By Carol Stocker
There are lots of holiday horticultural organization and garden club events this month, including Tower Hill’s annual “HOLLY DAYS is a horticultural celebration of the winter holidays. It will highlight a gastronomic
theme with hand-crafted ornaments, November 23rd through December 30th. Tower Hill’s Stoddard Education Visitors
Center is magnificently decorated with trees, wreaths, and swags adorned with gleaming
lights and exquisite ornaments, making use of natural materials such as dried flowers,
leaves, seeds, seed-heads, cones, branches, and fruits.
Admission: The HOLLY DAYS exhibit and entertainment is included with garden admission;
$12 Adults, $9 Seniors (65+) and $7 Youth (6-18), children under 6 and Members admitted
FREE. Discounted group rates are available. NEW this year: In keeping with the food
theme, canned goods will be collected for Rachel’s Table Food Pantry; visitors can
deduct $1 from their admission for each can donated, limited to 6 cans per person,
per visit; no other discounts apply.
Hours: Daily from Nov. 23-Dec. 30, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., Wednesdays until 8 P.M., CLOSED
December 24, 25, 31, and January 1. Tower Hill is located at 11 French Drive in
Boylston, Massachusetts, three miles north of exit 24 off Route 290. For more information,
contact Tower Hill Botanic Garden at 508-869-6111, or visit the website at www.towerhillbg.org

December 7 8, noon to 3 p.m. (approx) Canton Garden Club House Tour “Songs of the Season” – The tour will feature 3 homes and 1 public building (Pequitside). Friday evening the Canton Choral Society will entertain at Pequitside Also at Pequitside will be a boutique and greens sale as well as refreshments.
Location: 3 homes and Pequitside
Cost: $25

Dec. 8, The Nahant GC, presents “Nahant Holiday House Tour Tea” – The Nahant Garden club is having a holiday house tour and tea in December: Nahant Holiday House Tour and Tea, 11 AM – 3 PM, December 8, 2012 $30.Cost: $30 Contact: (781)581-1282 or (782)598-0309 for information and tickets.

Dec. 8 The Belmont GC, “Holiday House Tour” – See: www.belmontgardenclub.info for more information.

 

With winter fast approaching, it’s important to ensure one’s home is in tip-top shape to weather the harsh elements that are sure to accompany the coming months. 

Here are some tips home owners should go over when winter-proofing their home:

• Check the foundation of your home. Debris should be raked away from the foundation and entry points should be sealed up to prevent small animals from crawling up under house, foundation cracks should be sealed, check sill plates for dry rot or pests and crawlspace entrances should be secured.

• Check your roof, gutters and downspouts. Inspect and if necessary add extra insulation to attic to prevent the warm air from getting out, which can cause ice dams. Make sure water cannot get into your home by checking the flashing. Worn or missing roof shingles or tiles should be replaced. Use a hose to clean out gutters, and leaf guards on gutters to direct water away from your home.

• Prepare pipes to avoid freezing. Know where you water main is in case of an emergency shut off. Insulate exposed plumbing pipes. Drain garden hoses. Drain air conditioner pipes. If you have one, turn off the water shut-off valve.

• Seal off areas that might leak air. Drafty windows and patio doors with clear plastic. If you have a lot of outside doors that leak air, you can seal a few off using plastic or caulk putty. If you have a fireplace, close the damper when the fireplace is not in use.

• Optimize what warmth you have access to. Uncover all south-facing windows to let all possible sunlight in your home. Reverse the direction of ceiling fans to push hot air downward and delay it from escaping the house. Consider hanging thermal curtains to help prevent drafts.

• Insulate, insulate, insulate! Install foam insulators behind the face plates of light switches and electrical outlets. Consider hanging thermal curtains to help prevent drafts. Install a dryer vent seal to prevent cold air from traveling back into your home. If your home has folding attic stairs, consider insulating the door with a cover of some sort.

• Check windows for leaks. Windows with wooden frames often warp and become inefficient. Caulk both sides of the trim around your windows. This is an area where a lot of air can get in. Remove any window-unit air conditioners.

• Keep all closet doors closed when possible. There’s no need to heat space that isn’t in use as long as it doesn’t contain water pipes.

• Replace what needs replacing.the caulking around any bathtubs or showers, worn or missing shingles.

• Follow instructions. If you are using generators to supply temporary electricity, follow the generator manufacture’s instructions for safe usage. 

Julia Shutt shares her knowledge of plants.

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Have you ever seen a beautiful garden and thought, ”I wish that was in my backyard”? If you said yes, it’s easy to start your own garden. My Junior Girl Scout troop had a special visitor that taught us about gardening.

You might have seen her HUGE garden while driving down Lake Road in Bay Village. This amazing gardener is Julia Shutt. Julia started in advertising but her love of gardening made her switch careers. She is now a well-known landscape designer for Maple Leaf Landscaping Inc.

Julia created a PowerPoint presentation for us called “Are You a Gardening Girl?” It included some facts and tips about gardening. In her PowerPoint, Julia includes 10 reasons to garden:

1. Partner with nature.
2. Learn about flowers.
3. Become exterior designers. I liked that because she showed us a picture of a little fairy garden. The only way you could tell it was tiny was a part of a person’s foot that was in the photo.
4. Grow organic. People should know that eating fresh, organic foods is better than getting food that had been sitting in the store for a long time. To be organic, you do not use chemicals.
5. Use sun power.
6. Reuse and recycle.
7. Notice how things grow.
8. Just be outdoors.
9. Get creative ideas like making art out of natural things.
10. Plant what’s beautiful.

Between Julia’s lesson and a Lake Erie Nature and Science Center Girl Scout class the next day, our troop earned a flower badge. Now, I know a lot about flowers that I didn’t know before! 

OK, here we are again. That time of year where it is non-stop feasting and festivities. Lots of fat, sugar and alcohol — sometimes (as with certain liqueurs and eggnogs) all in one glass, other times spread out over food and drink. 

Want to know how to have a good time, fulfill all the social obligations and still have a waistline come January?

There are lots of ways we can be mindful and not blow the caloric budget, yet still go out and have a nice holiday season. Here’s a list of some tips that I have compiled and shared with my clients through the years on how to get through the holiday season and not gain weight.

When you go out, wear tight clothes. Sound funny? If your waistband is digging into your tummy, you are not likely to eat your way into the next size up. You have a reminder digging in. Better yet, if it really digs in when you try to sit down. 

Don’t position yourself close to the buffet table or the bar. Move to the far end of the room — that way you will really have to think about going to get some food or another drink rather than just mindlessly reaching for more while you are talking. If the conversation at the far end of the room is really fun, maybe you’ll forget about another fill-up. Tip: hang out with interesting people! You can’t talk with your mouth full.

Eat before you go out. Eat sensibly and stick to your diet and don’t be tempted by the fat, sugar, salt and chemicals that are being offered as treats. In your heart and mind you know better. 

For every alcoholic drink you have, drink a glass of water. This not only keeps the calories down, it also helps you from overdoing it and getting drunk and hung over — never pleasant experiences.

Don’t forget to workout. It is easy to forgo your fitness when the fun beckons, but all the gains that you made over the last months fade if you don’t keep it up.

With exercise you get “a body back guarantee!” Kind of like brushing your teeth or washing your hair, it’s just something you need to keep doing to look good and be healthy.

Put an especially good photo of yourself on the fridge door and on the door out to the car. Do you want to mess with that? Think before you swallow. “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips” is a truism. 

Most of the holiday “goodies” look way better than they taste. If you really need to taste some, take a small serving and enjoy that (or not) and then make a decision as to whether you’ll have some more. Is it worth it?

If you decide that you are going to eat more or drink more than usual, then workout more than usual. Calories out can balance calories in, but if you have ever checked out how long you need to be on the bicycle or the treadmill in order to rid your body of the calories in a load of ice cream, then you will realize it is a long haul. Better to limit the intake. It is actually easier. 

If you are entertaining, do everyone a favor and have low-calorie, healthy snacks on hand, too. You may be especially proud of your rich and elegant desserts and appetizers, but it is a good host that thinks of others who may be trying their best to keep fit and healthy throughout the season. My favorite line when someone tries to push something on me that I really don’t want is, “That looks lovely! I’m sorry I can’t have that, for health reasons.” True words and the host cannot push any further.

I truly wish you all the very best of the upcoming six or so weeks. Have fun, see your friends and family and do your best to stay true to yourself. You don’t have to gain a lot of weight and then spend the next few months prying it back off.

Just be sensible throughout this holiday season and use a few thoughtful tricks to eat and drink responsibly.  

 

• Jane Riley, M.S., B.A., C.P.T., C.N.A., can be reached at janerileyfitness@gmail.com, 808-212-1451 or www.janerileyfitness.com.

Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft is a national authority on drought-resistant gardening. Twice a month, she and her staff share their knowledge with readers.

When people think of an Agave, they usually picture something along the lines of the classic Century Plant, Agave americana. With its swordlike leaves, which bear stout teeth along the edges and are tipped with a sharp spine, it has an imposing presence.

But Agave is a very diverse group, and many kinds look quite different from Agave americana. One of these is the delightful species Agave striata, a modest-sized plant with heads of needlelike leaves that are roughly 2 to 3 feet in diameter. It is sometimes mistaken for a Yucca because of its resemblance to Yucca whipplei (alternatively named Hesperoyucca whipplei and sometimes called Our Lord’s Candle).

While Agave striata and Yucca whipplei look alike, the leaves of Agave striata are narrower.          Yucca whipplei leaves are straight, while those of Agave striata tend to curve. Over time, Agave striata becomes a multiheaded cluster of rosettes, while Yucca whipplei usually remains single — though some forms produce offshoots and form clumps.

Yucca whipplei can range in color from gray-green to blue-green to silvery. Agave striata has a greater range of leaf hues, including green or blue-green. But Agave striata may also be tinged with pink, red or purple, especially in hot, dry conditions.

Like

other Agave species, A. striata grows for many years without flowering, then puts out a tall stalk from the center of the rosette for a final burst of flowering before it dies. The stalk, which has no side branches, rises to 6 and 8 feet. Its lower portion bears wispy threadlike bracts, which are actually miniature modified leaves. The upper part holds the tubular flowers, which can be straight or curved and are surprisingly variable in color — yellow, yellow-green or vivid emerald green, sometimes tinted with red or purple, or completely dark purple.

The pollen-bearing stamens extend well beyond the petal tips, putting the yellow pollen on prominent display. In its native northeastern Mexico, A. striata is a spring- or summer-blooming species, but our plants at the Ruth Bancroft Garden seem to obey no rules and flower at any time of the year. This fall, we have four plants in bloom, with a fifth starting to send up its flower stalk.

Agave striata makes a wonderful garden addition with its neat “spike-ball” rosettes. It may be tempting to seek out particular plants with pink or red leaves, but it is worth noting that the coloration might not persist after planting, unless grown in soil that is not too rich, with lots of sun and little water.

If you have a question for the Ruth Bancroft Garden, email info@ruthbancroftgarden.org.

George Weigel’s Winter Season Tip of the Week video: How to Pick a Fresh Christmas Tree… and Keep It That Way
The Christmas-tree season comes early this year, thanks to the earliest-possible arrival of Thanksgiving Day. That means you’ll have to pay extra special attention to getting a fresh tree if you want it to have needles by Christmas. George Weigel shows you how in this week’s video. Video by Christine Baker/The Patriot-News
Watch video

By

GEORGE WEIGEL

The Patriot-News

on November 21, 2012 at 8:41 AM

Brought to you by

The Christmas-tree season comes early this year, thanks to the earliest-possible arrival of Thanksgiving Day. That means you’ll have to pay extra special attention to getting a fresh tree if you want it to have needles by Christmas.

George Weigel shows you how in this week’s video.

For more garden tips, check out the links below.

• Fig tree not bearing any fruit
• Is evening primrose a flower or a weed?
• Check out more gardening tips and tricks »

Look for George Weigel’s Garden Tip of the Week each Thursday. George Weigel is the garden writer for the Patriot-News and also owner of a garden-consulting business for do-it-yourselfers, garden-tour host, frequent garden speaker, Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist and certified gardening nut.

Related Stories

Some Black Friday deals begin before Thanksgiving

George Weigel’s Winter Season Tip of the Week video: How to Pick a Fresh Christmas Tree… and Keep It That Way

THERE’S a gift out there for every gardener this Christmas, whatever your purse size. Hannah Stephenson checks out some of the best presents on offer for the green-fingered

UNDER A FIVER

– Cupcake Stakes (Poundland, £1 each, available in stores nationwide. Stockists 0800 731 5622): If the gardener likes quirky ornaments, they can brighten up a container or perk up a border with these colourful cupcake stakes in a variety of colours and styles. Bound to create a talking point among guests.

– Novelty Kneepad (£4.99, www.gettingpersonal.co.uk): Ideal for green-fingered friends and family, a practical gift with a fun twist. Place the foam kneepad down anywhere in the garden and save those aching knees. Available with a range of novelty phrases.

UNDER £10

– myBunjee (£6.95, Perennial charity, http://shop.perennial.org.uk): The national horticulture charity Perennial is offering this new device which fits on to any mobile phone handset and features an extendable cord that clips to your bag, coat or belt loop, allowing you to keep your phone close and safe while you are in the garden or elsewhere. Funky colours include hot pink, lime green and black. All profits go to Perennial, the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society.

– Mr Turf (£6.99-£8.99, www.thebalconygardener.com/020 7431 5553): If your man’s pedantic about his lawn, this may be the ideal stocking-filler for his desk. Mr Turf is a ceramic figure with a head full of grass, just seep him in water for an hour and then water every one to two days to watch his hair grow. He comes in five different designs and is only 8cm tall. Ideal for an office desk, windowsill or coffee table.

– National Gardens Scheme 2013 Yellow Book (£9.99, NGS, www.ngs.org.uk): Anyone who enjoys visiting gardens during the year will appreciate this guide to more than 3,800 gardens which will open on behalf of the charity. The recipient will be sent their new edition in February hot off the press.

UNDER £20

– Enamel Herb Pots In A Tray (£14.95, Burgon Ball): Keep favourite kitchen herbs to hand this Christmas in these stylish and contemporary pots. They’re pre-printed with basil, parsley and thyme but any label can be slotted into the window. Available in Jersey Cream and Lime Green.

– Aged Ceramic Bird Bath (£18.50, www.thebalconygardener.com/020 7431 5553): This decorative blue and white patterned birdbath will not only benefit your feathered friends but is easy on the eye too.

– Decorative Enamel Watering Can (£17, National Trust online shop at http://shop.nationaltrust.org.uk): Traditional garden design meets contemporary graphic styling in renowned British illustrator Sally Elford’s watering can. It was inspired by the gardens at Emmetts and Wakehurst Place and with a nod to Fibonacci numbers.

– Piazza Decorative Planter (from £14.99 to £19.99, available in good garden centres and DIY stores, visit www.stewart-garden.co.uk): New from Stewart, these easy-to-move, lightweight stone-effect planters look great in both contemporary and traditional settings. They come in three different sizes and two design colours, granite and marble green, and are ideal for small trees, colourful flowers and tasty salad vegetables.

UNDER £30

– Gardeners’ Hand Care Tin (£25, Crabtree Evelyn, www.crabtree-evelyn.co.uk/0800 111 4406): This luxurious new tin from Crabtree Evelyn makes the perfect pampering present for any tired gardener with sore hands. The subtle pastel green and white tin contains a nail buffer and four favourites formulated with soothing herbs and shea butter for hands that are wonderfully moisturised and conditioned.

– Willow Gift Basket (£24.99, Thompson Morgan, www.giftstm.com, 0844 573 6011): This yummy hamper is packed with luxury goodies, from old-fashioned traditional recipe biscuits and preserves to creamy fudge. Each product is made in the UK from the finest natural ingredients and presented in a reusable woven basket finished with a satin ribbon.

OVER £30

– Boppers High-top Welly Trainers (between £34.99 and £39.99, available from garden centres and retailers across the UK): Fed up with gardening wellies? Briers has brought out these new, shiny-finish high-top welly trainers to combine casual, practical footwear with a colourful splash of fashion. Available in four PVC colours – pink, purple, black and red – they’re a funky way of being splash-proof and stylish at the same time.

– Extra Small Station Lantern (£34.95 www.culinaryconcepts.co.uk or mail order on 01252 852 305): This statement lantern looks great inside or out, in any living space. The stainless steel, nickel-plated lantern is perfect for the patio or to create a cosy ambience in any living room.

– Ciso Secateurs (Bosch, £39.98, from BQ UK stores until Dec 20; RRP £49.98): Anyone who finds manual pruning difficult may appreciate this powered alternative. Perfect for pruning small branches that need trimming back, the cordless Ciso has an integrated lithium-ion battery and a patented ‘Power Blade’ system. Gardeners can glide through branches up to 14mm thick with the press of a trigger. Comes in its own gift tin.

– WoodBlocX Raised Bed (size 2250x1125x450), (£225.95, www.woodblocx.co.uk): Installing a raised bed is one of the easiest ways to create a new vegetable garden. Dragons Den’s Peter Jones has recently given WoodBlocX self-assembly raised beds the thumbs up. The Lego-like pine blocks slot together easily and there’s no heavy lifting, drilling or screwing needed to create a beautiful and functional raised bed in the garden. Smaller beds start at £100.

While the season for giving and shopping and jammed parking lots is here, if you need a break from the hustle and bustle the garden might offer a respite.

Believe it or not, because of our climate, there’s plenty you can do in the yard around your house this time of year.

This is especially true when it comes to planting and transplanting things, but remember the golden rule of gardening: The right plant in the right place. That means you need to think long term like how big the plant will get and how much sun it’s going to need.

“I dress in layers,” horticulturist Ingela Wanerstrand said. She’s putting on one of several pairs of gloves she keeps handy for foggy cold mornings and she’s wearing waterproof rain paints to make sure that when she’s kneeling or digging that she stays dry.

“This is an apple tree,” she says as she hands the large pot to me. Our Northwest weather might be soggy in the winter, but we rarely have freezing temperatures which means it’s perfect for planting and transplanting.

“Then they have the whole winter to grow a root system, so that they’re more able to withstand their first dry season,” Wanerstrand said.

After you’ve selected the spot where you’re planting you’ll want to loosen the soil with a strong garden fork. This will allow you to penetrate the ground and go around large stones, which are easier to remove with a fork than a shovel. Roughly measure the hole you’ve dug and you want to make sure it’s a bit wider than the pot the plant came in. You don’t want the hole to be too deep because with our soils the plant can sink after planted and if it’s too deep the whole area will collect water, causing root rot.

“It’s very important to plant it at the depth at which it was in the pot,” Wanerstrand said.

She also demonstrates making a tiny mound in the middle of the hole that allows the gardener some wiggle room in placing the tree or shrub. Then, gently ease the plant out of the contain and in to the hole.

Next, you’ll want to tease the edges of the root ball if they’re pot bound with a sharp tool that could be anything from a knife to a carpet cutter. This will encourage the edges of the roots to expand into the surrounding soil. You’ll then want to backfill with the same dirt you dug out of the hole, but do not pack the soil down.

A stake is a good idea for our winter winds. A little sway is fine since it encourages the plant to grow stronger roots to prop itself up. Due to the nature of some dwarf root stocks of fruit trees, they’ll have to be staked for as long as they live. Biodegradable twine is optimal for fastening the tree to the stake with a figure 8 twisting pattern, so that the stake and the tree don’t touch each other. Since the twine will degrade over time, you don’t have to worry about it choking the plant like some plastic ties can.

A bit of a moat around the tree will direct water to fill the air pockets left behind from where you did not stamp or press down on the ground. A good soaking is going to give the plant much-needed water, it also will fill those air pockets and help bind the soils in the root ball and the surrounding earth.

“The first dry summer and maybe the second summer, too remember to soak the root ball,” Wanerstrand said.

It’s important to remember you can still put edibles in the ground. Things like kale, that you can get as starts from your local nurseriea, and bulb-like plants like garlic can also go into the ground now. Don’t forget about spring ornamentals like tulips and daffodils — a little work now with these plants will mean a host of flowers in the spring.

Take me there: Café Royal, London

It’s been a high-society café and a decadent nightclub, playing host to everyone from Oscar Wilde to David Bowie, but from 3 December the Café Royal will reinvent itself as London’s newest five-star hotel. David Chipperfield Architects is behind the upgrade of the 19th-century Grade I-listed building on Regent Street, which has been closed for five years. The hotel will have 159 rooms with a midcentury-modern flavour, plus several restaurants and a spa. Rooms will cost from £450, but until March 2013 a special introductory rate of £350 is available, including a bottle of champagne and late checkout. (hotelcaferoyal.com)

It’s a good time to… visit a garden

It’s tempting to go into hibernation, but more gardens than ever will be keeping their gates open this winter. Undeterred by the encroaching nights, Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire will be lighting up its gardens on weekend evenings, with magical walks through the illuminated silver birch grove and statue gardens (1-16 December, adults £10, children £7, nationaltrust.org.uk), while the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Swansea will celebrate the dark skies with a Stargazing Party (23 November, adults £3, children free, gardenofwales.org.uk).

Kew Gardens is offering guided tours of its evergreens, plus a vintage carousel, and if it gets cold you can warm up in the tropical palm houses (1 December-6 January, adults £14.50, children free, kew.org). Glasgow‘s Botanic Gardens have gone one better with the installation of Heliotrope, an immersive “experience” designed to bathe visitors in sunlight and music – a perfect antidote to Seasonal Affective Disorder (24-27 November, free, heliotrope-project.com).

For a truly festive atmosphere, head to Northumberland’s Belsay Hall, which is running a wreath-making workshop followed by a tour of the gardens and lunch (6 December, £50, english-heritage.org.uk).

Give me a break: The week’s best deals

Home The Foley, an 18th-century coaching inn in the village of Claygate, Surrey, has been given a makeover, with the addition of 17 smart new bedrooms and a restaurant serving British menu classics. The normal rate for a double room is £149 including full English breakfast, but a special introductory rate of £89 per night is available until the end of January. thefoley.co.uk

Away Snow is already falling in the Alps, and to encourage skiers to get on to the slopes early AK Chalets is offering a free day’s lift pass for every night stayed in one of their chalets in Verbier or Davos Klosters before Christmas. A four-night stay in December at the self-catering Bois Gentil chalet in Verbier costs from £285pp based on eight people sharing. akvillas.com/ski

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WHAT’S NEW? MORE TRAVEL NEWS

Restaurant
An atmospheric railway scene made from salvaged film sets is the backdrop for a pop-up restaurant at Kilver Court (pictured above), the designer shopping village near Shepton Mallet in Somerset. Stage 1 features original props from British films, including a 19th-century-style platform and coach. Seasonal dishes include treacle-cured venison with sour cherry and apple salad.
• Call 07768 930380 or email stage1@kilvercourt.com. Open until early 2013

Tour
According to the ancient Mayas, time runs in 394.23-year cycles known as Bak’tuns. The current cycle ends on 21 December. To mark this, Guatemala Tourist Board has launched the Bak’tun Route, linking 11 Mayan cities. Join a tour or download a map to follow independently the route, which takes in highlands, rainforest and volcanoes.
• visitguatemala.com/2012

Accomodation
A new holiday rental company, Simply Italy, has around 70 luxury catered and self-catering properties, from villas and farmhouses to castles and towers. Most are in Tuscany and Umbria but there are also properties in lesser-known regions such as Trentino.
• From £445 for seven nights in a Tuscan villa sleeping four, simplyitaly.com

The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lapland, is reopening on 15 December. The new northern lights suites feature an ice sculpture lit and shaped like the aurora borealis – which there’s an excellent chance of seeing this year because of the intense solar activity.
• From £1,152pp for a three-night break with Discover the World (discover-the-world.co.uk) departing 15 December, including flights from Heathrow to Kiruna, a night in a northern lights suite and two nights in a warm hotel room

Winter can be a tough time for our wildlife. Natural food sources start to dwindle in the cold weather as there is more competition from birds and other wildlife, plants may become covered with snow, berry crops come to an end and lakes, rivers and ponds often freeze over.

In harsh winters, birds like blackbirds, song thrushes, and even exotic waxwings – seasonal visitors from Scandinavia – come to our gardens in a search for food.

And feeding birds in the garden is a popular activity – many of us are already feeding our feathered friends at least once a week – so now is a good time to ‘Step Up for Nature’ and start doing our bit to help them survive the cold damp months.

“Feeding in winter can be a life-saver for a wide range of species and will help birds to be in good health when the breeding season arrives next spring”, says Samantha Stokes of the RSPB in the South East.

“Birds feast on natural foods such as berries, fallen fruits and insects during autumn. However, Supplies of these are not limitless. Birds are increasingly reliant on us to provide additional food to get them through the cold winter nights.

“Garden favourites such as robins, blackbirds and finches have come to rely on feeders and tables as fast and easy food. Birds use most of their energy just surviving the cold nights. Our support is essential in making sure they stay alive.”

So if you feel like having some friends round this winter, the RSPB have five top tips for making sure you are the ‘host with the most’ for your feathered visitors.

Be creative in the kitchen. Different birds have different tastes and you are likely to attract far more species if you go for variety. More unusual items to try include pastry, cooked rice, mild grated cheese and cooked potatoes. Birds are polite guests – they won’t moan over a bit of mould on their bread! But avoid any salted foods, and buy toxin-free peanuts from reputable dealers.

Something to drink? Birds need water to drink and bathe in all year. Especially in hard frosts, open water can be hard to find. Change the water regularly and never add salt.

Go for the healthy option. Bird tables and feeders should be cleaned weekly with very dilute disinfectant to reduce the risk of disease.

Choosing your venue. Don’t put food on the ground if your garden is used by cats. And locate your table and feeders near to cover to give songbirds an escape route from predators.

A bed for the night. Now is the time of year to put up nestboxes, not only to give birds a place to nest in the spring but many birds use nestboxes to roost in overnight during cold winter nights.

Follow these tips and you’ll guarantee yourself a great party!

Putting out seed, peanuts or kitchen scraps will help your birds on a day-to-day basis, but now is also a great time to think longer term about turning your garden into a haven for wildlife. A few simple steps taken now will help birds, insects, hedgehogs and bats in the coming spring.

Plant deciduous trees, native shrubs and climbers like honeysuckle, rose and ivy to provide food and shelter. Leave patches of long grass to provide a home for insects, or build a log pile, they are perfect for insects, fungi mosses lichens.

Sow nectar and seed-rich flowers such as alyssum, sunflower and knapweed to encourage insects for birds to feed on.

As well as nestboxes for birds, think about providing winter hibernation places for hedgehogs or installing a roosting box for bats.

Create a water feature such as a pond or bog garden as much wildlife relies on a regular supply of freshwater.