Berried treasure

The holly wears the crown, or so the carol goes. And nothing says berries at Christmas quite like the holly. However, there are a few other plants you can add to your borders to bring a touch of magic to the garden late in the year.

A star player has to be Euonymus europaeus Red Cascade (below centre), also known as the spindle tree, with blazing autumn leaf colour followed by these incredible bright pink and orange berries. Equally stunning is Clerondendrum trichotomum var fargesii (below left), the glory tree, with its turquoise and fuchsia pink calyces. Both these shrubs hold their fruits on bare stems making for a truly eye-catching autumn and winter dispaly. On the perennials front, how about Iris foetidissima (below right) aka the stinking iris - copes well in shade and pays dividends when it bursts open to show off its orange-red seeds. Go on, dare to be different!