Even the smallest outdoor space can provide an array of materials to decorate the home. Twigs, berries, evergreens and fir cones can be transformed into wonderful wreaths, glorious garlands and simple still-life arrangements to bring natural beauty and evocative, festive fragrance to every room.

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Together with ivy, holly is a Christmas must-have. Unchecked, it will grow into large trees, but it can also be trained into small standards, either in the ground or, better still, in pots flanking a doorway. At Christmas time, add a mulch of pine cones and tuck nightlights among them to welcome guests. The variegated leaves of varieties such as Ilex ‘J.C. van Tol’ will provide interesting colours for your festive wreaths and garlands, or fill jugs with small sprigs for pretty table decorations.

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Take a sprig of holly...
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Apple, poplar, hawthorn or lime are favoured host trees for this Christmas essential, with its clusters of waxy, white berries. Unless you are lucky enough to have it growing in your garden, buy from traditional greengrocers.

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Save twigs from apple trees when you do your autumn pruning and bundle them together, tied with raffia or red ribbon, as fragrant kindling. Vine prunings can be treated in a similar way. The long whippy growth on wisteria is ideal for weaving into wreaths, but wear gardening gloves as it has some surprisingly sharp points. Clematis stems, complete with their fluffy seedheads, look marvellous wound into a wreath. A large vase filled with branches of hazel, silver birch or colourful dogwood stems, or other shrubs and trees with similar growth habits, makes an alternative to a traditional tree when hung with decorations. Or use a few twiggy stems to add extra natural interest to a pot or planter of early-flowering bulbs. Garland with fairy lights for a festive flourish.

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Holly berries are often in short supply because the crop varies from year to year and birds, quite rightly, relish the colourful feast. If there’s enough to share, cut a few branches in late November or early December and store in a cool, dark place. Alternatively, look elsewhere for your berries, fruit or hips. Cotoneasters are frequently laden with glowing fruit in the winter months, but are probably best used for short-term decorations as they will start to drop fairly soon after picking. The spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus) bears eye-catching pink and orange fruit and those on the variety ‘Red Cascade’ last well into winter. Other sources of colourful fruit include Malus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’, the orange-berried sea buckthorn and the urn-shaped hips of Rosa glauca.

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Take a sprig of holly...
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Christmas is all about generosity – and this includes the decorations. Bulk up displays of pine or fir with branches cut from other conifers, even the dreaded leylandii, or other evergreens such as Portuguese laurel, bay and camellia. The different leaf shapes add texture and variety. Thread bay leaves onto a circle of wire, finish off with a gingham bow and you have a Shaker-style wreath that can be used as a decoration and, later, as a source of flavouring in the kitchen.

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Apart from the classic pine cone, many conifers bear interesting variations that can be used in your decorations. For example, cypress trees carry clusters of small knobbly cones on the tips of their branches, and sprays of foliage and cones can be incorporated into wreaths and table arrangements. If you have a good source of cones, fill a basket with them – they make great firelighters – but if you are venturing beyond the garden to collect them, the advice from the Forestry Commission is that while it is quite acceptable to gather a few, don’t be greedy.

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Wreaths to make
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There can’t be many gardens in Britain that don’t have ivy flourishing in some shady corner or up a wall. It is an easy and undemanding plant to grow, a fantastic habitat and food source for wildlife and incredibly versatile: it will disguise an eyesore and also makes great ground cover, while the small-leaved varieties are very successful trained as topiary. Of course, it is also rampant and a firm hand is needed to stop it taking over, which makes it an ideal plant to gather for Christmas wreaths and table decorations. Rather conveniently, each year’s new growth is in the form of long strands, so it is just a matter of cutting as many as you need and twisting them round wreaths, garlanding candelabra with them, trailing them across the table or making them into swags for doorways or mantelpieces. The clusters of berries can also feature in your decorations, but be sure to leave plenty to ripen later in the winter for the birds. When using ivy for indoor decorations, don’t be tempted to cut it too early or the leaves can dull. For an added festive touch apply Liberon Gilt Cream (www.liberon.co.uk) to some of the leaves. It is available in shades ranging from gold through copper and pewter to silver but use it sparingly for a more stylish look. Frames to create your own topiary ivy are available in a range of shapes from www.toptopiary.co.uk. Choose a small-leaved Hedera helix in plain green for best effect: ‘Green Ripple’ is a good cultivar and for quick results train several over the frame. They will be perfectly happy inside over Christmas but generally grow best in a cool shady corner of the garden.

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Wreaths to make
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Make it a handmade Christmas: see all of our hundreds of craft ideas for Christmas