Plantable Christmas – the gift that grows
by Drucilla James
'Brussels Sprouts' Christmas card from www.notonthehighstreet.com
Rather than the usual throwaway Christmas cards, wrapping paper and decorations, why not give versions that grow this year or send our horticulturally-inspired Christmas cards to encourage budding gardeners.
Eden’s plantable wrapping paper
In eight designs, including a wild flower mixture, sunflower, tomato, pepper, carrot, broccoli, lettuce and a blend of all five vegetables, each sheet of Eden’s wrapping paper comes with the seeds of the vegetable or flower portrayed, impregnated into it. Printed on 100% recycled paper, using vegetable inks, each sheet 45 x 70cm has a minimum of seventy seeds ingeniously embedded in seven layers of bio-degradeable tissue paper.
Lucky recipients can tear the wrapping paper into strips, sow and await germination.
Last ordering date: 18th December
£4.99 a sheet
Tomato Seed Christmas Card
These cards by Soso Paper Co contain a handmade paper Christmas tree cut-out with tomato seeds, ready for planting. After Christmas, the cut-out can be removed and planted into soil.
Last ordering date: 22nd December
Price: £1.85
Woodland Friends
Each of these six Christmas cards featuring forest creatures in a wintery woodland scene comes with a detachable plantable animal either a robin, deer, owl, hedgehog, squirrel or fox. Laser-cut from seed paper, the animals are embedded with gold and silver mica flakes and wildflower seeds. When planted, the paper will break down into the soil and the seeds will germinate to produce seedlings.
Last ordering date: 21st December
Price £4.50 each. Pack of six: £19.95
Merry Christmas Plantable Postcard
This bio-degradeable card is permeated with hundreds of wildflower seeds – after the festivities, your message simply needs pampering - with soil, water and a lot of love by the lucky receiver, who can then await the blooming of their mini-meadow of colourful flowers.
Last ordering date for Christmas: 17th December
Price: £3.99
A snowy forest scene
Send a tree with your Christmas greeting. This Treemendous card, using 100% recycled materials and printed with vegetable ink, contains an ethically-sourced Norway Spruce- a living tree. The company will send the card for you with a handwritten personalised message.
Last ordering date: 22nd December
Price: £7.99
Plantable Seed Paper Christmas Baubles
Each of these baubles, with planting instructions stamped on the back, is very easy to plant. You simply place the bauble on top of a pot of compost, cover it with a light layer of compost and water well. The pot should be placed somewhere warm and light to germinate. Colour choices include green with herb seeds, red with poppy seeds, lavender with lavender seeds or you can simply have a selection of all eleven shades.
Price: £14.99
Pop-up Plant a Star
This pop-up star makes a tree decoration which can be planted after Christmas to grow wildflowers
Last ordering date: 21st December
Price: £6.50
Christmas card: ‘Brussels Sprouts’
Send a gardening-themed Christmas card with this delicate watercolour by The Botanical Concept.
Price: £3.20 or £22.40 for ten
“Hot House in a Cold Climate” Christmas Card pack
Or there are these Kew Christmas cards featuring a beautiful wintery picture of the Palm House by artist Lucy Loveheart contrasting the hot tropical setting of the Palm House, with the frozen lake and winter gardens.
Price £4
www.shop.kew,org