I absolutely love Nerines. I am so impressed with them – not just their beautiful, spherical architectural blooms but their ‘stage presence’ and can-do attitude, boasting their brilliance at this time of year. I remember first seeing them in a garden when I was about 13 or 14 and my dad telling me what they were. I was hooked from then. And I was intrigued and delighted to see them growing almost like weeds in South Africa, where they originate. They are just so hard working and unashamedly take centre stage in any bed and border now, shining brightly at a time where most other plants have ‘burned out’.

The most common variety is the bright Barbie-pink nerine, N. bowenii, which are also the hardiest and easiest to grow. There are great cultivars to choose from including, 'Isabel' with rose-pink flowers, 'Zeal Giant' with large deep-pink flowers, 'Patricia', with light pink blooms and 'Alba' which is white flowered.

They also make great, long lasting cut flowers, are really effective when grown in containers and are also nicely scented.

You might be able to buy them in bloom now from your garden centre, otherwise the best time to plant them is in the spring. The biggest mistake made when planting is planting them too deep. Nerine bulbs need to be planted just below the soil surface, with their neck sticking out of he soil, and about 7-10cm apart. If you plant them too deeply they may well not flower, so take care to ensure the bulbs sit just below the surface – unlike other bulbs.

I have already been asked for ideas for ‘keen gardeners’ for Christmas gifts and although I don’t think Christmas should start before December does, I have succumbed.

I am a huge fan of Cleve Backster, who claimed that his experiments showed evidence that plants could not only respond to physical and chemical stimuli, but that they are capable of picking up the emotions and thoughts of entities around them. This ‘plant perception’ became known as the Backster Effect. I was all set to fly to the States to interview the CIA’s polygraph expert in 2013 but sadly he died the week before I was due to fly out. I would dearly have loved to meet him and his book, ‘Primary Perception: Biocommunication with Plants, Living Foods, and Human Cells’ is still one of the most informative books I have ever read.

But things move on and now, Plant With Willow is a new, modern, smart plant-care system that lets your plants ‘talk’ to you to let you know what they need. The ‘smart sensor’ senses the plants moisture, light, temperature, humidity, and nutritional needs, and then sends simple alerts straight to your phone to relay the information.

The Willow Starter Pack includes one sensor and one Hub – apparently ‘everything you need to begin and to make plant care effortless, intelligent, and also perfect for gifting at Christmas.’ As I’m now out of my depth, I quote: ‘The Hub connects to the app and can support up to 40 Sensors, meaning your Willow network can grow right alongside your plant collection and take the guesswork out of house plant care.’

I have to share the heart-warming comment made by a friend’s grandson as we walked Yogi. The little fella pointed to the beautiful Japanese Acer in all its scarlet autumnal glory and said excitedly, ‘Look! Look! It’s a star tree.’ And then proceeded to pick up the fallen ‘stars’ from under the tree. And there is a superstition that if you catch a falling leaf (star) then you can make a wish.