Plant partners
We’ve gone for a snowy-white theme this month –a festive homage to Santa’s beard
A whiter shade of pale
1 Jacobaea maritima, Helichrysum italicum and Cyclamen hederifolium
This is a great combination for a winter pot that’ll sparkle in December sunshine. The cyclamen could be pink or red if you fancied a bit of a splash.
Jacobaea maritima A tender shrub with woolly undersides to the leaves. It’s usually grown as an annual foliage plant, so overwinter under glass in colder gardens.
Care Needs shelter and lots of sunshine.
HxS 30cm x 30cm
Helichrysum italicum
Smell the leaves and you’ll know why this is called the curry plant! Yellow flowers and great foliage.
Care Happy in beds or containers.
HxS 40cm x 60cm
Cyclamen hederifolium
There are two hardy sorts in flower now: this C. hederifolium and C. coum. Both come in white and a range of tasteful pink shades.
Care Thrives under trees or in pots.
HxS 10cm x 12cm
2 Viola ‘Penny White’ and Hedera helix ‘Glacier’
This month is all about decorations, and this combination of crisp-white flowers and garlands of lightly variegated ivy is quiet and elegant.
Viola ‘Penny White’
A good filler plant for containers or borders. Goes with pretty much anything.
Care Deadhead regularly to keep flowers coming.
HxS 15cm x 20cm
Hedera helix ‘Glacier’
Ivy is easy to grow and so adaptable. Groundcover, climber, container edging – it can be any of these.
Care Grows in almost any soil except waterlogged.
HxS 2m x 2m (but easy to keep smaller)
3 Gaultheria mucronata and Festuca glauca ‘Intense Blue’
The snowball-like berries of this wintergreen contrast well with the spiky blades of blue fescue.
Gaultheria mucronata
White, pink or red berries gleam against dark-green leaves. Teams well with heathers and snowdrops.
Care Needs acid soil or compost.
HxS 1m x 1m
Festuca glauca ‘Intense Blue’
One of the best grasses with steely blue leaves.
Care Needs good drainage and full sun but unfussy about soil. Divide plants in spring.
HxS 30cm x 20cm