The run up to Christmas has been full of ordinary life things, which means the last few garden jobs are being done in whatever gaps I can find. I would always prefer to have all the tulips planted and everything neatly finished by now, but that is not quite how this year has gone.

At this point I am trying to be sensible and just keep going when the weather allows, rather than turning it into a source of stress. The garden will wait for me, and even the jobs that are running late still feel worth doing when I think about what they will look like in spring.