Raid the garden
These exciting plants offer up some winter magic to raise the spirits for Christmas. Louise Curley picks her top 10
The average garden can yield a surprising amount of boughs and berries to make rustic, natural Christmas decorations. Gather blooms from those valiant late-summer survivors (dianthus, roses, geraniums) and winter-flowering shrubs just coming into their own to make a simple fragrant posy – no flower arranging skills required. Add in a few interesting seedheads and faded flowers – these can be used in their natural state, or given a festive sparkle with gold or silver spray paint. Seek out evergreen foliage – glossy dark green leaves always look good in garlands and wreaths. Or, for something different, try silvery, white-variegated plants such as euonymus ‘Emerald Gaiety’ or holly ‘Silver Queen’ to bring a frosty touch to decorations. As a final flourish, raid your herb patch for fragrant evergreen leaves such as sage, rosemary and thyme. Here we’ve picked our favourite garden stalwarts to bring into the house for a festive touch that should last for weeks.
1 ROSEMARY
The evergreen aromatic leaves of rosemary look fabulous in Christmas table decorations, where their fragrance permeates the air. Pop stems in small jars with flowers, or place a single stem on a napkin. Or, fix double-sided sticky tape onto a tealight holder (such as a glass jar) and press on some sprigs of rosemary. The warmth from the candle will release the aroma from the leaves.
2 LONICERA PURPUSII ‘WINTER BEAUTY’
Although this deciduous bushy shrub can look a tad unkempt at times, this is easily forgiven when you catch a waft of the intoxicating honeysuckle-scented flowers. These delicate white blooms open in mild weather between November and March – they’re great little food stations for bees lured out of hibernation. To enjoy the flowers indoors simply cut a handful of stems and pop them in a tall vase. They’re easy to grow as long as the ground is well drained. H and S 1.5-2.5m (5-8ft)
3 CORYLUS AVELLANA ‘CONTORTA’
In winter twisted hazel looks like it has sprung straight out of a fairy tale, with its gnarly network of bare branches. Cut the stems to add to vase arrangements or use a branch as an alternative to a Christmas tree and dangle tiny glass baubles from its stems. Wedge it into a heavy container with tightly scrunched-up newspaper, cover the pot with hessian and secure in place with twine. If planting one outdoors, hazels prefer neutral to alkaline soil, and a spot in full sun or part shade. H and S 2.5-4m (8-13ft)
4 HOLLY
Holly has been used as winter decoration since pagan times. Prized for its glossy evergreen leaves and vivid red berries when little else is growing, there’s a variety of yellow or creamy-white variegated foliage, berries in red, orange or yellow and leaves with prickles or without. For berries you’ll need a female holly with a male nearby, but the name doesn’t indicate gender – ‘Golden King’ for instance is a female berry-bearer. If you only have space for one, go for self-fertile ‘JC van Tol’. For decorations, cut holly branches and wire into wreaths and garlands; shorter sprigs can be placed behind picture frames. Or, wire several stems together, wrap ribbon round the wire and hang from the back of dining chairs. H10-25m (33-82ft) S4-8m (13-26ft)
5 SARCOCOCCA
This underrated evergreen is a must for the winter garden. Not only does it have glossy, dark green leaves, but also its tiny white flowers emit a heady perfume throughout the winter months. Plant one near an entrance so you can appreciate it to the full, and so you can easily pop out to snip a few stems for a vase indoors. Look for a cultivar called ‘Purple Stem’, which has more colourful branches. Plant in sun or shade; it’s unfussy about soil. H1-2m (3ft 3in6½ft) S1m (3ft 3in)
6 MALUS ‘EVERESTE’
The glistening jewel-like fruits of crab apples are like nature’s very own baubles. Wire them into wreaths, dot them about the dining table or dangle them from the bare branches of stems of contorted hazel. To make sure you have crab apples still left on the tree in December, plant a cultivar that holds onto them for as long as possible, such as ‘Evereste’. Its miniature apples are a colourful mix of red, orange and yellow that positively glow in the winter gloom. A good tree for small gardens, it will grow in most soils. H and S 4-8m (13-26ft)
7 CORNUS
Shrubby dogwoods, such as Cornus sanguinea, C. alba and C. sericea, are primarily grown for their vibrant winter stems in red, orange, yellow, purple and black (see p30). They’re easy plants to grow and can be kept to a manageable size with pruning, which also encourages colourful new growth. Remove one-third of stems at the base in winter and use these prunings in vase arrangements, or carefully bend and weave the stems together to make wreaths. It’s unfussy about soil conditions but plant in full sun for best stem colour. H and S3-8m (10-26ft)
HELLEBORUS 8 NIGER
The pure white flowers of the Christmas rose, set against the backdrop of dark green leathery leaves, are a welcome sight at this time of year. Buy plants at the garden centre now and bring inside on Christmas Eve. Place in a pretty bowl and disguise the soil with moss or small pine cones. Use as a table centrepiece and then plant out into the garden once the festivities are over. Needs neutral to alkaline soil that’s moist but well-drained. H and S50cm (20in)
VIBURNUM 10 BODNANTENSE ‘DEBEN’
Another fragrant winter-flowering shrub that provides rich winter pickings for a vase. This cultivar is a white alternative to the more widely-grown, pink-flowering ‘Dawn’. Clusters of almond-perfumed blooms emerge from pink buds dotted along bare brown stems between November and March. Combine in a vase with silver-variegated foliage for an elegant Christmas display. Grow in sun or part shade in moist well-drained soil. H1.5-2.5m (5-8ft) S1-1.5m (3ft 3in-5ft)
9 HEDERA HELIX
Ivy is another Christmas classic that’s easy to grow in most soils in sun or shade. The long trailing stems are perfect for draping over the top of tall bookcases or dressers, or weave them around the banisters of a staircase. Mature plants produce attractive black berries that make a shiny addition to wreaths. Choose from rampant climbers or more compact cultivars, plain green foliage or pretty variegations – silvery ones such as ‘Glacier’ work well in Christmas decorations. Look for more unusual leaf shapes too, such as ‘Ivalace’ and ‘Parsley Crested’. H8m (26ft) S4m (13ft)