Making a real display at Christmas (From York Press)

Making a real display at Christmas

9:53am Saturday 17th December 2011 in Gardening By Gina Parkinson

GINA PARKINSON explains how to make wreaths and decorations using cuttings and twigs from the garden.

THIS will be the last In the Garden for 2011 and once again it is hard to believe another year has passed.

December is a slow time for me in the garden; like many, life becomes increasingly busy as the month passes and all of a sudden we are halfway through and I haven’t been out there at all. It is difficult not to be irritated about this, but near to Christmas there is the excuse of needing stuff for winter decoration. Secateurs in hand, I make my escape.

In our garden we have a good supply of stems and greenery that are perfect for making wreathes and displays for the house. Almost any bare twig and stem can be used to put into a vase, from the twisted stems of contorted hazel to the winter red of ornamental dogwood.

If there isn’t anything appropriate in the garden, a walk around the streets will find plenty to pick over, broken stems litter grass verges and pavements after a windy night.

These branches can be brightened up with holly, variegated varieties are attractive and will lift other bare, dull stems, but the dark green leafed and red-berried common holly is equally good at bringing the winter garden indoors.

Twiggy stems are good for making a circular wreath for the door; thin, whippy ones are best as they bend easily. Willow is traditionally used but long, thin bamboo shoots are just as good.

It is almost impossible to get the perfect circle of a bought wreath, although bending the first couple of stems around the outside of a large plant pot or bucket will go some way to providing a decent hoop.

Once these are secured into shape with wire, they can be removed from the container and more stems wound around until the desired look is achieved. If they keep springing out of line, the wayward stems can be tied in with more wire to keep the wreath tight.

Then it can have a simple bow attached or be made more decorative with berried stems and greenery such as holly and ivy, dried flower and seedheads such as hydrangea and honesty and fir cones pushed in or wound around it.

How to look after your Christmas tree...

IF YOU have a real Christmas tree, it needs care to keep it going.

Firstly, make sure the tree has water. Like a giant bunch of flowers, a real Christmas tree is a living thing and will take up water for some time after it has been cut.

If possible, the bottom couple of centimetres should be taken off the base of the trunk before putting the tree into its stand to allow the water to be absorbed easily.

There are many tree stands available, some of which are very decorative, although many have small water reservoirs.

The December issue of Which? Gardening magazine tested stands and the best buys were the large, perhaps less attractive plastic stands with big water reservoirs.

The alternative, which I follow every year, is to use a black plastic bucket in which the tree is wedged with bricks and blocks of wood. The bucket is then filled with water and topped up when needed.

This is not as simple as it sounds. It can take an age to get the tree to stay upright, but once the final half brick goes in, the tree is usually solidly upright and able to withstand the cat having an exploratory scramble.

Fairy lights need to be kept well away from the bucket. They should also be turned off when filling it.

Keeping the tree cool will also prolong its life, so it is best not to put it next to a radiator or fire. A cool hallway or dining room is better than a hot living room.

Or you could do like we did. Put the tree in a nice cool conservatory. Then move the whole thing, bucket, decorations and all, into the cosy sitting room, which had been missing out on the Christmas spirit.

There was the small matter of it toppling and spilling water over the carpet, and the vacuum cleaner filling with water as I tried to clear up the broken decorations before the cat came in. Next year maybe we will buy a stand and put the tree in the right place to begin with.

Merry Christmas and see you in January for the start of the new gardening year.

Gardening TV and radio

Sunday

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank, Matthew Wilson and chairman Eric Robson advise gardeners from Sutton Coalfield.

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. A festive edition from Tenterden and District Horticultural Society in Kent.

Christmas Eve

7am, BBC Radio York, Julia Booth. Presenter Julia and horticultural expert Nigel Harrison hold their weekly plant surgery.

Christmas Day

7am, BBC Radio Humberside, Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

3.15pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Repeated from Friday December 23, details above.

Friday, December 30

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Matthew Biggs, Pippa Greenwood and chairman Peter Gibbs visit the village of Mickleton in Gloucestershire.