As I mentioned in last week’s column, I will be speaking for the Hardy Plant Society at Little Mill Village Hall on Saturday (2.30) and talking about ‘A few of my favourite things .. ‘. Unsurprisingly most are also suitable for Christmas presents so I’m going to share them here now too. If you are going on Saturday and don’t want any ‘spoilers’, please stop reading now.

Asking me to pick my favourite gardening tool is hard, but if pushed it would probably be my Okatsune secateurs. They are small, (mine are No.101’s), incredibly sharp, have red and white handles which has enabled them to be found in a wheelbarrow of cuttings or even a compost heap more than once, and they make the most satisfying ‘clunk’ sound every time you cut something. They have taken over from the traditional Felcos (which were a cherished Christmas present from my dad forty years ago, and now have pride of place hanging above my woodburner) by a country mile. I remain quite fascinated by the Tobisho Hiryu secateurs which are £299.00 and popular for pruning cherry trees in Japan.

Keen gardeners could do most of their Christmas shopping on the www.niwaki.com website and several more of my fiercely guarded gardening tools are from there. Possibly one of the most used is my little hand weeding hoe, sharp enough to cut weeds off and light enough to use all day. The Hori Hori knife is a fabulous all-rounder – and best bought with it’s own holster to save you putting it down in a flowerbed and losing it.

All the Japanese cutting tools are just sublime. Light, sharp and perfectly balanced to be able to use all day – they are designed predominantly for topiary and they are definitely ‘on the cutting edge’ of all that.

A bigger ‘present’ and something I couldn’t so without now is my tripod ladder from www.henchman.co.uk - as a bonus they also offer the best customer service. The ladder is another Japanese design - choose the one with three adjustable legs and you will be able to use it on the most testing of terrains – safely. And it’s lovely and light to carry too.

Another thing that make my life easier in work is my suede Gardener’s Apron, which is more of a ‘tool-belt pouch’. I’m not known for my fashion sense but I love wearing this ‘pouch’ everywhere, as I can put my phone, wallet and numerous lists in it comfortably. It’s beautifully made from www.connellofsheffield.com and I love it.

My brother bought me a Stihl pair of loppers for last Christmas which are light and sharp and great for branches in between secateurs and saw. And my trusted ‘folding saw’ has earned it’s keep several times over, not only in work but on walks after the likes of Darragh.

Gardening gloves are always welcomed by gardeners. You can’t have too many as there is always a pair that are drying out, a pair that the dog has run off with one ‘hand’ and a pair that you can’t quite remember what you did with. I get mine from R M Jones (the thermal ones really are thermal) but Abergavenny Garden Centre has a good selection too.

I have bought Mum a bird feeder to stick on the window this year (it’s OK, she doesn’t read my columns) and I think she’ll love having feathered visitors. It’s an award winning design and I was so touched to see the little sticker on the box saying ‘I hope this has arrived with you safely. Please let me know. [email protected]’

At Christmas time especially, it’s worth remembering that little things can make ‘big smiles’.