The Christmas Flower That Never Needs Watering — My Crochet Poinsettias

I would love to tell you that I have learned to keep the real version alive. Every year the fresh poinsettias appear in the shops with all their lovely red bracts, and every year one of them comes confidently home, gets watered enthusiastically, and watches its leaves give up around Boxing Day. My craft room finally grew tired of the drama and now grows its own.

This year there are two colourways in the shop: a cream poinsettia and the classic red, each crocheted from soft yarn and planted in a burgundy red pot. The whole plant stands roughly 11cm tall, and each bloom is shaped by hand so the petals curve back the way a real poinsettia does — no wire, no stakes and no arguments with the florist.

The benefits are everything you would hope for at Christmas: no watering, no dead-heading, no leaves dropping every time the front door opens — and, crucially, they come back out next December looking exactly the same as they did on the day they arrived. At £12 each they are one of the most cheerful ways to add a bit of Christmas to a room that real plants have let down before.

They make a lovely gift, too — for anyone who adores the festive plant and lacks the staying power to keep one alive, and I say that with real sympathy. Mine will be sharing mantelpiece duty with the crochet snowmen this year.

Thank you, as always, for reading the journal. The craft room tables are properly festive now — red, green and gold have quietly taken over everything.