Christmas Gift Guide

Whether you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a new homer-owner, or filling the stocking of your green-fingered friends and family; we have created this guide full of great and unique Christmas gift ideas that last a life time…

Trees can help bring your garden or landscape to life. With prominent, colourful foliage during the colder autumn and winter months, you can make someone’s garden a talking point this winter season.

The main features that ornamental plants share are their attractive flowers, distinctive fragrance and their unmissable, unique shape. With a range of shapes and sizes available, we know you will find the perfect gift.

Our variety of trees include:

the Himalayan Birch, a great option for a small garden and easily recognised for its snow white bark; the Japanese Maple, offering wonderful seasonal interest with fiery red leaves appearing in Autumn;

the English Oak, a classic that provides rich autumn colour when its dark foliage turns burnt orange and a good food source and natural habitat for many species of British wildlife; the Mountain Ash, a wildlife favourite that blossoms white flowers, popular with bees, following with bundles of orange and red berries loved by birds.

Our fruit trees are suitable for the UK climate and are ideal for all gardens. Depending on the size of your outdoor landscape, our selection of fruit plants can be planted and allowed to grow to their full height, or they can be kept in pots which will limit growth but remain healthy.

Potted trees are ideal for smaller outdoor spaces. They also give you the option to move the fruit tree to a more desirable place, as well as moving into a garage or outhouse for protection from the winter frosts.

Our fruit trees are easy to grow and maintain. The vibrant flowers and unique fragrances will add a new dimension to any outside space. Although our range of fruit trees are self-fertile, requiring no cross-pollination, they are a wildlife magnet for bees especially, which has the bonus of bringing a super pollinator into your garden to the benefit of other plants and flowers.

Our collection of fruit trees includes:

the Victoria Plum tree, the nations favourite plum tree ideal for eating and cooking; the Cox Apple tree, fantastic crispy, juicy flavour when eaten fresh that can be used in apple juices and cider blends and is also popular for use in baking; and the Stella cherry tree, producing a heavy crop of large, dark red cherries and known for its regular crops.

A festive feature for the garden

Topiary makes a great focal point in any garden. The beautiful shapes make for a great feature in both classic and contemporary gardens.

These ornamental plants have been around since the Egyptian era, and is as popular now as it was then. With the right topiary plants, you can turn a garden from mundane to stunning!

All of our Topiary can be container grown, which makes them ideal plants for patios and urban garden design.

These days, topiary shaping is as much science as art – plants are photographed from all angles and then a computerised trimmer (like a robot) snips all around the foliage to create a symmetrical shape.

A gardener’s little helper

Garden tools are essential for maintaining garden appearance and developing plants. We have a variety of garden tools and equipment from the British brand Five Acres; a premium garden tools range that is designed to meet all your gardening needs.

The tools are made from high-quality stainless steels and are FSC approved timber. The Five Acres range comes with a lifetime guarantee and is designed to offer the ultimate in practicality, comfort and enjoyment for gardeners.

Beginners and garden enthusiasts alike will benefit from investing in the right garden tools.

Browse the range for a special Christmas gift this year:

With evergreen topiary or hedging you can brighten someone’s garden this Christmas with green full hedging no matter the frosty scene outside. Evergreen plants offer consistent leaf cover for a full hedge look year-round.

The fullness of the foliage creates a natural green screen perfect for keeping gardens secluded from general view. Evergreen plants, dependent upon the species, also have excellent sound-absorbing capabilities and popular in built-up, urban areas.

They can also act as a natural windbreak for homes and gardens in general but are particularly suitable for those with a more exposed aspect. Evergreen hedging can act as a highly effective pollutant absorbent, helping to filter toxic particles from the air, generated by traffic emissions.

With the permanent leaf cover, the air in the vicinity is consistently cleaner. Environmentally, evergreen hedges have a myriad of positives. They help stabilise the ground and prevent soil erosion. They’re an ideal flood prevention measure, soaking up excess groundwater before it can reach hard surfaces or homes.

Pot Grown Hedge Plants

Pot grown hedging plants are probably the most convenient and easiest way of planting a new hedge with a high success rate as the roots have been completely protected by the pot.

There is no rush to plant pot grown hedges straight into the ground. As long as the plants are being watered they can wait a few weeks to be planted, meaning you can leave them as they are whilst the festivities are still going.

With no seasonal restrictions and no rush to plant, pot grown hedging is a perfect gift for Christmas.

Choosing your tree can be one of the most exciting parts of the build up to Christmas and the fresh, pine smell created by a ‘real’ tree that fills your home throughout the holidays, makes everything seem that little bit more festive and traditional.

However, the disposal of the tree in January can cause a lot of hassle – but that doesn’t have to be the case. One of our favourite things about ‘real’ trees is that they are recyclable; there are a number of different ways that you can do this...

1. Recycle Collections/Centres - Often you will receive information from your local council about special collections of real trees that take place during the weeks following Christmas. Dates and times are normally given alongside any other changes to your waste collection that are scheduled over the festive period. Ensure you remove all ornaments and decorations before leaving your tree out for collection. You may also find that there are designated drop-off points to take your tree for recycling should you miss a collection. Recycle Now is a good website to use to find out more about the recycling options in your area.
2. Make mulch - As real Christmas trees are biodegradable, turning your tree into mulch is a great way to reuse it and benefit the other plants in your garden. You can start by cutting off the main branches and using them as a blanket to cover and protect your most delicate plants from the cold weather. The rest of the tree i.e. the trunk can be cut down into wood chips, which can then be used as mulch around your garden or to cover a garden path. You can do this yourself if you have access to a wood chipper, if not, there are usually local companies that will do this for you for a small fee. Using the chippings as mulch can help to reduce water loss in your soil and regulate the temperature, which can often vary during winter.
3. Give the birds in your garden a late Christmas present - When you are done with your Christmas tree, you can move it outside in its stand and place it alongside your bird bath or feeders. You can then hang food and treats, such as fat balls, on the tree like decorations for the hungry birds to find. Another good idea is to rub peanut butter on the tips of the branches and cover them with birdseed. As well as being a source of food, you will often find birds nesting in the tree, as the dense foliage is great for providing shelter.
4. Compost it - You can loosely chop up your tree so that it fits into your garden waste container and allow it to be broken down. This will provide you with good organic matter to use in your garden when it has become fully composted. If you do not wish to do this yourself, take a look at your local council website, there are often companies that will collect Christmas trees to use for composting, and that way, even if you are not personally using the compost, you know that your tree is being used to make the land in your surrounding area healthier.
5. Plant for next Christmas - The best way to recycle your Christmas tree, is to simply re-use it. If you buy and plant a tree with a root system, as opposed to a cut tree, you can simply transplant from your garden into a tub for Christmas, then replant it afterwards and use it annually. For a slightly alternative Christmas tree, you could consider a pot grown Arbutus Unedo tree. This is a decorative evergreen, adorned with its own natural ornaments in the form of bright clusters of strawberry-like fruits and small, bell-shaped flowers, which appear in autumn and last into winter. When the fruits and flowers disappear, you can use your own decorations to create a modern twist on the traditional Christmas tree.

When considering your options, burning your tree should never be one of them. Pines, firs and most other evergreens contain a high level of flammable oils, which can be dangerous and contribute to creosote build-up.Don’t forget, you can also recycle other Christmas materials, such as your Christmas cards and wrapping paper – You can discover more on your local council website and locate your nearest recycling point.

Any question? Drop us a message on Facebook and we will be happy to help.