December Frost-spangled

Plants of the Month DECEMBER

With its fantastic wildlife benefits, diverse shapes and forms and cunning growth tactics, ivy is in a league of its own

Hedera helix ‘Glacier’

Myths about ivy abound, particularly in regard to the supposed threat it presents to trees and buildings. Ivy is not parasitic: when it climbs trees the rootlets do not penetrate the bark, although when the plant reaches the top of a tree it may become dense and act like a sail in high winds. Dead or diseased trees may break or fall as a result, which is perhaps nature’s way of culling the old to make way for the new. On damaged buildings, ivy makes things worse, but is otherwise beneficial: research shows that it keeps walls 15 per cent warmer in winter and 36 per cent cooler in summer, protecting masonry from frost and pollution. Of the myriad cultivars of H. helix, variegated ‘Glacier’ is one of the best.

Hedera helix ‘Parsley Crested’

Not all ivy leaves are ivy shaped – there are lots of interesting forms to seek out, and ‘Parsley Crested’ boasts beautiful crinkled edges to its glossy foliage. ‘Tripod’ has very narrow three-lobed leaves making it look just as its name suggests, while ‘White Ripple’ has finely pointed leaves in grey-green edged with white. Interestingly, ivy produces two distinct forms of growth, juvenile and adult, which are often present on the same plant. The juvenile form has threeto five-lobed leaves, grows in a twining fashion and clings to its support. After a couple of years, the plant enters adulthood. Leaves lose their distinctive shape, stems thicken and the plant becomes more shrubby and produces flowers and berries.

Hedera colchica ‘Sulphur Heart’

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SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY This species is also known as Persian ivy and tends to have bigger, more leathery leaves with less finely defined lobes. It makes a vigorous and quick-growing climber, ideal for covering a wall fast if you have an eyesore to hide, but, like all ivies, it’s more than happy kept trimmed to size. ‘Sulphur Heart’ is one of the most readily available cultivars, its leaves broadly splashed with lime green and gold. H. colchica ‘Dentata Variegata’ is similar, except its variegation is creamy-white. Like H. helix, when it reaches adulthood Hedera colchica produces flowers that are a very valuable late source of nectar for pollinating insects, and are followed by inky-black berries that are loved by birds.

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Things to Do DECEMBER

Keep up to date in the garden with our monthly guide to key gardening tasks

MAKE Everlasting Posies

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Rachel sourced the dried fl owers, foliage, seedheads and grasses for her winter posy from Lincoln fl ower farmer, Sandra Bright. You can dry your own at home or keep it seasonal and British by fi nding your local Flowers from the Farm grower at fl owersfromthefarm.co.uk.

RACHEL WARDLEY; PHOEBE JAYES IMAGES

JESSICA REEVE; SHUTTERSTOCK Use garden-foraged or bought dried flowers to make an everlasting posy this Christmas, to give as a gift or to decorate the house Dried fl owers are back as a stylish fl oral trend this year. Rachel Wardley of Tallulah Rose Flower School at Levens Hall, Cumbria, explains how to create a naturally everlasting posy of fl owers this Christmas, swaddled in vintage fabric and tied with a silk ribbon – a wintry gift that will last.

Method

1 Group your selection of dried fl owers by type. This will make choosing them more straightforward and will mean that your stems are less likely to become tangled. 2 Take a couple of stems of fl owers and foliage in your left hand if you’re right-handed, or vice versa if left-handed. Take a couple more and cross them over the ones in your hand. 3 Rotate stems anticlockwise, add more stems and rotate again. Keep adding and rotating, building up the posy. 4 Alternate the heights of fl owers and foliage and use a mix of diŒ erent-sized fl owers too. Add foliage, pods and seedheads for interest. 5 Once all the stems have been used, tie securely with twine. 6 Gift-wrap with fabric and tie with ribbon to fi nish your posy. tallulahrosefl owers.com

Checklist

O Check that greenhouse heaters are fully functioning and that their thermostats are working, ready for the colder nights.

O Make sure any pruning required on birches, acers and vines is done before Christmas (after which their sap rises) to avoid the wounds bleeding.

O If hard frosts are forecast, dig up any crops needed for the Christmas dinner, such as parsnips or leeks, while you can still get them out of the soil.

O As leaves fall from deciduous shrubs, take hardwood cuttings of any you’d like to propagate.

O Insulate taps and outside pipes to prevent damage.

O Turn pots of growing amaryllis regularly so their lofty fl owers don’t tilt towards the light.

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