the glorious continuation of Christmas trees

Two visits to London in the last two weeks. The first, to see the Turner Prize, four little garden rooms which create as much coo and trill as show gardens always do.

First up was a spectacular Junkyard Assemblage Garden by Helen Marten. Lots of her pieces were hand-cast; all invited closer looks, in more detail. The use of a dividing wall made peek-a-bo games of the pu blic presence. Next up, a Kinky Walled Garden by Anthea Hamilton, firmly in the decadent gardener tradition with high brick and floral privacy walls enclosing a world of golden buttocks, pants and discarded clothes. The Modern Art Enthusiast Garden from Josephine Pryde took a leaf from Banksyland and offered the unfulfilled promise of a ride on a tittle graffitied subway train. The the incredible Apocalyptic Beach Garden from Michael Dean finishes the show, with its solomn pebble drifts and jutting semi-sculpts. This one wins for me.

On the way out we spot the Christmas tree: nice work.

On the second trip we visit my sister for first Christmas (large families mean we have several). The tree arrives when we're there and is put up. The kids are of an age when decorating the Christmas tree can be a whirlwind, but I time them to 13 minutes.

Christmas is coming.