HIPS & HAWS

These seasonal fruit add a flash of natural opulence to decorations at Christmas

Few sights are more cheering than a display of hips and haws lingering on the hedgerows in winter. These plump fruits come in a range of cheery hues – orange, scarlet, purple and crimson – lighting up the dreary landscape. They’re eagerly gobbled up by hungry thrushes, blackbirds, starlings and even overwintering waxwings and fieldfares.

These rustic berries make a colourful addition to indoor decorations too. To cultivate your own festive crop, plant roses around the garden and consider creating a hawthorn hedge. For rosehips, stop deadheading from late August and allow the fruits to swell. Colourful favourites include single-flowered and species roses such as Rosa canina, Rosa rugosa, Rosa glauca and cultivated forms of Rosa moyesii such as ‘Geranium’ (see over).

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) belongs to the same botanical family as the rose (Rosaceae) and this too is laden with fruit from autumn onwards. Allow your hedge to become a little shaggy to enjoy the white May flowers and shiny red fruit – regular summer hedgetrimming will lop them off.

Don’t forget that rosehips can be used in the kitchen too. Wash, chop, boil and simmer them, then strain the juice through a muslin bag. Add plenty of sugar to sweeten the glossy liquid for a delicious, nutrientpacked syrup that can be drizzled over porridge or pancakes! ✿

Hips are packed with vitamin C and can be used to make a refreshing tea infusion. Crush the hips in boiling water for 15 minutes, pour through a fine mesh strainer and sweeten with honey.

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