Advent has already begun and we haven’t really made much progress with our Christmas shopping yet. We enter Notcutts garden centre and walk among rows of mini pine trees and red and white poinsettias creating a pretty contrasting pattern. I turn a corner and a myriad of seasonal leafy plants and shrubs complement the winter roses and red amaryllis.

So much effort has gone into displaying the rich winter foliage and celebrating their beauty and it’s a pleasure to wander around any of Hertfordshire’s garden centres at this time of the year. I’d never really thought about how lush and abundant nature can be during these dark winter months.

How lovely it would be, waking up to one of these Christmas bouquets on a cold wintry morning, thick with berries, thistles and foliage sprayed in gold, adding sparkle and subtle fragrances to the dining table.

Inside, giant festive wreaths decorated with mini spruce pinecones, dried oranges and cinnamon stick bundles hang in a perfect line. I’m drawn to the heart shaped mistletoe wreaths sprinkled with white berries and silver glitter.

Both mistletoe and holly played an important role in the Roman festival of light, Saturnalia, leading to the winter solstice, the coming of the new year and the renewal of springtime. I’m pleased that these ancient and medieval traditions of bringing the outdoors in with seasonal evergreen plants are still alive. As we all know, it was Queen Victoria’s beloved Prince Albert who set off the Christmas tree tradition by bringing one into Windsor Castle in 1848.

We move into the Christmas decorations display area divided into woodland, white, red and gold themes. I’m not as attracted to minimal urban Christmas designs as I once was and find myself veering towards the woodland section awash with warm russets and darker oak tones. Deep star-shaped baskets are filled with robins, foxes and owls made with organic materials like tartan felt, faux fur and bristle.

It’ so easy to get seduced by the sheer abundance of Christmas merchandise and forget what we needed in the first place; my husband gets distracted by a tall glitter water spinner inside a lantern depicting a snowy Christmas scene. The snowfall shimmers brightly and we both agree that we should have it.

Moving into the interiors section I love the display of artificial red and orange flowers and have a look at some brightly packaged candles and diffusers. I breathe in a concoction of festive scents with names like frosty night and Yuletide joy.

On our way out we pass by feather-filled cushions and warm fleecy throws. It’s such a cosy section. I spot a meter long and narrow hot water bottle. I’ve never seen anything like it; it’s so weird but our daughter will love it. It’ll be fun wrapping it up she’ll never guess what it is!

  • Marisa Laycock moved from south west London to St Albans in 2000. She enjoys sharing her experiences of living in the city.