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PLANT OF THE MONTH - OCTOBER

WHITE SILVER AND GREY - IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR

Gardeners don't stop loving plants just because it's winter - yet now's the time when many plants have lost their foliage and gardens are beginning to look bare. There are a vast number of plants which maintain their colour and foliage and look fabulous in the garden at this time of year. And you can establish plants that, as autumn fades and the festive season advances, will become prominent in the garden. Foliage, berries and form can work as living seasonal decorations while the rest of the garden is dormant.

Think of plants that reflect the cold beauty of winter. Planting based on the stylish winter shades of 'White, Silver and Grey' can provide the chance to vary the tried and tested favourites as you plan your Christmas garden. The creamy-yellow border around the leaves of Osmanthus heterophyllus 'variegatus' is a subtle source of white for this combination of shades. Osmanthus heterophyllus is an interesting alternative to holly and can be used for hedging or topiary. It can achieve a height and spread of about 5 metres, but does need shelter from drying winds. For silver, consider Elaeagnus x ebbingei cultivars. These are beautiful evergreen shrubs. They have quite large leaves with silvery undersides. They are fully hardy, tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions and achieve a height and spread of approximately 4 metres. They can be used to create hedging, but are equally effective in a shrub border or as specimen plants. For an impression of grey, the leaves of the ivy, Hedera colchica 'Dentata Variegata' are perfect. These are light green in colour, but have grey-green mottling and margins of creamy white.

Other plants which could work well to bring elegant colour in winter are two bushy cultivars of the Spindle tree family, Euonymus fortunei 'Silver Queen' and 'Emerald Gaiety'. 'Silver Queen' has dark green leaves which are white margined. Growing as an upright bush it reaches a height of approximately 2.5m, or it is also available as a climber when it can reach a height of around 6m. 'Emerald Gaiety' is compact and has bright green leaves with white margins. The leaves of both these plants are pink tinged in winter.

This is an exciting way of making the most of the garden even in the depths of winter. If you have some French windows or a patio door onto the garden, why not invest in some simple external lighting and leave the curtains open? That way the garden with its 'living decorations' can form a backdrop to the festive atmosphere inside. And don't forget the opportunities to bring real decorations into the home. Making decorations from plant material can be very effective and bring a seasonal feel to the house, from clusters of leaves around picture and door frames to using plant foliage to create Christmas table decorations and Christmas wreaths on doors. (Please note if bringing plant material inside keep out of reach of children, plant such those mentioned can cause discomfort if ingested).

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