The Poinsettia is the houseplant we associate with Christmas. The wonderful bursts of colour are not, as is often assumed, the flowers, but rather 'bracts' or modified leaves. And their fading colour is a sad sign of Christmas past.
Corinne Julius has been finding out about these relatively recent additions to our seasonal decoration from garden designer Julie Toll, who this year won a gold at the Chelsea Flower Show for her garden of tropical plants.