Mock holly - A festive table display

With guests due at Genus HQ last week we wanted to create a festive table setting from plants in the garden.  We were surprised at the selection we were able to collect.  Choisya ternata, Portuguese laurel, berried ivy stems, and a variegated Rhamnus gave us ample material to work with.  One thing however was missing - holly with red berries - the classic yuletide offering.  Always hard to find when you want them, our search was in vain.

As a diocious shrub, holly has both male and female plants.  Male plants immediately rule out the chance of berries and any female plants sporting the red berries are often a favourite food of blackbirds and redwings and are soon stripped bare.  One plant that gives similar festive character to a display is Cotoneaster franchetii (pictured).  With grey-green leaves and ample clusters of red berries, the specimen we have on the edge of the woodland garden thrives on our limestone soil and is 15 feet high with a similar spread.  We’ve let ours grow freely but they can also make a wonderful subject for hedging if clipped annually.

This would have to be our ‘mock holly’ - the berries had been left alone and a light prune would not go amiss anyway.  The display proved effective and there was plenty of leftover material for our guests to take home and create their own masterpiece.  We’re keeping ours in an unheated spare room with the hope that it’ll still be presentable over the Christmas period.