I don’t feel like I’ve got it at all, but I understand her instructions and can see how the wreath will take shape. It’s too early to make fresh wreaths and garlands for sale yet, so I’m practising with a pile of shearing offcuts, the overgrown tops of the holly hedges, sprigs of berries, pinecones, and some ferns that were growing wild. I’m pulling them all together in little bunches and tying them to the metal wreath ring with floral wire, alternately tilting each bunch inwards and outwards so it fills the ring and maintains a nice round shape.

Glenna is an absolute expert wreath-maker. Noel sells the autumn wreaths she makes at the market, and they are so incredible that you think they must be artificial, but they’re not – she’s just that good. They’re laden with orange, yellow, red, and brown leaves, which I see her out gathering around the farm every morning. She’s got cinnamon sticks, pinecones, the crisp orange cases of Physalis lanterns, twigs of Alder cones, bunches of winged sycamore seeds, and miniature pumpkins and apples, and they practically fly off the stall even though they’re one of the most expensive things Noel sells.

She whizzes through a festive one with my supplies and finishes it off with a big red bow from a spool of ribbon she brought over.

‘Wow.’ I don’t try to hide how impressed I am as I get my own wire tangled and snap a fir branch by mistake.

‘You’ll get there with a bit more practice, flower. You’re already getting the hang of it.’ She reaches down to stroke Gizmo who’s pottering around our feet in the barn. ‘You’re a natural. You chose all these greens, and even thought of the ferns. I wouldn’t have thought of using them but they work well.’

I blush even though I don’t believe her.

I was lucky to find one of Mr Evergreene’s old stone outbuildings contained nothing but Christmas decorations. Boxes of outdoor lights, tinsel, now-faded festive signs, and tons and tons of supplies, from a box full of wreath rings and wire, to elf hats, bags of jingling bells, boxes of baubles, and hanging snowflakes. It was like everything I’ve thought of to make this place better was already there waiting for me, in the building with the least leaky roof.

‘If I can make enough of these, I could display them on my fence that runs alongside the road, it’d be a great way to show them off.’ I tie my last little bundle of greenery onto the ring and poke the ends underneath the brush of the first bundle to hide them, then I get a bunch of holly berries and slot that in too. I check my watch to see how long it’s taken me.