Amateur Gardening 8-Dec-2018

DECORATING the house for Christmas is one of the highlights of the season. As well as the tree, which is usually the focal point, there are also lots of beautiful natural decorations that be made from evergreen foliage, seedheads and berries foraged from your garden. Whether you buy a ready-cut tree or bring a potted one indoors for the duration, there are certain things you need to bear in mind. If you are buying a cut tree, decide which variety you are after and which fits your price bracket (see panel, right). Ideally, select a tree that hasn’t already been netted so you can see its size and shape and check how healthy it is. Avoid any that are already starting to droop or lose needles – one good way of testing…

1 Nordmann fir: The most popular variety of cut tree. Its dense, lush needles are slow to drop, though it doesn’t have much scent. 2 Norway spruce: The traditional tree with narrow branches and needles that are prone to falling. They smell wonderful! 3 Blue spruce: An elegant tree with attractive blue-grey foliage. The needles are long, and can be sharp, so take care! 4 Fraser fir: The tree shape is lean, rather than bulky, but the needles are dense and the scent is rich and warm. 5 Douglas fir: Popular in America, this tree has a lovely lemony scent and soft, dark green or blue-green needles.…

1 All you need for a simple decoration is some evergreen garden foliage, seedheads and berries, a container, candle, ribbon and gold spray paint. 2 Set the candle in the container, anchoring it with glue or sand, then twine the foliage and berries around the side. 3 Cover the base of the decoration with coloured glass chips, spray with gold or silver paint and tie a ribbon around the side. 4 Never leave any lit decoration unattended and keep it away from children, pets and flammable materials and liquids. Festive fare: In next week’s AG (in the shops 11 December) I take a look at edible Christmas delights you can make from your own garden.…

If you intend to bring your live, potted tree indoors for the celebrations, keep it indoors for as short a time as possible. Ideally, move it in the weekend before Christmas and take it back outside after 12 days. Leave it any longer and the central heating will cause it to droop. Site it in a cool room, away from direct heat. If it starts to look unhappy, return it to the garden. Either plant it in a border or keep it in a pot to limit its size. Pine needles make a mulch for acid-loving plants such as azaleas.…

1 Carefully cut away the plastic pot or, if the tree is in a clay container, stand the whole thing in water to loosen the roots. 2 Tease out any roots that are constricted or circling the rootball to make it easier for the plant to take up nutrients and water. 3 Plant it at the same depth as the rootball, using John Innes No2 or No3 compost with added grit for improved drainage. 4 Water the tree well while it gets established and add a layer of mulch to suppress weeds and feed the roots.…

I ALWAYS like to have a bit of extra colour around the house in winter, especially once the lights and fripperies of the festive season have been packed away again. A container packed with colourful plants is always a winner and will keep on giving joy if you use varieties that can be potted on or even planted outside afterwards. For not much more than a large bunch of cut flowers, you can create a pot that will last many times as long and could also be given away as a gift. For my container I am mixing a small peace lily with a couple of gem-bright cyclamen, a grass for texture and contrast, and a pungent lemon verbena that releases a gorgeous scent when you rub its leaves in passing. In time, when…