, that ancient wheel turns from darkness toward light once more. #FolkloreSunday
On the Eve of #StAndrewsDay, 29th November, it was an old custom in some parts of Germany for maidens & bachelors to shake an apple, pear, or plum tree. If a dog barked while they did so, it was said their future spouse would come from the direction of the sound. #FolkloreSunday
November 29, 2025 at 4:30 PM
On the Eve of #StAndrewsDay, 29th November, it was an old custom in some parts of Germany for maidens & bachelors to shake an apple, pear, or plum tree. If a dog barked while they did so, it was said their future spouse would come from the direction of the sound. #FolkloreSunday
“Many a tree is found in the wood
And every tree for its use is good:
Some for the strength of the gnarled root,
Some for the sweetness of flower and fruit;
Some for a shelter against the storm,
And some to keep the hearthstone warm”
- from ‘Salute to the Trees’ by Henry Van Dyke #NationalTreeWeek
And every tree for its use is good:
Some for the strength of the gnarled root,
Some for the sweetness of flower and fruit;
Some for a shelter against the storm,
And some to keep the hearthstone warm”
- from ‘Salute to the Trees’ by Henry Van Dyke #NationalTreeWeek
November 29, 2025 at 9:12 AM
“Many a tree is found in the wood
And every tree for its use is good:
Some for the strength of the gnarled root,
Some for the sweetness of flower and fruit;
Some for a shelter against the storm,
And some to keep the hearthstone warm”
- from ‘Salute to the Trees’ by Henry Van Dyke #NationalTreeWeek
And every tree for its use is good:
Some for the strength of the gnarled root,
Some for the sweetness of flower and fruit;
Some for a shelter against the storm,
And some to keep the hearthstone warm”
- from ‘Salute to the Trees’ by Henry Van Dyke #NationalTreeWeek
The Aesculus hippocastanum #tree, native to the Balkan peninsula, was introduced to Britain around 400 years ago. Its species name “hippocastanum” literally means “horse chestnut”. Some say it was given this name because its leaf scars resemble the shape of a horse shoe. #nature
November 28, 2025 at 8:16 AM
“Magical things happen every day, if we allow it. Think of daylight, of the stars at night, a flower. A dandelion is a miracle.” - P. L. Travers (1899-1996). #Thanksgiving #nature
November 27, 2025 at 8:26 AM
“Magical things happen every day, if we allow it. Think of daylight, of the stars at night, a flower. A dandelion is a miracle.” - P. L. Travers (1899-1996). #Thanksgiving #nature
What more appropriate plant to share on Budget Day than a Money Tree? Crassula ovata, also known as the jade plant or tree-of-happiness, is said to bring prosperity and good luck to your home, but you must never give the plant away, or your good fortune will go with it! #folklore
November 26, 2025 at 11:58 AM
What more appropriate plant to share on Budget Day than a Money Tree? Crassula ovata, also known as the jade plant or tree-of-happiness, is said to bring prosperity and good luck to your home, but you must never give the plant away, or your good fortune will go with it! #folklore
A November ramble: a squirrel scurrying up an oak tree, sloes dusted with bloom, hawthorn berries, prickly burdocks & the last yellow leaves along the hedgerow. As John Clare wrote: “I love to see the old hedgerows in Autumn’s sober hue… through skies of tender blue.” #AutumnWalk
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
A November ramble: a squirrel scurrying up an oak tree, sloes dusted with bloom, hawthorn berries, prickly burdocks & the last yellow leaves along the hedgerow. As John Clare wrote: “I love to see the old hedgerows in Autumn’s sober hue… through skies of tender blue.” #AutumnWalk
Hawthorn’s very name speaks of its role as the guardian of old boundaries; “haw” comes from haeg, meaning hedge, so it is literally the “hedge-thorn”. Its crimson fruits carried many country names: haws, eglets, hazles, halves, hograves, gazels, hoggins and skeehories. #folklore
November 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Hawthorn’s very name speaks of its role as the guardian of old boundaries; “haw” comes from haeg, meaning hedge, so it is literally the “hedge-thorn”. Its crimson fruits carried many country names: haws, eglets, hazles, halves, hograves, gazels, hoggins and skeehories. #folklore
Ivy keeps its green while the garden sleeps, and old lore says it is one of the plants that shelters fairies during winter. If you bring a sprig indoors during the festive season, handle it gently… you may be carrying a tiny guest tucked away amongst its leaves. #FolkloreSunday
November 23, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Ivy keeps its green while the garden sleeps, and old lore says it is one of the plants that shelters fairies during winter. If you bring a sprig indoors during the festive season, handle it gently… you may be carrying a tiny guest tucked away amongst its leaves. #FolkloreSunday
Nothing feels more personal and special than opening a card with someone’s own handwriting inside.
Nature-themed Christmas cards, created from my photography, are now available on my website. Please see the thread for the link.
#ChristmasCards #SmallBusiness #ShopUK
Nature-themed Christmas cards, created from my photography, are now available on my website. Please see the thread for the link.
#ChristmasCards #SmallBusiness #ShopUK
November 22, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Nothing feels more personal and special than opening a card with someone’s own handwriting inside.
Nature-themed Christmas cards, created from my photography, are now available on my website. Please see the thread for the link.
#ChristmasCards #SmallBusiness #ShopUK
Nature-themed Christmas cards, created from my photography, are now available on my website. Please see the thread for the link.
#ChristmasCards #SmallBusiness #ShopUK
Aren’t frosted leaves beautiful? I went on a wintry walk down the bridle path this morning and photographed some of the little treasures I found gathered in the grass along the hedgerows. The sky was blue, and the birds were singing; what a glorious (but chilly) day! #nature #art
November 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM