Try this Casting around for last-minute Christmas ideas? Your go-to garden plant is rosemary. Make a simple, stylish door wreath by twisting rosemary clippings around a circular base of willow or floral wire, and use sprigs instead of ribbons or bows when present wrapping. For gifts, rosemary salt is a quick win: whizz up sea salt and rosemary leaves at a ratio of 4 to 1 in a food processor and decant into a pretty jar.
Force this For perfectly pink, tender rhubarb come spring, act now. Mulch round the crown with homemade compost and pop over an upturned bucket or a bin for big plants to exclude light (pricey terracotta forcers are pretty but unnecessary). Harvest stems when they reach 25cm. You’ll need to rest the plant completely the following year, so it’s wise to have two plants on the go.
Plant this The spidery pink blooms of the Guernsey lily flower in October, providing pink froth just when it’s needed. Plant Nerine bowdenii ‘Isabel’ shallowly in a sunny, free-draining spot. Buy five bulbs for £9.99, or 10 for £17.98 (all orders include free p&p). Call 0330 333 6856, quoting ref GU467, or shop online. Dispatched December to January.
