OUR garden is about five years old now, and things have gone pretty well overall. There’s always a tendency to overplant and finish up with plants crowding each other out, but it hasn’t done too badly.

I’ll use this winter to do some surgery and maybe remove one or two items but nothing too drastic. One plant that has exceeded expectations is a Himalayan honeysuckle that is next to the patio and has gone a bit bonkers.

Originally from the Himalayas (really?) and south east Asia, it was introduced into the UK in 1824. It is covered in pinky-coloured flowers and bees were all over it as a sort of buffet for insects.

However, it is a pretty vigorous plant and hasn’t done much to preserve the view. I have a cunning plan for next year to cut it back a bit before it flowers and, hopefully, it will still flower but without all the foliage.

It reminds me a bit of a farmhouse I rented as a young chap in South Africa. I initially found one, from a farmer, that was somewhat ramshackle. Geraldine was not impressed, especially as the hot water was from a tea urn on a plank over the bath. I thought it worked fine.

Anyway, one day the farmer came and said he had a better house across the valley – and it was, a simple but neat house in a lovely garden that I eventually had for two years.

It was in a vast field of corn on the cob – mealies, in South Africa – which was planted about October. By Christmas, the view was entirely blocked by the crop. This problem lasted until a magical day about June when the combine harvester munched past and, suddenly, we could see the outside world! Hopefully, the honeysuckle won’t be quite as aggressive.