I don’t care what you call it – I love Christmas, and have been spending lots of happy days in the last few weeks… well…. spending.

I’ve even bought two plants, which I always swore I’d never do, on the principle that I hate it when other people buy plants for me. They’re invariably the wrong sort or wrong colour, grow too rampantly or not rampantly enough, or would have gone in the last garden but not this one. Those who know me well only ever acquire horticultural gifts from an approved list, drawn up by me and revised no more than one week before said Christmas/birthday/anniversary. Draconian? Moi?

I absolve myself on this occasion though as both plants are Daphne odorata ‘Aureomarginata’ (one for each set of parents) and I’m seriously thinking about filching both of them and pretending I forgot to buy presents this year.

Anyway – I’m off to enjoy myself – hope you are too! May this Christmas/Winterval/Perisolstice be everything you wish for, and may the New Year bring you wonders of the horticultural kind galore.

I’ll look forward to seeing you all again in 2009!