Living gifts from the garden
Christmas shopping for garden loving friends and family is one of the more enjoyable experiences in life.
With many hundreds of varieties of plants, garden ornaments, pots and water features, DIY ideas, handy tools and other plant additives, the field is wide open to select and give items you can be sure will be received with pleasure.
Many people enjoy creating gifts, and this can include anything from selecting containers and plants to match, filling an attractive carry basket with a mixture of tools and/or plants or giving a voucher from your favourite garden centre to allow the recipient to choose their own gift.
Indoor plants are still firm favourites even for growing on the covered patio or verandah, and these include some beauties such as indoor poinsettias that can be kept in containers or grown in the garden when they finish flowering; hydrangeas in a very broad range of pinks, blues and white that make wonderful permanent garden specimens; flowering peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) that are so aptly named and are available in specimens growing from 70cm to over 1m tall with glossy foliage and white lilies standing tall and graceful; anthuriums, the small talk range from Ramm Botanicals contains several colours – red dark, bright, soft or brilliant, orange/pink, large pink and salmon – and these flower prolifically year-round on compact plants growing about 50cm tall and 30cm wide. They grow indoors or in filtered light outdoors and make excellent cut flowers.
There are many kinds of plants that make ideal Christmas trees, and if grown in a good size pot should last you for many years. Think about such old-time favourites as the Norfolk Island pine, bush Christmas lillypilly, New Zealand Christmas bush and, of course, the more recently released Wollemi pine that will cost quite a lot of money, but will last for many years, and will certainly make a beautiful display plant all year round.
The New Zealand Christmas bush (Metrosideros) mentioned above, is very popular with most people and will grow anywhere on the Coast including the seaside. It is also available in a variegated form, so would add even more colour to your garden.
The New South Wales Christmas bush (Ceratopetalum gummeriferum) is becoming more popular by the minute, and little wonder. This lovely native from south of the border grows very well up here, and would certainly be a welcome gift for your own family, friend or neighbour.
Christmas bush grows well in full sun in an average, well-drained soil, and creates a regular spectacle of itself at this time of the year, with white flowers backed by red calyx lobes that persist for many weeks after the flowers drop. It is excellent as a cut flower.
source: www.thedaily.com.au
