With its brightly-coloured, star-shaped bracts, the poinsettia is one of the most recognisable symbols of Christmas in the world. We find it in supermarkets, garden centres and florists, as well as emblazoned on Christmas cards and wrapping paper. At once cheap and cheerful, celebrated and…
You may or may not have noticed, but I have not been posting quite as regularly of late. There is no intention in this, I’ve simply been up to my eyes in managing my work/life balance and enjoying time with my little family. Being perpetually…
January is a unique month in the year when plants, on the whole, demand very little from gardeners. House plants are an exception, but even these have minimal needs when light levels are low and days are short. January is the perfect month for gardeners…
December 24th: Christmas Eve When I set out on my advent blogging adventure I didn’t have a plan for what I’d write the next day, let alone on Christmas Eve. Yet here I am, twenty four days later, having navigated topics as diverse (some might…
December 23rd: Step Into Christmas Christmas can be a testing time for families. We come together with open hearts and great intentions, but sometimes find it difficult to get along. It’s hardly surprising when we live such full-on, switched-on lives. Stepping into Christmas can be…
December 22nd: Small Town Boy For me, the run up to Christmas feels impossibly long and drawn out. Why is it then that the closer I get to December 25th the faster the time goes? I spent all morning and all day yesterday washing, ironing,…
December 21st: It’s a Wrap Being Mr Christmas, most people assume that my preparations for the big day run like clockwork. I can tell you they don’t. I have been known to be wrapping presents at midnight on Christmas Eve in a mad rush to…
December 20th: A Grim Getaway I am on the 06.52am train from Broadstairs to London’s St Pancras Station, en route to Lincolnshire for a business meeting. Despite there being five days remaining until Christmas Day, the train is already discernibly quieter than on a normal…
December 19th: Who will buy my lovely mistletoe? On three Tuesdays leading up to Christmas, an auction of holly, mistletoe and freshly-made wreaths is held in the ancient town of Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. For this brief time the town becomes the mistletoe capital of…
December 18th: In a Pickle Just when I am tempted to imagine I know everything there is to know about Christmas, along comes a new tradition that I have never heard of: the Christmas pickle. For years I have been attending trade fairs, wondering how…
