I will do a separate post about the Ring Cycle as it deserves it. A weekend, continuing as I write, of howling winds and torrential rain. Much colder too. Last Thursday husband had the day off and to our enormous excitement a delivery of two trees arrived. Firstly, our multi stemmed silver birch Jacquemontii which has the most beautiful white bark and an elegant fountain shape. Secondly, a slender rowan which will have red berries. Both were planted and the garden lights then cabled up so are now working. Wow. Not sure if I can take photos in darkness to illustrate the effect but will experiment. When it stops raining I will take a photo of the trees in daylight. When dh went to buy the cable, not surprisingly he succumbed to the lure of more plants. He got another couple of beautifully coloured cornus and two climbing roses, one of which he remembers being very much loved by his Nan, which is a lovely happy association. We have also been experimenting with top dressings on the raised bed. We had considered glass but that seems to be too disco even for us - so we currently have little circles of a green chipped stone around some of the plants. It doesn't look too much like a municipal cemetery thankfully so we may get some more. He also bought a winter jasmine - they aren't rare but they are lovely and I like them for their cheerfulness in a dark time of the year.

Because the purchase of the green chips needed a visit to a diy shed, we also looked at Christmas lights. Those who know me will know that I would be delighted to have a house looking like the strip in Las Vegas, hopefully visible from space. My dear one has unaccountably more restrained tastes and even threatened me at one point with a Martha Stewart christmas when I was getting tiresomely over-excited. This is one of the those marital testing points that you have to negotiate. At the time of writing, a flashing snowflake is hanging on the front of the house with a static tree shaped light to be erected also. After that, who knows what will follow? Watch this space.