Give Your Garden a Festive Look
2 Dec 2003


In the run up to Christmas with all the shopping for food and presents it is hard to find time to enjoy the garden. Arriving home during daylight hours the garden is the first thing you see. Even at night it is pleasant when the car lights pick out a favourite plant or piece of sculpture.

For me one of the worst sights in the winter garden is an untidy lawn with long grass. Whenever the weather is suitable take the opportunity to cut the grass. The mower blades should be raised. A light trim will tidy the lawn and leave it looking good for the most of the winter.

Washing the bark of some trees is a satisfying, winter job. Mature birch, cherry, acer and eucalyptus produce highly ornamental and coloured bark. A quick wash with warm water and a cloth will clean the main trunk removing green algae and provide a focal point in
the winter garden.

The dogwoods (cornus ), produce a range of shrubs with highly ornamental, brightly coloured bark. Varieties with young stems in shades of red mix well with those that are yellow or dark brown. Removing dust and grime from year old stems with a pressure hose will leave the branches gleaming whatever the weather.

Fill gaps in plant borders with variegated, evergreen shrubs such as Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Green’ or the larger growing Eleagnus pungens ‘Maculata’. Take care to remove any shoots which have reverted to all green foliage. Trees and shrubs which produce berries are at their best in winter. Deciduous or evergreen the white, orange, yellow, pink or red fruit shine on the dullest day. They glisten in rain and manage to look spectacular when coated with frost. Unfortunately our feathered friends also enjoy them and, while their need for food is more basic than our wish for interest and colour it is worth while protecting a few branches that are well laden with berries. Cover them with landscape fabric making sure there are no holes where birds can enter. Over Christmas remove the cover and have the double enjoyment of a brilliant display of berries and the sight of your favourite blackbird having Christmas lunch.

Where there are lots of berrying shrubs cut sprigs of holly, cotoneaster, Gaultheria mucronata, sea buckthorn and pyracantha and make garlands of berries to hang from trees. They will look dramatic and attract wildlife.

Coloured outside lights have become an essential part of the festive season but the winter garden can give them a run for their money.

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