Hippeastrum ‘Grand Diva’
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_006-19a3703.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C925px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
For flower power, there are few plants that come close to indoor amaryllis. ‘Grand Diva’ is a wonderful selection that produces huge, vivid-red, funnel-shaped flowers, with four to five blooms per stem.
Plant the bulbs in a heavy clay pot and firm enough soil around the bulb to ensure it does not become dislodged under the weighty inflorescence. Heat is important to initiate growth. Keep the compost moist, but not too wet, until the roots have formed and the flower stem emerges. Water and feed as the foliage is produced and stop in August to let the bulb ripen.
Height 50cm. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Any soil. Hardiness RHS H1B. Season Late winter into early spring.
Narcissus papyraceus
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_011-799e984.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C1054px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
Paperwhite narcissi are among the easiest bulbs to force for indoor Christmas displays. The key is to ensure that they have at least a few weeks in a cold frame to establish a good root system before trying to force them. The tazetta-blooms are glistening white, held in loose clusters and produce a very powerful scent. The scent can become cloying, and they are best used in a large room or porch. Stake with a split cane and tie in the stems and leaves with raffia – one at a lower tier to take in the foliage, and then again just below the flowers.
Height 40cm. Origin Mediterranean. Conditions Any soil. Hardiness RHS H4, USDA 4a-8b. Season Late winter into early spring.
Cymbidium hybrid
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_024-cb57aa1.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C865px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
The Cymbidium hybrids are some of least demanding orchids. The large flowers, held on arching spikes, normally have a decorative lip and last over two months. In spring, place outside in a sheltered position in light shade. Water in the morning with a general purpose, 20-20-20 feed.
Flowers form from early October and will continue through the winter months. Before the cold sets in, put the plants back into the greenhouse or windowsill with daytime temperatures close to 20°C and 10°C at night. Protect from molluscs if necessary.
Height 1m. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Specialist orchid compost; overwinter inside; dappled shade outside. Hardiness RHS H1A. Season Winter into early spring.
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_053-360e8c9.jpg?quality=90&crop=7px%2C1252px%2C3266px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
This is a lovely witch hazel for the winter garden. In December, ravelled trusses of dainty, ribbon-petaled flowers of yellow suffused with burnt orange are produced from stark, leafless twigs. The flowers, although small, are tolerant of winter weather and will continue well into January. The scent is good, and it is worth picking a sprig to bring indoors, although the flowers will not last long in the heat.
‘Jelena’ has exceptional autumn colour with leaves turning fiery red and orange. Plant in neutral to acidic soil that doesn’t get too dry in summer, and prune after flowering only when necessary.
Height 4m. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Any soil, neutral to acidic, not water logged. Hardiness RHS H5, USDA 5a-8b. Season Autumn and winter.
Cattleya hybrid
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_064-030147a.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C802px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
Cattleya hybrids are some of the most beautiful and easiest of the orchids to grow. They produce large, blowsy, colourful flowers with a frilly lip and exude an exquisite citrus-floral scent. The key to most orchid cultivation for the at-home grower is to try to match your orchid with your home, or find a niche to suit the orchid.
Cattleyas like high humidity, warmth and around 50 per cent sunlight. Humidity can be provided via a bark-filled dish beneath the plant, but the other factors need to be considered carefully. Feed lightly from March to October with an orchid feed.
Height 30cm. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Warm glasshouse cultivation. Hardiness RHS H1A. Season Winter into spring.
Picea orientalis
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_070-c7bfb13.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C1147px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
The oriental spruce is a broadly conical tree with very smart, densely needled twigs that look like fat pipe cleaners. The branches have an ascending habit with weeping laterals that look particularly festive when covered in slim, hanging cones. Both the cones and branches are particularly good for making Christmas decorations.
It is best grown as a specimen tree where the lovely architecture can be enjoyed unobscured by competition, provided it is not too exposed. Plant in any soil that is not too thin, chalky, or susceptible to long periods of drought.
Height 12m. Origin Northern Turkey. Conditions Any soil. Hardiness RHS H7, USDA 4a-7b. Season Year round.
Helleborus niger hybrid
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_084-50be573.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C585px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
This selection from Harvington Hellebores has bloomed before Christmas for the past few years and produces little vignettes of sumptuous, white flowers, each blossom centred with a cluster of golden stamens.
Although they have a reputation for requiring a limy soil, mine have been thriving in stony, humus-rich, acidic soil for some years. They do take time to establish, resent disturbance, and hate sitting wet. They’re also gross feeders, meaning they are hungry plants and so need to be fed annually with compost.
Height 25cm. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Any soil that does not sit wet; shade. Hardiness RHS H7. Season Winter into spring.
Camellia x vernalis ‘Yuletide’
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_092-8b96aef.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C1473px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
A chance hybrid between C. japonica and C. sasanqua that arose in a Californian nursery. It is a very welcome presence in the depths of winter, making a bushy, evergreen shrub covered in polished foliage and has brilliant-red flowers, each with a golden central boss.
Plant in a sheltered position that receives some sun during the summer months in order to promote flowering. It does well in a pot, providing it is fed with a good camellia fertiliser. It can suffer in the coldest gardens, but will make a good plant for city gardens providing the soil is lime-free.
Height 2.5m. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Any good acidic soil; some sun. Hardiness RHS H5, USDA 7a-10b. Season Winter.
Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_102-41c26c2.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C937px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
An extraordinary foliage plant that has a presence in the garden through the year. The distinctive, glossy roundels of prickly, pinnate leaves sit atop thick, corky stems, and make a nice addition to the garden tapestry.
In December, ‘Winter Sun’ produces dense clusters of ascending flower spikes, each composed of small, bright-yellow blooms. The flowers are sweetly scented and last into January. Mahonias can become a little ungainly and need to be pruned to prevent them from getting too willowy. Prune in the spring by removing a third of the old wood. AGM.
Height 3m. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Any soil. Hardiness RHS H5, USDA 6b-9b. Season Winter.
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’
!["Matthew]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/07/JI_191216_MatthewReese_111-30d43b6.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C31px%2C3265px%2C2175px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Matthew")
A subtly variegated grass that makes an upright fountain of foliage during the summer. I grow it as a single specimen and contrast it against perennials and shrubs. As summer colours dissolve in winter, the beauty of decay comes to the fore and browns become more important in the garden.
This grass keeps its structure as the foliage dries and tightens into a column of straw-coloured leaves that persist into spring. Cut it hard down the ground in spring, and split every three years to maintain vigour.
Height 1.5m. Origin Garden origin. Conditions Any soil. Hardiness RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b. Season Early summer to late winter.