How about giving a living Christmas gift this year?

The nurseries are bulging with really fabulous living gift options.

Whether your friend is an inexperienced gardener or a green thumb, a beautiful plant at Christmas time can literally breathe life into their home and outdoor living space.

Here are some easy but fabulous options. Take a run down to your local garden centre and check them out.

Poinsettia are everywhere at this time of the year. No other plant depicts Christmas like the vivid red foliage of the poinsettia. They also make great table centres.

Hydrangeas burst into bloom at Christmas every year and are a beautiful gift for the avid gardener. They have the 'wow' factor which makes them the perfect Christmas gift. Yes they love a drink but how great do they look?

Hanging baskets make great Christmas gifts and give instant beauty to any position in the garden. Look out for colourful baskets cascading with petunias, calabrichoa, geraniums and impatiens.

SunPatiens are new release impatien that love the sun and the heat, so a great living gift idea for our climate with unbelievable colour. Plant them in pots and they will light up your outdoor space.

Spathiphyllum are excellent indoor plants that will give your indoor space an instant lift and an elegant plant to give as a gift. They are flowering now.

Gardenias are an old favourite that make a lovely gift with their shiny, lush green foliage and amazingly scented flowers. Great as pot specimens, especially at Christmas.

Grafted flowering eucalypts are very Australiana and most advanced specimens can be seen flowering all around right now.

Their amazing display of vivid red, orange or pink flowers are hard to resist and so make an excellent gift. Look out for the dwarf varieties that also make great pot specimens.

Scarlet mandevilla makes a beautiful showy, red flowering Christmas gift. Grow it in a large pot to brighten a shady entertaining area. They are very hardy but not too keen on the frost so a large pot is ideal.

Other Australian native plants such as the Albany woollybush, Australian Christmas bush and the beautiful grafted brachychiton make beautiful 'hard-to-kill' Christmas gift ideas for all gardeners.

A pot of mixed herbs makes a welcome gift for keen cooks. Garden centres sell ready-made ones, but it's easy to create your own.

Choose a pot or wide bowl at least 40 centimetres across. Fill it with quality potting mix and plant three or four favourite herbs. Parsley, chives, rocket and basil make a great summer mix.

Get down to your local garden centre and immerse yourself in the beauty of plants at Christmas time and you will easily discover many living gift options. If you are not confident choosing a plant yourself, don't hesitate to ask for assistance.