I have endeavoured to practice what I preach this week and hope that my pots and containers will be flourishing when a much-loved green-fingered niece arrives from the UK in the New Year.

As a migrant, many more years ago than I can recollect, one of the first cut flowers I was given was the NSW Christmas Bush – currently on sale in nurseries and garden centres at this time of year.

In its natural temperate habitat Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum) demands good drainage – doing well in sandy soils but not clay. So for those who would like to grow some in a somewhat cooler climate, a well-drained site with protection from the wind will allow it to grow and colour as it needs. Propagate from cuttings if you wish.

Live pines in tubs, whether growing in the garden or brought indoors for a week or two, make splendid Christmas trees.

Picea (the Norway Spruce), the traditional European Christmas tree with cones, will stay indefinitely in a tub providing it is cared for. The Norfolk Island Pine has a much more open growth but offers plenty of room to hang ornaments and gifts.

Over the decades, since it was discovered growing in a rainforest valley in the Blue Mountains, many thousands of Wollemi pines have been propagated and sold as Australia’s own. Keep container-grown Wollemi evenly moist in a sheltered semi-shaded spot.

Cut pines need to be kept damp in a bucket of sand and regularly topped up with a preservative of four tablespoons iron chelates in four litres of water, plus two tablespoons of sugar and two tablespoons of bleach.

The iron will help the cut tree retain its colour, the sugar will provide nourishment and the bleach prevent fungal growth.

Such cuttings can be recycled in the new year. Dried needles make a good mulch for strawberries, the side branches will support late summer perennials, while the centre stem is a pole for climbing beans.

A safe and happy Christmas to you all. Join me again on January 9 when we can continue to grow together.