The tree is up, the mistletoe strategically placed, but there are still a few gaps inside and out which could be filled with festive cheer.
It is possible to forage in your garden to pick up natural stems and flowers to help create some last-minute festive displays, says Gemma Burr, horticulturist at RHS Garden Wisley.
“Whether it’s pine cones or winter berries, your garden offers everything you need to create the perfect Christmas wreaths, garlands or table centre pieces,” she says.
Here, she offers some ideas on plants which will help you create last-minute decorations.
Hellebores
If you have hellebores in your garden, you will find lots of opportunities to decorate your home with beautiful blooms and impressive leaves, says Burr.
“A simple and stylish way to do this is by filling shallow glass bowls with water and floating hellebore flowers. This can be pulled together in moments and is perfect for your Christmas table.
“The display won’t be too tall so you will still be able to see your guests over the dinner table while enjoying this beautiful display. You could even add floating candles for a romantic table centre.”
You can also use hellebores with their stem and upper leaves in natural arrangements for your home, she continues.
Use a rustic vase or urn with either damp Agra-Wool, or water and bald chicken wire, and insert the hellebores into the vase. Insert long trails of cut ivy and cover the wire or Agra-Wool with foraged moss, taken from garden walls or raked from your own lawn.
Then wrap the ivy around the moss once or twice, pinning with wire if you need to, and leave to trail down the vase and on to your table or mantelpiece.
Table garlands
A narrow table garland can be wonderfully festive while still maintaining space for all the trimmings.
“Foraged evergreens such as cedar, pine and cypress make a brilliant base for a long table garland,” she advises.
“Use thick garden twine or a thin jute rope and tie your foraged evergreens to it with floristry wire or garden twine to give an abundant look.
“You can decorate this with whatever you have to hand. Try tying in Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’ for subtle colour, variegated ivy to lift the green tones or some pyracantha to bring a splash of festivity.”
Celebrate your own garden’s individuality with cones from your pines, stems of Euphorbia characias seared in hot water (as the sap can be an irritant), or striking magnolia or lunaria seed heads.
If you have bamboo in your garden, cut the stems under the nodes for natural bud vases which will last through the festive season and can house hellebore stems or fluffy fatsia flowers, nestled within your garland, she suggests.
Colourful stems
Bright cornus (dogwood) or salix (willow) are useful and versatile plants for your garden, Burr notes. If you have stems available to cut in your garden, then a front door container display can be elevated by some simple weaving.
“Cut the straightest stems close to the bottom of the plant and remove any remaining leaves or side shoots. Push them close together in your chosen container, 10cm apart, gather them at the top and tie neatly with garden twine. Create a simple weave at the bottom with your remaining stems to roughly 10/15cm from the bottom of the pot and tie to the uprights with twine.”
This works really well in containers that are full of violas, pansies or hellebores and cyclamen, and will also last into spring when the stems start to burst into leaf, she adds.
Abundant berry garland
Celebrate the wonder of winter berries by creating a joyful wreath with foraged berries and evergreens using a wreath ring you may already have or fashioning one from cornus or salix stems from you garden.
Use ivy to cover your wreath base, wrapping lots of trails around it. Then move on to a base of greenery such as cedar but any evergreen foliage will work well.
Once you have a full and abundant wreath, add your berries. Holly will be prolific at Christmas, as will pyracantha in red, yellow and orange.
“Skimmia and gaultheria are stunning additions, especially Gaultheria ‘Snow White’ and the pink Gaultheria ‘Mulberry Wine’. And of course, if you are blessed with roses in your garden, the hips are a great choice, paired with foraged hawthorn berries for a soft, hedgerow vibe,” she says.
