Give your garden a festive makeover with evergreen shrubs, white flowers and fiery red berries and buds. Our selection of colourful plants will last longer than any Christmas tree and lift your spirits during the darkest days of the year.
By December, even the hardiest late-flowering perennials have died back and winter is well and truly here. Evergreens get their time in the spotlight as your garden takes on a more muted colour palette, and without careful planning, your borders may feel drab and empty. Though it’s tempting to focus on planting for spring and summer when designing a garden, creating a vision of how you want it to look during the winter months will help you create a garden that you love all year round.
Dormant gardens have a different kind of beauty from the dazzling colours of summer borders, but if you’re already feeling restless for a splash of yellow, I’ve got the perfect plant that’ll brighten your days through to the first appearance of daffodils in spring. The first hellebore flowers also show their faces this month with the aptly named “Christmas rose” (Helleborus niger).
Short days mean less time in the garden, but there are still jobs to be getting on with – our December checklists will help you get everything done before the end of the year. If you followed our guide to force bulbs for Christmas, then you should hopefully have some beautiful December flowers for the festive season. If not, then there’s always next year – console yourself with a traditional red poinsettia.
Helleborus 'Christmas Carol' – December flower of the month
Helleborus 'Christmas Carol' is a cultivar of Helleborus niger, otherwise known as the Christmas rose. Christmas roses are the earliest of the hellebores to flower; the first blooms appear in December, and it will continue to flower through to early spring. 'Christmas Carol' has broad, pure white flowers that, unusually for a hellebore, point upwards. It’s a welcome sight during the shortest, darkest days of the year.
As if to punish us for our childhood fantasies of a white Christmas, the Christmas period is often wet and mild. Heavy rain can splash mud onto these low-growing flowers, but laying down a bark mulch can offer some protection and help keep the flowers white. Helleborus niger prefers light shade and rich soil with plenty of organic matter. It’s unusual to plant flowers in December, but as long as the ground isn’t frozen, it’s a great time to plant hellebores.
Plant it with…
Pulmonaria 'Trevi Fountain': Add some follow-on colour to your borders with this shade-loving perennial. Pretty blue flowers appear in mid-late spring, and the silver-spotted leaves provide interesting ground cover.
Polystichum polyblepharum (Japanese lace fern): Evergreen ferns provide a lovely backdrop for smaller hellebores and contrasting texture. Perfect for the deeper shaded areas at the back of borders.
Sarcococca confusa: A beautiful scented evergreen shrub with delicate white flowers that bloom during winter. Plant this shade-tolerant shrub at the back of a border or close to a path, so you can appreciate its fragrance.
Ilex 'Golden King'
Holly is a December birth flower – which may cause the pedants among you to tut in disapproval as Ilex’s inconspicuous white flowers don’t appear until spring. But in the spirit of the festive season, let’s focus instead on why holly is this season's best-loved plant. For centuries, holly has been planted for protection, good luck and foresight, but today, most people choose it for its glossy evergreen foliage and bright red berries.
The holly in my garden must be a male variety as it doesn’t produce berries, which makes me sad, as there’s nothing I love more than the bright red jewels peeking out from between a mass of greenery on my mantlepiece. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Ilex 'Golden King' must also be male, but you would be wrong – the plant breeders got their sexes muddled when naming. 'Golden King' is actually a female variety, and its companion, 'Silver Queen' is a male cultivar. Which just goes to show that everyone gets things wrong sometimes.
We can overlook this slip up when we focus on the plant rather than its name. Ilex ‘Golden King’ is a spineless cultivar with beautiful yellow-rimmed green leaves that, along with its berries, add a welcome bit of colour to a festive wreath. It’s fully hardy and grows to around six metres. Plant it in a sunny or lightly shaded part of the garden and make sure there’s a male plant nearby for pollination.
Plant it with…
Hedera 'Marbled White': While the holly may be king of all trees according to the Christmas carol, little is mentioned of its companion, the humble ivy. This variegated variety has marbled green and white leaves that look beautiful in pots, as ground cover or to hide unsightly fences and walls.
Pachysandra 'Variegata': Planting under a holly can be tricky, but this low evergreen shrub is happy growing under taller trees. Its dense foliage makes excellent ground cover, and small white flowers add interest in early summer.
Juniperus 'Old Gold': A perfect low maintenance companion to 'Golden King' for a sunny corner of the garden. The gold-green foliage contrasts beautifully with the holly’s flat, glossy leaves, and as it’s slow growing, it won’t take over your garden.
Jasminum nudiflorum (winter jasmine)
As the Christmas sparkle fades, Jasminum nudiflorum begins to bloom, popping out yellow flowers so bright they seem almost out of place on a dull December day. Grown as a sprawling mass across a wall or fence or as a low hedge, this hardy climber creates a wall of sunny flowers that will brighten the dullest of winter days.
Winter jasmine is very easy to grow (and difficult to kill), but it’s more of a scrambler than a climber, so you’ll need to tie it in to train it vertically. Don’t be afraid to prune it hard in spring once it’s finished flowering.
Jasminum nudiflorum is a deciduous plant and, unusually, the flowers precede the foliage, growing on bare stems from December through to March. Once it finishes flowering, its small green leaves provide a backdrop for other plants. This isn’t a plant you choose for year-round interest, but for those first few dark months of the year, when you really need a reminder that spring is coming, Jasminum nudiflorum may offer the ray of sunshine you need.
Plant it with…
Euonymus 'Emerald 'n' Gold': This evergreen shrub has decorative golden-green variegated leaves that complement winter jasmine’s yellow flowers. Plant it as a shrub around the base of Jasminum nudiflorum or train it to grow vertically alongside the climber.
Clematis 'Multi Blue': Clematis coexists quite happily with Jasminum nudiflorum and can step forward once the jasmine has finished flowering to add colour through the spring and summer. 'Multi Blue' has stunning multi-layered purple-blue flowers that bloom from early summer.
Forsythia 'Weekend': If you ever hear a gardener wondering why their forsythia is flowering unseasonably early, it’s likely they’ve got it confused with winter jasmine. Combine the two to extend your display of sunny flowers through to the end of April.
Skimmia ‘Rubella’
Skimmia 'Rubella' is a compact evergreen shrub with large panicles of red buds that add fantastic colour to your garden through the autumn and winter months. In March and April, the plant blossoms with masses of scented white flowers. Skimmia ‘Rubella’ is a male cultivar, so you won’t get berries, but the glossy leaves remain year round.
Skimmias are slow growing, and given its compact size, Skimmia ‘Rubella’ is a good choice for pots and patio containers. You can also plant it in a partially or fully shaded border. Whether you’re growing it in a pot or the ground, avoid locations that get full sun as this can damage the leaves. Find out more about how to look after your skimmia in our complete plant care guide.
Plant it with…
Heuchera 'Timeless Night': For contrasting texture and colour, plant Skimmia 'Rubella' with this gorgeous deep purple heuchera. Heuchera 'Timeless Night' produces tall spires of pink flowers throughout the summer, after the skimmia has finished flowering.
Erica 'Winter Ladies White' Heather: Pair Skimmia 'Rubella' with this winter heather in a border or pot for a festive red, white and green display. Although it loves full sun, this variety of heather also grows well in partial shade, and it can tolerate neutral or slightly alkaline soil.
Pieris 'Flaming Silver': This evergreen shrub really shines in spring when young fiery-red leaves and white flowers appear. The leaves mature into green and cream variegated foliage. A great companion for skimmia if you have acidic soil.
FAQ
What is December’s birth flower?
Paperwhite narcissus and holly are the birth flowers for December. Narcissus tazetta 'Paperwhite' are beautiful white flowers that you can force to bloom at Christmas. They symbolise self-reflection and the promise of spring. Holly has long symbolised protection and good fortune.
What flowers can I plant in December?
You can plant hellebores, such as Helleborus 'Christmas Carol' for December flowers. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, you can also plant bare root roses and other dormant deciduous shrubs this month. If your beds are looking a little bare, plant container-grown evergreen shrubs like skimmia, sarcococca and viburnum to brighten up your garden.
