I know I like going to garden centres but I didn't think I would make 5 visits since Christmas!

I got the bit between my teeth! I'd been looking at the way the website works which lets our lodge. There was a tick box for Cottages with Christmas Decorations. Well, as some of you know, I go to a lot of trouble to decorate our lodge and give visitors extra treats.  So, I set about finding what I had to do to qualify for this description. I needed a bigger tree, tree lights and a wreath on the front door.

As it happens, we already have a booking for next Christmas but I thought that as all Christmas decorations are half price at the moment, this was a good time to go out and buy some things! The prices will have gone up by this time next year and who knows what effect Brexit will have. The tree we chose came from The Netherlands.

So today, instead of doing what everybody else was doing, and taking their Christmas trees down on 12th night, I was putting one up so that I can submit photos of it for their website!

While I was at the garden centre I took a shot of fresh growth on the rhododendrons. As well as the tree I bought an artificial poinsettia for the lodge (so that visitors wouldn't have dead leaves dropping off every day). I was looking at it while we were in the cafe. To my amazement water dribbled all over the floor! Someone had watered an artificial plant!