We have been having great fun with local schools, libraries and health centre making garlands and wreaths out of gorgeously aromatic bay leaves threaded with ivy and springs of cottoneaster berries, then like all good guerilla gardeners, draping them in unexpected and delightful places. As we are in the midst of the crucial climate change talks in Paris, never has there been a more important time to re-enforce the message to kids about resource use. We say, who needs plastic baubles when you can keep it natural!

Talking about ivy, love it or hate it, we have never understood why ivy arouses such strong feelings in folk. Ivy is a very beautiful and productive liana; far from damaging walls built of sound mortar, brick and stone, ivy, in complete contrast, will be insulated by it. Ivy also provides crucial shelter for birds; it’s evergreen leaves not only provide a great hibernating habitat for over-wintering animals, butterflies and insects, but late flowering flowers and berries provide a valuable source of winter nectar when all else has gone.

But the main reason we love ivy, is because we think it is very lovely to look at, never more so than in winter time, whether the elegant scalloped edged ‘Parsley crested’ or the silvered ‘Helix glacier’.

Another benefit of ivy is its use for masking unsightly garden structures. Talking of structure and landscape, we are working on a couple of interesting hard/soft landscaping projects at the moment – more news next month.

Finally, whilst on the subject of keeping the festive season natural, we will be curating a workshop at the Kentish Town Health Centre on Thursday 10/12, joined by the fabulous Tracy, from clean break.org.uk – an organisation set up to aid the rehabilitation of female offenders into the community. At this session we will be re-cycling palettes, turning them into herb window boxes. Just fill with evergreen rosemary, sage and bay, and you have the perfect natural Xmas pressie.

Bay, sage and rosemary, when they are fully grown…