Season’s greetings from the garden
It’s the festive season and we’re all about spending time with family and friends and soaking up lots of time outdoors (hello summer!?).
This year, we’re welcoming gardening traditions.
Planting Together
Gardening during the holidays can be a great way to bond with your loved ones. Imagine the joy of sowing seeds with toddlers, planning a vegetable garden with parents or picking flowers together for a thoughtful bouquet.
Planting bright begonias or vibrant fuchsias can be a fun activity, or arrange trailing plants like petunias in hanging baskets.
Plants such as succulents and aloes are perfect for holiday planting, adding beauty and resilience to your festive garden.
Succulents like Echeveria, with its pastel rosettes, and Crassula (jade plant), a symbol of good luck, make stunning table centrepieces or gifts.
Trailing varieties like Sedum morganianum (Donkey’s Tail) are ideal for hanging baskets, while Kalanchoe, with its vibrant red, orange, white or yellow blooms, adds a festive pop of colour.
Aloes also shine during the holidays, offering both texture and colour.
Aloe aristata (lace aloe) and Aloe striata (coral aloe) bring structural beauty, while Aloe maculata (soap aloe) delights pollinators with its cheerful blooms.
For a delicious and festive addition, grow strawberries, cherry tomatoes or red chillies. These holiday edibles serve as fresh ingredients for holiday snacks or table décor.
Strawberries can be dipped in chocolate for a sweet treat, cherry tomatoes add vibrant red to summer salads, and red chillies spice up festive dishes.
Deck the halls in red and green
Poinsettias, with their iconic red blooms and green foliage, are a staple for Christmas décor. Place them in shaded garden corners or use them as table centrepieces for outdoor entertaining.
Succulents, such as echeverias and kalanchoes, make for charming, modern holiday decorations.
Arrange them in decorative pots or craft unique succulent wreaths to add a South African twist to traditional festive décor.
For festive blooms, consider planting geraniums, salvias, and vincas in red, white, and green tones to create a cheerful holiday palette.
Combine these plants in mixed arrangements to create heat-tolerant displays.
Sow much fun: Holiday gardening for everyone
Involve the whole family in creating a festive garden space. Toddlers can water plants with tiny watering cans, while older kids might enjoy building garden crafts like trellises or fairy houses.
Younger children might enjoy crafting decorative garden labels or painting stones to use as markers for festive plant beds.
Older kids can create a festive wreath using succulents and aloes.
For teens, designing a holiday-themed planter with begonias and succulents can be both engaging and rewarding.
To add more tradition, create a family calendar where each member is assigned a day to care for the garden during the holidays.
End the season by hosting a festive outdoor picnic surrounded by the garden everyone worked together to create ‒ complete with fresh-picked blooms and herbs for décor.
These shared moments not only beautify your space but also create lasting memories for years to come.
