With the festive season beginning to get into full swing, the majority of us will have already taken our decorations out of the loft and battled with tinsel, baubles and broken lights.
However, the last bit of Christmas sparkle missing from your home could be in the garden. There is no better time to look outside and see how some greenery could be used to add to final festive touches to your windowsill, hearth or front door.
Happy Holly-days
‘If you have common plants like holly, cotoneaster, rosemary and ivy, they can all be put to good use in Christmas displays both inside and out,’ said Emma Hardy, author of The Winter Garden. ‘Little pine conifers will be fine to have indoors over Christmas. I bought some Picea glauca (white spruce) from Ikea, which are really good for Christmas displays. Look indoors at garden centres and they will have those little conifers,’ she continued.[1]
Have a Mossy Christmas
Hardy believes that by people should add, ‘softer greenery like bun moss or even moss from your lawn to add to a trough for the table.’ She added that, ‘you can pick moss off the lawn or if you have a lovely bit on the roof of your shed, use that. You may need to mist it a bit to keep it moist.’[1]
Create your own natural Winter Wonderland!
Be the Ivy of your friends
‘Ivy, especially if it has the berries on it, looks great and lasts for ages,’ Hardy notes. ‘Pussy willow can be used, as can rosemary which keeps its shape. For a cheap display, consider bulbs. I bought some hyacinths the other day which were 69p each. Get a few of those, pot them up in an old vase with pine cones round them and it makes a special display.’[1]
Holes, holes, holes
Hardy warns that, ‘making holes in the bottom of any trough is essential for drainage, but ensure you put a drip tray underneath or the Christmas table’s going to get wet! Add a thick layer of gravel to the bottom of the container, leveling the surface, then half-fill the trough with potting compost before adding your plants.’[1]
‘If you want a bit of sparkle, put some of those battery-operated fairly lights around the tree and it’s just the sweetest thing,’ she suggests. ‘Use succulents from an existing rockery to make a fantastic wreath which should look good all year round and can be refreshed and reused next year too, ‘she suggests.[1]
Deck the trough with potting compost
For finishing touches for displays, Hardy says, ‘Use moss to line a metal wreath frame, pulling the moss into pieces and laying it in a ring shape slightly larger than the wire frame, root side up on the table. Lay the wire wreath frame on top of the moss and place handfuls of potting compost on the frame, then wrap the moss around the frame and the compost, securing it with copper wire. This should provide enough nutrients to keep the succulents happy.’[1]
Festive cheer…for the rest of the year
Hardy concluded by saying that when the festive season is over, she hangs her wreath in a sheltered spot outside. ‘Succulents can survive quite dry conditions so make sure the wreath doesn’t become waterlogged. In very dry weather, just moisten the moss and potting compost a little, she explains.[1]
She concluded by saying, ‘with all winter displays, it’s not worth doing anything that you can’t see from your house. If you have space by your front door, back door or back window, position your plants so you can see them.’[1]
Follow Hardy’s lead and create your own Winter Wonderland from your own surroundings!
[1] http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/property/make_your_own_festive_displays_the_natural_way_1_4344925