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Having visited various back gardens over the last 12 months, I’ve noticed a growing trend – to create an undercover seating area to host friends and family outdoors! If you are thinking the same here are my top tips for creating a cosy seating area for all weathers:

• Use an existing pergola or outdoor structure and add a roof, either permanently in corrugated iron or polycarbonate plastic or temporarily using bamboo screening or a tarpaulin and weave it through battens to secure it.

• Use a sail, awning or tarpaulin to create a semi-permanent option – get inspiration from camping websites on how to pitch it with guy ropes, poles or to existing structures. Try to create sides using angles and lower placed fixings.

The new year brings in new health habits, like dry January, but have you heard of ‘Veganuary’? ‘Veganuary’ encourages the ‘vegan-curious’ to completely give up all animal and animal-derived products such as meat, poultry, fish, seafood, dairy, gelatine, eggs and honey in January. Eating only plant-based foods may be fashionable but vegans mainly follow such as diet for ethical, environmental and health reasons. Whilst a vegan diet may have some health benefits if carefully planned, it can also be unhealthy if not undertaken properly. Here are my tips to help you to get started as well as a few key nutrients to not overlook.

Winter is the time when you can plan for next year’s garden. There’s nothing better than browsing through seed and plant catalogues and thinking about what you want to grow again or for the first time. Here are some tips to help you get ready for 2021:

• Think about what worked well this year and what didn’t. What kept on flowering, or what kept producing? What looked amazing or what tasted amazing?

• Think about the time you spent gardening this year. Do you want to spend more or less time next year?

• If you sowed annual flower seeds last year collect their seed or leave them to set their seed for free plant babies.

One of the joys of gardening is seeing the seasons change outside of our windows. The Autumn colours have been so bright this year and signal a slowing down in growth or the end of the life cycle for some of our plants. Winter beckons and there are some jobs we can do to prepare our gardens and ourselves for the winter ahead.

* Collecting those leaves from our lawns is very important to give them the fresh air they need to survive the winter. Raking is a great job to get your heart pumping and your arms working. My top tip: put them in a compost bin straight away or the wind will make your job take twice as long!

* You don’t need to be so tidy in your flowerbeds though. Clear the leaves from around plants but make piles of leaves in the back of beds for insects and small mammals to make into their winter home.

With the change of seasons, children back at school (sniffles, snot, colds and bugs galore!) and coronavirus cases on the rise, the best thing you can do right now for your health is to support (not boost!) your immune system. Here are my five top tips to bulletproof your immunity this autumn.

1. Eat real food, avoid sugar and processed/junk food.

2. Look after your gut (where 80% of your immune system is). Include probiotic foods (good bacteria) e.g. natural live yogurt, kefir, kombucha, unpasteurised sauerkraut, kimchi or miso, and prebiotic foods, the food for good bacteria, e.g. onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, oats, cooked and cooled potatoes or green bananas to your diet.