December 2001

Autumn went on until the middle of December but by Christmas we were left in no doubt that winter had started

What with one thing and another I had somewhat neglected the garden over the past few weeks. A job I had left undone since October was the shredding. Neighbours had been bringing me their bundles of Leylandii ever since but I had just stacked them and left them.

When I went to inspect the stack in the middle of this month I discovered most branches still appeared quite fresh so I used them along with the holly that had berried well this year and the variegated ivy to decorate the porch outside and the stairs inside. In the porch I tangled in with the greenery 140 tiny flashing out door lights and put two sets of indoor lights round the bannisters. Combined with the view of the Christmas tree in the conservatory the effect was quite cheering.

However for some reason or another I neglected to take photos at home although I did snap a few at my daughter's house where I spent two days over Christmas. From Christmas onwards we had a big freeze and I only ventured out into the garden to pick brussels and hack off leeks. (The ground was too hard to dig them)