GARDENS
ANNA TAYLOR, OWNER OF ANNA’S FLOWER FARM IN AUDLEY END, SHARES WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH GARDEN GROW? How does your DECEMBER
didn’t realise it was floristry; decorating the picture frames and fireplace with evergreens was always great fun – and in our family, an important part of the preparation rituals. Dressing the home with material from the season is ingrained in me, signifying a particular celebration. Easter with primroses, May Day blossoms, back to school with conkers in pockets, squash at Halloween. Christmas? Ivy, mistletoe and pine, of course. It simply doesn’t make sense to bring in something out of season, grown in another time, another place. Roses at Valentine’s, strawberries in winter; all wrong. Just because we can have something doesn’t mean we should. I like the delayed gratification – it’s all the sweeter waiting for the natural time. And this is why I think decorating with greenery is still very special. With less in the garden at Christmas, thankfully you only need a couple of branches or stems to anchor your home in the season naturally, reflecting your garden, local hedgerows or woods. It’s taken some time for the evergreen shrubs to mature to the point that I can cut branches each year. When you grow your own plants, you realise the investment in growth; each stem is precious. That connection truly creates appreciation in resources and consumption. I have to consider whether that flowering branch is worth cutting for the table, or better in the garden. Happily, plants grow and cross over their congested branches, so some careful pruning helps both the plant and my desire for decoration. One of my favourite plants for December is sarcococca, the ‘Christmas box’, which has such a heavenly fragrance that you can’t believe it comes from this
BOUGHS OF HOLLY With not a lot of work needed in the garden, spend your winter bringing nature into the home
grasses saved from the summer garden. This will do across the fireplace, between books on the shelves and in vases. Since it’s Christmas, I might even add a sparkle from vintage glass baubles among the foliage! Plan ahead to create a more beautiful and natural festive display, filling the senses and celebrating the true season. This year, ask Father Christmas for plants for next year’s decorations, and you’ll be able to bring in and celebrate the season every year moving forward. In the gardens, there’s little of importance to be done. If you need the fresh air, I suggest turning the compost heap and spreading some mulch. Cut back old hellebore leaves to reveal the emerging flowers, but on most other plants, it’s best to leave them in a hangover heap of the summer, protecting their crown and sheltering wildlife – enjoy the suspension. Beneath the soil, there is still so much going on. Roots stretching, recuperating and strengthening anchors through the ground, with the worms, fungi and bacteria all still working together. Take a leaf from the garden’s book: rejuvenate your roots, nourish and prepare for the next season. Gather some treasures and decorate your home, celebrate the midwinter and look forward to busy, longer and brighter days.
low evergreen. I must have one of these by the door to delight on the coldest days. I love mahonia for its bright, yellow- scented flowers, with winter jasmine, the deciduous winter honeysuckle and similarly the winter-flowering Daphne – which smells like a pretty soap. Evergreen climbers are so underestimated; delicate tendrils of akebia and clematis cirrhosa, the latter grown up through a tree so you can look up into the spotted bells of the flowers. Then, of course, there are the indoor bulbs of paperwhites and amaryllis, indulgent potted plants that will return annually and bring the exotic indoors. I’ll cut, gather and arrange all these, coupled with a few scented branches arranged in tiny glasses of water, with larger branches of eucalyptus, rosemary and some bare knobbly twigs of larch with their tiny lichen-covered stems. As a final flourish, I’ll push in the dried sparkly pearlescent honesty branches and fibre optics of
This year, ask Father Christmas for plants for next year’s decorations
98 DECEMBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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