With days shortening and temperatures falling I am gradually moving inside, putting the garden to bed, as my mum would say.

The next job is deciding which bits of the garden I want to bring inside to decorate the house with for Christmas.

Of course this starts with the tree and the Hewett household have always been fans of a real Christmas tree.

This is probably not the wisest of choices with an Aga in the kitchen, the pine needles seem to spring off as soon as it is brought through the door.

Then three dogs tails make short work of any remaining, but hey, I wouldn’t have it any other way. For the smell alone it is worth it.

Prince Albert made Christmas trees popular when he brought one over from Germany in 1841 for use in Windsor Castle.

People have moved away from the more classic short, bright green pointed needles of the Norway spruce (Picea abies).

This is probably because the needles drop very quickly. Instead we now edge towards the more expensive non drop varieties like the soft needled, conical Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana) and silvery-blue foliage of the Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) with sharp needles but looking very stylish.

When buying, whichever variety you choose, pick it up as it should feel quite heavy,easy to lift with one hand is a sure sign of dehydration.

Also the more branches the better. Once you have brought it home cut at least one inch from the bottom of the trunk and soak the tree in water.

Place in a cool place and water daily for a good few weeks' pleasure.

Brightening the dullest of days

I’ll also make sure I have a couple of Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) in the house as they are such a showstopper and guaranteed to brighten the dreariest of winter days.

As I seem to have missed the Autumn window of planting the bulbs, needing six to 8 weeks from planting to flower, I've bought a couple that have been brought on. I will stake them, as they can grow up to 3ft and place in a pretty container in a cool place. Here, they should reward me by flowering beautiful large trumpet flowers right through January. Try Hippeastrum Belinda for deep crimson flowers.