Tis the season...
Holly and ivy are not the only plants in your garden that can become festive showstoppers
Christmas trees, holly and mistletoe are not the only suitable decorations that can be harvested from the garden right now.
Use your imagination and all kinds of plants can be brought indoors and transformed into showstoppers.
Festive flowers can be beautiful, but the trouble with large bunches as table decorations is that no one can see over them.
However, if you invest in a tall ‘specimen vase’, the bulk of foliage or stems will be above eye level, so everyone can see everyone else.
Birch twigs, or branches from other bare trees can be cut at a generous length – say three or four feet – and several of them arranged in a tall vase.
Branches don’t need to be stood in water, but water or sand can be poured into the container to give it extra weight and stability, and the branches then evenly arranged in the narrow opening at the top to make a “tree” from which Christmas decorations can be hung.
Colour schemes are very much a personal thing, but nothing looks classier than birch branches sprayed with silver or white paint, dusted with frosting while still damp and then hung with glass icicles or slender silver baubles. One tall vase arranged in the centre of a round or square table or, if you are feeling extravagant, two or three positioned down a long table, will provide a magical festive canopy under which diners will begin to feel the true spirit of Christmas.
A line of frosted walnuts, brazils and almonds snaked down the centre of the table will complete the picture, along with a generous helping of satsumas to add a splash of colour. Any evergreen can be used to make a wreath or a winter posy of foliage, into which ribbons and small baubles can be woven. Leyland cypress is especially fragrant when cut and, if you have specimens in desperate need of p pruning, g cut out two or three of the tops to the required length, bind them together toge with stout wire and use them as a Christmas t tree.
We did this th with a small run o of leyland hedging at our last house and w were self-sufficient in terms of Christ Christmas trees for years.
So th think laterally this Christma Christmas, and roam your garden with a cre creative eye. You’ll be surprise surprised at what you find, and how much h you can save too.
And for a burst of garden colour, plant winter pansies and primroses in hanging baskets or containers, with a miniature conifer, ivy or grasses.