It’s the most magical time of the year as Christmas approaches, so as you decks the halls with boughs of holly, give your front door some Christmas love too with an attractively planted Christmas container.

Hardy shrubs with attractive foliage and berries such as Hebe, Gaultheria, Christmas Box, Skimmia, Trailing Ivy and Christmas Rose bring all year round interest to the garden, but are perfect for making an attractively presented garden planter to spruce up your doorstep or patio.

Here, Martin Fish from Pots & Trowels talks you through making a winter foliage planter for your garden that will last on long after Christmas has finished. This is a perfect way to use plants you might have picked up at the garden centre on a recent shopping trip that you intend planting out to the garden eventually. Simply heal them into some compost in a large planter to put them on glorious display before planting them out to their permanent positions after the festive period is over.

Martin also dressed this planter with cuttings from the garden, and we’ve plenty of pruners to help you with that task! So get out into your garden and forage for branches of holly, variegated shrubs, dogwood, cotoneasters and anything else you have to hand that is providing plenty of evergreen interest in the garden right now.

See more in the Pots & Trowels series of gardening tips from Martin Fish over on his Youtube channel, or tune in every week on Facebook.

If you have put together a Christmas planter or have an unusual garden display for the festive period, we’d love to see pictures over on the Darlac Facebook, Instagram or Twitter channels. Just tag us in!