Books and plants can make great presents

Final countdown to Christmas has begun, but have you bought all your presents?

- BY TOM PATTINSON

Or are you still searching for inspiration?If a possible recipient is a keen gardener or has just shown a mild interest in plants, perhaps a few ideas might be helpful.

You could arrange for a bouquet of flowers to be delivered on Christmas Eve, and with care they'd last over the festive period.

Better still, buy a flowering pot plant of perennial nature that will bloom for many weeks and deliver it yourself.

Cyclamen, azalea, and orchid are good value for money.

The phalaenopsis orchid is outstanding, offering arching stems of spectacular blooms that last for months.