TIPS FOR FESTIVE FORAGE
The best type of Christmas decorations are those you have collected from your garden or, with permission, from other outdoor spaces.
Our garden is invaded by ivy and both the leaves and flowers can be used in arrangements.
I cut it with abandon and use it to decorate mantelpieces and entry tables combined with bay leaf and rosemary for fragrance. You can also use stems from berries such as holly, pittosporum and rose hips.
Think outside the box and use anything evergreen as well as seeds.
This year we have a display made from wispy stems of old man’s beard, blackberry myrtle and spiky thistles, making sure to leave enough out for the goldfinches.
Create your own wreath by bending flexible twigs such as hazel or willow into a ring secured with twine or fine wire, then weave in cuttings of conifers and other evergreen foliage, as well as dried hydrangea heads.
I hang card decorations from tall stems of dried bronze fennel and place small branches of shrubs such as Viburnum Bodnantense ‘Dawn’ and Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ in a vase to enjoy their perfume indoors.
Create your own wreath by bending flexible twigs such as hazel or willow into a ring secured with twine or fine wire, then weave in cuttings of conifers and other evergreen foliage, as well as dried hydrangea heads.
PROTECT PONDS FROM WINTER ICE
If you have fish in your pond, it is vital to prevent the surface from freezing. It is necessary to leave a small hole for oxygen to enter and residual gases to escape.
One way to do this is to float a tennis ball on the surface of the water, which prevents ice from forming underneath. But in long frosts this may not work, so use a small floating pond heater.
If your pond freezes, never break the surface as this stresses the fish. Instead, place a saucepan of hot water on top and let it melt.
If your pond freezes, never break the surface as this stresses the fish.
KEEP ORCHIDS IN THE BEST PLACE
With dry central heating and lower light levels, orchids need a little help over winter.
Orchids like to be kept moist, so place the pot in a shallow tray filled with water and stones, or take it into the bathroom, as long as there is not too much shade.
Make sure your orchid is not exposed to cold drafts or too close to a radiator, and that it has plenty of indirect light.
Make sure your orchid (pictured) is not in a cold draft or too close to a radiator.
PLANT OF THE WEEK
CHIMONANTHUS PRAECOX ‘LUTEUS’
Also known as yellow wintersweet, this medium-sized deciduous shrub is prized in winter when it has a profusion of small, but highly scented, waxy yellow, bowl-shaped flowers.
They look particularly pretty when displayed against bare branches in sunlight.
Prefers full sun in a sheltered location, so is good against a sunny south-facing wall. Best in moist but well-drained soil. It can grow up to 3 m tall and wide and is hardy down to -10°C.
Cultivated in China for over a thousand years, it was first cultivated in Britain at Croome Court in Worcestershire in 1766.
Chimonanthus praecox (pictured) is prized in winter when it produces a profusion of small, but highly scented, waxy yellow, bowl-shaped flowers.
READER QUESTION
Can you suggest plants for a winter container?
J. Beedle, Lymington, Hampshire
Dwarf conifers can make an excellent container plant in winter.
Dwarf conifers can be an excellent container plant in winter, providing evergreen structure and interest.
Try the bushy Pinus mugo, the mountain pine, Chamaecyparis ‘Nana Gracilis’, a slow-growing cypress with clusters of dark green fan-shaped leaves, or gray-green Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’.
Pair with pheasant tail grass (Anamanthele) or red Carex testacea ‘Prairie Fire’ and pink cyclamen or hellebore.