The title of this post is a little bit of a challenge: just how many health benefits can you think of that plants provide? We can probably all name a few obvious ones quite easily. First up is the pleasure we get from seeing a beautiful flower or plant; they have a positive effect on our mood and can really help to cheer us up. Think about how lovely it feels to be given a bunch of flowers and you get the idea. Then there's the impact ...
Win a limited edition Emma Bridgewater vase plus a bundle of Unwins Sweet Pea seeds
With the arrival of spring just around the corner, lots of us are starting to think about planting seeds and looking forward to beautiful blooms in a few months’ time. This fab giveaway courtesy of the lovely people at Unwins is just perfect for helping you out with that! I’m giving away two prize bundles, each containing a limited edition Emma Bridgewater Sweet Pea vase and five packs of Unwins sweet pea seeds. Such a lovely prize, it would ...
What to plant now for your Summer garden
A glorious summer garden. Sitting here in the depths of winter it feels a long way off, doesn’t it? Planning for your summer garden by sowing seeds and introducing plants at this time of year may sound a little hasty, but it really isn’t too early to make a start. It’s actually very sensible to start planning your borders now, because doing so will give you plenty of time to grow a large proportion of plants yourself and save you lots of money ...
Tips for installing a raised bed this spring
If you're looking for inspiration on spring garden projects, this guest post from gardening and home repair enthusiast David Miller exploring the world of raised bed gardening is a great place to start. Heading towards spring and the return of warm weather, it’s always fun to think of the different ways we can work to improve our gardens. Whether it’s something as simple as planting a few new bulbs, or something as involved as constructing a ...
2. The 10 minute gardener: Midwinter gardening jobs
If ever there was a week on the calendar where you need to cut back the garden jobs, it’s this one! Frankly the garden and allotment are nowhere near the top of my to do list; our house is awash with wrapping paper, teacher presents, half-finished festive jobs and crazed children, and I feel like I’m clinging on by my fingernails. Yes, it’s all lovely fun stuff, but hectic nonetheless. But surely I can reclaim 10 minutes from somewhere for ...
Win £52 worth of plants from Blossoming Gifts
Autumn may be upon us, but there are still so many plants that you can enjoy both indoors and outdoors - and I've got a new giveaway that will help you do just that. One lucky winner will receive two beautiful plants from online gift retailer Blossoming Gifts, worth a total of £52. Blossoming Gifts offer a wide range of online gifts, including fresh flowers, hampers, wine and personalised gifts. They've also recently launched a new plant ...
Clay craft: making clay pressings from nature
A couple of weeks ago, we spent a fantastic afternoon exploring nature at our local nature reserve, Skylarks in Nottingham. Skylarks is part of the Wildlife Trusts, and it's a great place to take the kids for a good old outdoor romp. Last year we made journey sticks there, which has become one of our absolute favourite nature crafts. On this particular visit Skylarks was holding an open day, with lots of hands-on activities, ...
5. Taking the Big Boost Challenge with Baby Bio
Welcome to the final update on my Baby Bio® Big Boost Challenge. This little project has been going for almost four months now, and during that time I've really enjoyed watching the effects of using Baby Bio Outdoor® Flowers & Shrubs on my plants. Baby Bio® Outdoor Flowers & Shrubs is a liquid feed tailored to the needs of flowering plants and shrubs, giving you up to 70% more flowers compared with not feeding. It aims to support ...
Nature craft: flower pressing
Oh this flower pressing nature craft has taken me right back to being seven years old :) We've been finding beautiful flowers and petals in nature, then preserving them using a flower press, just like I did when I was little. How have I not done this with the kids until now?! We didn't over-complicate this nature craft; we just worked with what we found in the garden. It was an absolute joy to watch these two exploring ...
4. Taking the Big Boost Challenge with Baby Bio
Have you been following my progress this Summer with my Baby Bio® Big Boost Challenge? Well it's time for another update. I'm using Baby Bio Outdoor® Flowers & Shrubs to show just what a difference the right plant food can make to your plants' size, health and number of flowers. Baby Bio® Outdoor Flowers & Shrubs is a liquid feed tailored to the needs of flowering plants and shrubs, giving you up to 70% more flowers compared with not ...