Today I'm looking forward to preparing the greenhouse's seed beds and getting the place warm again. The heating is cleverly taken from the main house and at little extra cost: old fashioned hot water pipes, heavily insulated under the earth, are directed to the greenhouse to warm it through via a pump. Additional insulation jackets the greenhouse's glass roof from end-to-end. Whoever thought of this heating and insulation must have been genius. This will mean we can get a start on growing tomatoes and herbs well ahead of time.

Also I'm looking forward to dunging up the garden with manure the local farmer is offering for a few banknotes and the lorryload dumped around the side.

Let's hope he's not a wally and dumps it up against our front door. Imagine my daughter calling out, "Mummy, guess what? ***t's happened!