Kirsty McLean on a grow your own Christmas

© Shutterstock/Zamurovic Brothers Garden designer Kirsty McLean plans ahead with foliage, flower and berry suggestions for natural festive décor…

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BUY EXPENSIVE DECORATIONS, THE SOLUTION IS IN YOUR GARDEN. CHOOSING THE RIGHT PLANTS CAN PROVIDE NATURAL DÉCOR FOR MANY CHRISTMASES TO COME.

Use cut willow or long flexible branches to form the base for wreaths, or find a log or fallen branch to use as a table decoration, Try spraying it with fake snow and attaching mosses, foliage and berries.

You can make impressive garlands and wreaths by creating a base with rope or string and attaching conifer branches like pine, spruce or fir before adding in some more colourful choices, like holly berries and solar or battery powered fairy lights.

Growing holly in the garden is easy, although some of the plant names are deceptive. If you want berries you’ll need a male variety such as Ilex aquifolium ‘Golden Queen’ and a female holly, such as Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Golden King’.

Other great choices for festive foliage include the corkscrew branches of Twisted Hazel (Corylus Contorta) and the blue-green foliage of Eucalyptus, which should last around 3 weeks when cut fresh. You can also dry Eucalyptus or spray it with gold or silver. Eucalyptus gunnii will grow in most situations here, but needs to be kept well-pruned as it is very vigorous. The evergreen Cotoneaster Lacteus will probably have lost its berries by Christmas, but the leaves and stems work well in decorations. This shrub can grow to around 4m high over 20 years, producing milky white flowers in summer followed by a profusion of tiny red berries.

Winter heathers are another option. Try Erica x darleyensis. The longer stems are easier to work into wreaths. Ivy is also a great garden plant for decorations at this time of year. Many varieties flower late providing an invaluable food source for insect pollinators and ivy makes a wonderful nesting site for birds in spring.

When it comes to colour, hydrangeas are easily air-dried and retain their natural pink/blue or white hues. They are best grown in dappled shade or full sun in a reasonably sheltered spot. Requires moist but well-drained soil.

Skimmias are a good choice for evergreen foliage and winter berries. Skimmia japonica Nymans (female) offers long-lasting red berries when planted in proximity to a male plant such as Skimmia japonica ‘Kew Green’ or Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’. Or try Skimmia japonica ‘Pabella’ which has a profusion of berries. For white berries try Skimmia japonica ‘Kew White. This is a female plant, so again, you’ll need the male, ‘Kew Green’, ‘Rubella’ or ‘Fragrans’ to produce berries. Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’ (male) has wonderful deep burgundy blooms through winter.

Viburnum Tinus has evergreen foliage very similar to that of the Bay tree and hosts clusters of creamy-white fragrant blooms, that flower all through winter - perfect for adding into arrangements.

If you have a shady spot in the garden, check for mosses. Mats of moss make great bases for table decorations and wreaths. Provided they are kept moist, they should last throughout the season.

Bring some seasonal scent into the house with springs of rosemary, sage, lavender and thyme. All are wonderful for packing and creating scent and texture in decorations. Grow in full sun in well-drained soil, they don’t like cold, wet conditions preferring shelter, here in the north. These are all drought tolerant plants.