1. Merry Christmas and a pest-free new year!

It is a busy time of year but if you can spare an hour or two for the garden it will pay dividends.

2. Gardening: Enliven festive displays

The truth is that the one of the most reliable ingredients of the Christmas dinner is the Brussels sprout.

3. Anna’s porridge prize is oat-ally amazing

4. Gardening - pick up a real page turner

The weather is simply too wet to get outside at the moment because even when the rain stops the ground remains waterlogged.

5. Deck the hall with ivy, yew and laurel!

The gardening column is cribbing some great ideas for Christmas decorations from an expert this week.

6. Christmas Cake recipe

My favourite Christmas cake comes from the estimable Hamlyn All Colour Cook Book published in 1971.

7. Potted hyacinths blooming brilliant

Whenever I buy bulbs for containers I always hope they will naturalise afterwards in the garden.

8. Gardening - Berries for fine winter form

I planted a holly tree in my front garden about eight years ago and it is now barely knee-high.

9. Tulips could replace those faded flowers

Saturday was a perfect day for gardening when it was possible to get the last of the important pre-winter jobs done.

10. Gardening: No clipped hedges

Hedges and edges have been preoccupying me this week, although I have no hedges of my own.