Nick Bailey explains how to create a welcoming festive pot
Add some seasonal sparkle with a few simple decorative touches
One of the annual festive highlights for me when I was running Chelsea Physic Garden was our Christmas displays – always plant based, always a bit different and always very festive. We tried all sorts over the years, from drying our own orange slices to an agave flower exoskeleton Christmas tree! Some efforts were more successful than others but the ones I enjoyed the most were the pot displays. Rather than start from scratch we tended to decorate and ‘Christmasify’ existing planted pots. Here are a few last-minute ideas to add a potted festive welcome to your doorstep.
Decorate the pot
Whether you want bright or understated, wrapping a welcome pot gives it a Christmas boost. Plastic foil wrapping paper will stay bright for the season. Simply sit the pot on a sheet, fold it up to the top in panels and tuck into the soil. The same principle can be applied to hessian. Festive stencils in simple forms such as stars, angels or Christmas trees work well on most pots. Make a stencil from stiff card and use a spray paint. White looks especially attractive on terracotta and the pots can be painted neutral again in January.
Decorate the plants
Baubles are an obvious addition to twiggy plants in pots but there are a host of other options. Ribbons wrapped around stems in a spiral can look beautiful. Complete the look with a ribbon bow on the front of the pot. Lights are another easy option. Battery-run versions cost as little as £3 and add a sparkle to the front door. Another trick we tried at the Physic Garden was attaching berries of other plants such as pyracantha and cotoneaster to existing potted shrubs. It looked a little surreal in places but was festive nonetheless!
Add elements to the pot
If you’ve got pots of evergreens, they can be ramped up into festive mode with the addition of birch twigs. These can be bought sprayed in a number of colours or created at home. My favourite was simple white stems bursting out of a pot of evergreen foliage. For a bit more sparkle why not add dried, sprayed flower heads from the garden. Hydrangeas are particularly adept at this. Sprayed gold or silver they look striking leaping out from a pot of mixed planting which may otherwise look a little dreary. Enjoy the festivities everyone!