Sex File: My husband prefers gardening to making love 

"Don't make this conversation about sex, and try to avoid making it about you - simply focus on how he is, and be prepared to really listen. The next conversation can come further down the line."

Picture: iStock 

My husband and I have no children and are free to have sex whenever we want. We're only in our 50s, but now it seems he prefers being out in the garden to being in the bedroom with me. When we do have sex it's always at night. I miss our afternoon delight - and isn't he a bit young to prefer gardening to sex?

Although it is quite possible that this dry spell is a blip that will resolve itself in time, a lot of men begin to struggle emotionally when they are in their 50s, so it could be that he has retired quietly to the potting shed to examine his life's purpose and question how to make the best use of the time that is left to him.