Festive forays in the garden

Make time for getting outside this Christmas, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

T’WAS the week before Christmas and all through the house… there was so much still to be done that I decided to take refuge in the garden and catch up on some last-minute jobs there instead.

If we get one of those glorious crisp Decembers then it’s lovely to get out and have a tidy up before the busyness of the festivities takes over.

Obviously your options are limited if the weather is bad and the ground is hard as iron or waterlogged, but there are still tasks to complete and many of them can fit around the holiday period.

Hardy plants can be left to tick over quietly, though you may want to do some tidying if you are expecting a horde of visitors to come through the door. A quick half hour spent weeding and borders and edging the lawn makes a world of difference to the garden’s overall look.

If it has stayed warm you may even need to give the grass a trim, making sure conditions are dry and not frosty and that your mower blades are raised on their highest setting.

It has been such a mild autumn that there is still plenty of colour around so if you get the opportunity, pick flowers, berries and greenery for indoors.

I’m making the most of our second late flush of Shasta daisies, the last of the summer’s roses, plus leaves, hips and berries from the hedge to bring natural light and colour indoors.

A key feature of our family Christmases is hunkering down in front of the log burner to play games, watch films and open presents. As an added bonus we dry orange and satsuma peel on the top of it – the oils perfume the whole house and the dried skins make excellent firelighters!