If you’re thinking about decorating your outdoor space for Christmas, why not start with your plants? The right outdoor Christmas plants will bring the festive spirit into your garden without the need for any plastic decorations or fake trees.
Whether you’re looking for a flowering plant to bring a hint of festive red into your garden or an Australian alternative to your traditional tree, there are plenty of outdoor plants that can add Christmas cheer to your outdoor spaces.
The best outdoor Christmas plants for Australian gardens
- Poinsettia
- NSW Christmas bush
- Christmas lilies
- Moodjar tree
- Sturt’s Desert pea
- Christmas bells
- Bottle brush
- Woolly bush
Poinsettia
The poinsettia is a classic Christmas plant that will bring some festive red into your home and garden. In the lead-up to Christmas, you will be able to find potted versions of the plants at your local garden centres and Bunnings stores.
Some people like to dress them up with brown paper and red bows on Christmas Day to give them to their guests to take home.
Christmas bush
This beautiful evergreen native shrub begins spring with pretty cream-coloured flowers which turn red in time for the Christmas season.
The plant tends to grow to about 5m high x 1.5m wide, making it a perfect Christmas plant to grow in your backyard. Just make sure you plant the shrub in full sun for the best flowering results. The flowers also make beautiful table florals for Christmas day.
Christmas lilies
Beautiful Christmas lilies are a lovely addition to your summer garden. With their lovely long stems, white petals and yellow stamens, they’re an elegant festive choice.
Just remember than after planting, Christmas lilies will take 12-14 weeks to bloom, so think about buying potted blooms for this year or start from scratch next season. After planting, you can expect beautiful flowers every year.
Moodjar tree
Also known as the Western Australian Christmas tree, the bright Moodjar tree bursts into orange every December. The tree belongs to the same family as another well-known Christmas plant — mistletoe — and holds spiritual importance for the Noongar people of Western Australia. Since the tree relies on surrounding plants for its nutrients, it’s important to consult a gardener knowledgeable in native plants before adding one to your garden.
Sturt’s Desert pea
Sturt’s Desert pea. (Photography: Brigid Arnott)
Swainsona formosa or Sturt’s Desert pea can be a gorgeous addition to a garden — if you manage to grow it. While beautiful, the South Australian flowering plant is notoriously hard to grow since it has adapted to desert conditions.
However, those in hotter parts of Australia are more likely to find success and be rewarded with deep red Christmas blooms.
Christmas bells
These bell-shaped blooms get their name because they flower around Christmas time (November to March). If you want to add these native flowers to your garden, make sure you plant them in pots for the most success.
This plant tends to take around three years to produce flowers, so start planting now for future Christmases.
Bottle brush
With their beautiful burst of bright red, the bottle brush is a great garden plant because they grow in a wide variety of soils and reach about four metres in height. Their nectar also attracts birdlife and insects into your garden.
Woolly Bush
The Western Australian Woolly Bush has become a favourite native alternative to a traditional Christmas tree. Their sturdiness means that they’re strong enough to hold decorations and lights, but can also be easily trimmed into a Christmas tree shape. These plants grow really well in pots, which mean you can keep them outdoors until it’s time to bring them inside closer to Christmas.
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