When Mr N showed us how the evergreen tree at the end of his garden was tilting at a wonky angle – despite the efforts of himself and his neighbour to tie it upright – we set to work to find a solution. Jacqueline leaned on the trunk to take the pressure off the binding, while Linda undid the knots and re-tied the tree using a fence post to keep it beautifully straight.

Mr N was delighted with this and the other jobs we tackled to get his much-loved back garden ready for adding new plants in the spring. We moved leaves from the paved and gravel areas to use as mulch on the borders and, with Mr N’s cheerful help, collected up prunings to go into a wheelie bin for council composting. Hopefully he can now enjoy the Christmas period looking at a tidier view from his windows.