Collect holly and ivy for decoration
In the few days before Christmas I always scavenge the garden for suitable seasonal decoration, which feels more personal and intimate than buying it.
Mistletoe is easy – the orchard apple trees are now festooned with great clouds of the stuff to the extent that we are removing it simply to protect the trees, so we can take as much as we want for Christmas decoration. If we have a cold spell, the birds will hungrily gobble up the holly berries, with mistle thrushes in particular guarding a favourite tree so they can feast on it alone. However, in a good berry year there will be lots and I always manage to find some from the garden – and plain green holly looks good even without any berries.
We have ivy growing on a number of walls and as ground cover in the wildlife garden, and I harvest great trails of it to make wreaths for the doors and to decorate the Christmas dining table.
WATCH our wreath-making video at gardenersworld.com/christmas-wreaths