I can’t wait to…

…APPRECIATE BARK

The leaves dropping really throws my focus onto trees’ bark. From the fantastically craggy trunk of an oak to the elegant dilapidation of an elderly silver birch, or a copper beech’s finely-wrinkled elephant leg, a tree’s bark is a compromise between speed of growth (rough) and impenetrability to insect-, herbivore- and parasitic attack (smooth). An oak’s bark grows four times quicker than a beech’s, but is more vulnerable; a birch’s bark ‘exfoliates’ to shrug off lichen and moss; an aspen can actually photosynthesise winter sun just with its bark. They all repay a look and a loving touch. Guy Procter, Editor

…HEAR A LONG-TAILED TIT

Dinky and endearing, these birds’ tiny bodies are like soft-pink pom-poms, decorated with stripes of black and white that stretch to the tip of a tail that’s longer than its body. In winter they gather in flocks, sometimes with other small birds, to flit and forage through the branches for insects, or seeds when fresh bug meat is scarce. In the quiet winter woods you can hear them chattering merrily to each other as they go – high-pitched squeaks like a wheel needing oil and soft whirrs like a distant football rattle – and at dusk they huddle up in tightly-packed lines along twigs, roosting together against the cold of the night. Jenny Walters, Features Editor

…GO FESTIVE FORAGING

The holly and the ivy. Mistletoe and pine. These are some of the plants I look for when I go ‘ornamental foraging’ in December. Heading out with secateurs and a small carrier bag, I like to bring home a bit of decorative Yuletide greenery. Nothing beats the look and aroma of the real thing (responsibly gathered, naturally). When making a wreath, I start with a wicker hoop (a few quid in craft shops), a bushy layer of evergreen sprays, then cuttings of yew and box. I bind it together with ivy and ribbon, then garnish with rosehips, alder cones and sprigs of holly. Et voilà! Philip Thomas, Features Writer