Brilliant Homemade Wreaths.

These Simple Wreaths Look
Great!

On Tuesday of last week I was lucky enough to be able to try my hand at making some homemade wreaths. These were really fun, and surprisingly simple too make!

Building Up Leylandii Layers.

Using an oasis material base (Soaked First), we built up layers of Leylandii hedging to create the background, after this we added traditional holly and ivy, but then changed things up a little bit, we added Euonymus "Silver queen" which added interest and colour to the otherwise green werath and then Cotoneaster berries, to finish of the look. The Cotoneaster berries were used as a substitute for holly berries, as they last longer and are less attractive to wildlife and therefore are safer from being eaten!

Permitting you soaked the oasis throughly, and you used fresh plant material, the wreath will last easily through the christmas period and into the new year!

A Leylandii Conifer.

Plant Information!

x Cuprocyparis leylandii (Leylandii Hedging) - This is an extremely vigorous, evergreen conifer and one of the fastest growing conifers in existence! This dense plant is used mostly for hedges, to screen the nasty neighbours in some cases, and does a perfect job, but is also great for making topiary's and if cut correctly, usually twice a year, can be kept in different heights, shapes and sizes depending on what you need!

Ilex aquifolium (Holly) - A slow growing evergreen shrub with spiky leaves, bearing vivid red berries (drupes) in winter. A common Christmas plant ("The Holly And The Ivy!").

Euonymus 'Silver Queen'.

Hedera helix (Common Ivy) - A vigorous, fast growing plant, with evergreen foliage and adventitious roots which 'attach' themselves to other plants, walls etc... and can cause issues in extreme cases. Again a common Christmas plant ("The Holly And The Ivy!").

Euonymus fortunei 'Silver Queen' - A dense, medium sized evergreen shrub with variegated leaves of cream and green centres.

The red berries of Cotoneaster 'Cornubia'.

Cotoneaster frigidus 'Cornubia' - This is commonly known as the "Tree Cotoneaster" and can reach the dizzy heights of 8M (Well a dizzy height for a shrub anyway!) and is covered in white flowers in the summer which is followed by large clusters of vivid red berries. It is classed as a semi-evergreen as the leaves may fall during the winter, but equally may still be present.


So there you have it! Stunning, traditional, yet simple Christmas wreaths containing plants that all have winter interest as well as a practical use!

Jack.

Winter Interest In Gardens.

Away from the chaos that is Christmas shopping gardens still have so much too give!

Dogwood Looks Great In Winter.

 - Cornus (Dogwoods) have now mostly lost all their leaves, leaving incredible coloured stems in shades of deep red/black, yellows and oranges that will last all winter, and for years to come!

Holly In The Snow.

 - Ilex (Holly) will now be coming into berry (or forming drupes if you want too get technical) which provides a vital source of food for wildlife during the harsh winter months but also creates that christmas card image of deep red berries against the spiked green foliage....now all we need is some snow to complete that picture!

 - Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn' A stunning variety of viburnum with clusters of pink and white, elegantly fragranced flowers, which are borne on the bear stems throughout Autumn and Winter.

 - Hamamelis x intermedia (Witch Hazel) These stunning shrubs, or small trees have brilliantly twisted growth which can clearly be seen in wirer, however there main feature is the beautiful coloured flowers with a divine scent that are borne on these bear stems throughout winter and into spring. They truly are stunning!

Your Garden Still Has Huge Amounts To Give Even In Winter, And Now Is A Great Time (Especially Over The Christmas Holidays With The Family) To Visit Some Truly Amazing Winter Gardens, Below Are Some Links To Get Your Ideas For A Trip Started;

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens - The Winter Garden.

The Gardens At Mottisfont.

Alnwick Gardens.

So Have Fun, Wrap Up Warm, And Enjoy Everything Your Garden Has To Offer In The Winter! 

Jack

Christmas Tree Chaos.

Its that time of year again.... Christmas, and with it comes the joy of picking that perfect cut or potted christmas tree, after all it has to look the best! 

Make sure you pick your perfect tree!

With most garden centres getting 1000's of cut trees over the coming weeks here are a few tips on getting the best of the bunch. 

 - Don't just pick the trees off the top of the piles! Have a dig around, the trees are often staked on top of one another so theres plenty more than just what you can see on the top.

 - Shake the Christmas tree once you take it out of the pile. This will help to give you an idea of what it will look like once all the branches have dropped.

 - Watch out for yellow or brown needles. Around the base to the tree, there will always be brown needles but the rest of the tree should be lush and dark green with no signs of yellowing.

 - Ensure the trees branches are even. Get someone (A member of staff for example) to hold the tree so that you can see if its even from a distance...theres nothing worse than your tree being lopsided now is there!

 - Pick the tree that right for you. Thick or thin, tall or short, you should need to cut any of the branches off because its too big! 

 - Don't assume the "potted" trees will grow as they will have had 99% of their roots cut off when lifted from the ground. Get a true pot grown tree if you want too keep it after the big day.

To keep your tree fresh and healthy for longer, cut 1inch of the base of the tree to aid water uptake, try and avoid placing it near a source of heat where it will dry out quicker, and ensure that the water reservoir or the soil the tree is in, is kept full/moist at all times.

A Nordmann Fir - The Most
Popular Cut Tree.

There are also now many trees that you can buy in both potted and cut form each with unique traits.

 - The Nordmann Fir ("Non - Drop" Spruce). This is great if you want a traditional Christmas Tree shape, without the mess of needles dropping as they retain them even when dried out! How good is that?!

 - The Blue Spruce. This variety often only comes in potted specimens, but has an electric blue colour too them, giving them added interest.

 - The Noble Fir. This variety is only available in smaller sizes due to its growth habit, and is often thicker throughout the whole length of the tree.

 - The Norway Spruce. The original christmas tree. With a thick, uniform shape that is of decent heights this tree is brilliant for a traditional xmas. Watch out for the needle drop though....theres a lot of it!

So have fun picking out your tree, get 'em quick before they sell out and so that you get the tree you want for your perfect Christmas. Have Fun!

Jack.