Festive florals and greenery

Let the spirit of the festive season carry you away into a wondrous world of floral and green beauty. Besides having a Christmas tree adorn your space, flowers and plants beautify this cheerful time of year. Spoil your space and the ones you love with a gift that keeps on giving. Here are our top picks for a super festive atmosphere this holiday season.

Abundant amaryllis

Imagine an exuberant potted amaryllis gracing your table - instant happiness. Whether you are growing it yourself or purchasing it online or in store, displaying amaryllis in pretty ceramic pots offers a quick, easy and gorgeous solution for a Christmas Day table or as a gift. 

While Merry Christmas®, Alfresco® and Christmas Star® are amongst the most popular festive flowers, you can also consider any one of the other varieties that exudes the warm and cheerful feeling you would like to bring to your setting.

Consider adding moss to your decorative pots for a super amaryllis display on Christmas Day and surround it with glowing candles and beautiful baubles for a very merry table setting. Amaryllis can also warm up breakfast nooks, coffee tables, outdoor patios and guest rooms. So think beyond the dining table. Adding natural and festive beauty to your home this holiday season is simple and fun. 

Amaryllis care

Amaryllis bulbs are easy to bring into flower in time for Christmas and are even easier to care for. Potted amaryllis can be kept indoors or out and watered every 2-3 days. After blooming, take care to not break the main stem and allow the foliage to gently die back. Continue watering after flowering until the end of April. You can feed the plant with Hadeco Bulb Food or similar once a month to promote next season’s blooms. From May, the pot can be kept in a cool and dry place until next season’s growth cycle begins. This is usually around September, when the weather warms up.  

Joyful Hydrangea

Adorned with clusters of captivating blossoms, hydrangeas present a delightful spectacle each summer. Recognised as Christmas Roses, they reach peak beauty during the festive season, making them suitable as holiday decorations and gifts. Whether you cut them for the vase and show off their flowers on dining tables or you purchase full plants as gifts, your options of sharing their beauty is boundless. As they make delightful dried flowers you could even preserve some for decorating your Christmas tree this year by inserting stems with full flowers into the gaps along with loads of velvet bows and fairy lights. Alternatively, you can try the idea of filling transparent baubles with preserved hydrangea petals and finish it off with decorative ribbon. It takes approximately two weeks to preserve hydrangea. 

Hydrangea care 

Water your hydrangea deeply once to twice a week. A morning sun and afternoon shade position suits them best. Keep your pretty petals perky by applying a thick layer of compost around the shrub and top it up regularly throughout the year. Feed them with Pokon Hydrangea fertiliser or 3:1:5 every six weeks until their growth slows down in autumn. For potted hydrangea feed every two to four weeks and water every two to three days. 

You can also play with their colour once your hydrangea have settled in. This is usually after a year. For blue hydrangea, you will need acidic soil and for pink a high alkaline or limy soil is required. White hydrangea are unaffected by the pH of soil. Essentially a lower pH will make them blue and a higher pH will make them pink. Add acid compost or peat moss and aluminium sulfate to your soil in spring for blue flowers. 

Al fresco air plants

If your taste is a little left off centre, why not use a delightful mix of air plants to grace your alfresco dining table? Better yet, think upwards. If you have ceiling hooks on your patio you could create a whimsical hanging display and leave space on the table for loads of ambient Christmas candles. The varied shapes, sizes and textures of air plants will make for a lovely conversation starter.

The options really are limitless when it comes to displaying them. Think of tiered stands or elongated bowls filled with air plants. For a more rustic feel, try terracotta saucers and pots to provide the base for your green stars to shine from. Another festive inspired air plant display takes the form of a wreath. 

Air plant care 

Place your air plants in a position where they will receive bright, indirect light and sufficient air flow. You can feed them with air plant food through a soak or spritz in the early morning or late afternoon. 

With an array of festive and cheerful options to choose from, gifting and decorating this holiday season should be a breeze and most importantly, FUN.

Happy Floral Festive!