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Bay trees are a great christmas present for people who enjoy cooking or gardening. It's lovely to be able to snip off fresh leaves to add to meatsauce, stews, casseroles and stocks (make sure you remove the leaves before serving). It will save you paying high prices for not so fresh leaves in a pack from the supermarket. The bay is evergreen so leaves can be taken all year round.

If you have a young bay tree, it is advisable to bring it in to a cool room at this time of year either a greenhouse or close to your property wall to protect it from hard frosts. Alternatively, leave it outdoors and wrap it with horticultural fleece if a frost is predicted.

The most common problem with bay trees is scale, which is a brown scale found under the leaves. It is good to be vigilant and check the leaves regularly; scrape the scale off to protect the tree.

Other uses for bay leaves:

• Bay is one of the key ingredients of bouquet garni (just add parsley and
  thyme to complete).
  

• add to hot milk to flavour custard or rice pudding.
  

• add to poached fish dishes.
  

• also essential for flavouring classic sauces such as bechamel, bread sauce and
  tomato sauce.
  

• add 8 to 10 small bay leaves to olive oil in a roasting dish to flavour roast
  potatoes.
  

• tuck inside fish before baking
  

• thread onto skewers of ingredients to be grilled, or lay in a roasting tin around
  food to be baked.