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Growing Family

UK home and garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for busy family life, written by Catherine Hughes

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60 fun outdoor activities for when you’re stuck at home with the kids

January 6, 2021 by Catherine Leave a Comment

winter nature craft sowing winter salad seeds

If you're stuck at home with the kids, you're probably in need of some boredom-busting inspiration. Here's a great list of 60 fun things to do in your garden or on a walk that will keep kids busy and get them outside. Scroll down for online resources and recommended reads too. Things to do outdoors when you're stuck at home with the kids 1. Grow your own salad from Growing Family 2. Recycled garden markers from Pink Stripey Socks 3. ...

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Filed Under: Gardening with Children Tagged With: craft, Family, Family Fun, Family home, Garden, Garden games, gardening, Gardening with children, Nature, Nature Craft, Outdoor Play, Outdoors, Wildlife, Wildlife gardening

Easy autumn gardening: planting wildflowers to support bees

August 27, 2020 by Catherine Leave a Comment

This is a collaborative post in partnership with The Grass People Would you like to make your garden more bee-friendly?  If the answer is yes, autumn is a great time to do just that by planting wildflowers. You may already be aware that bees are struggling, with species and numbers in dramatic decline.  Bees play a crucial role in the pollination of plants - and that’s all plants, including food crops.  Around a third of the ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Bees, container gardening, gardening, Gardening with children, growing from seed, Planting, Seeds, Top Tips, Wildflowers, Wildlife, Wildlife gardening

The best flowers for bees, and easy ways to make your garden bee friendly

July 25, 2020 by Catherine 11 Comments

Is your garden popular with bees? If not, here are some easy ways to transform it into a bee friendly garden that these vital insects will love to visit. Why bees are important If you’re interested in gardening and nature, you’re probably aware that bees are in trouble, with numbers and species in quite dramatic decline.  What you might not be aware of is just how important bees are to us, and the planet in general. Native bees ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Bee hotel, Bees, Flowering plants, Flowers, Garden, gardening, Minibeasts, Nature, sustainable gardening, Top Tips, Wildflowers, Wildlife, Wildlife gardening

Easy sustainable gardening: eco-friendly gardening tips for greener gardens

July 24, 2020 by Catherine Leave a Comment

How much do you know about sustainable gardening?  It’s certainly a big issue in the gardening world right now, with high-profile gardeners and TV shows championing the benefits of eco-friendly gardening. What is sustainable gardening? Sustainable gardening is all about minimising human interference, and using natural resources and processes.  This doesn’t mean you have to allow your garden to become a wilderness, rather that you ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Compost, eco friendly gardening, environmentally friendly gardening, Garden, Garden furniture, Garden maintenance, Garden tips, Garden tools, garden trends, gardening, gardening equipment, Pest Control, reducing plastic use, sustainable gardening, watering, Weed control, Wildlife, Wildlife gardening

50 fun ideas to get kids gardening

March 19, 2020 by Catherine Leave a Comment

container gardening with children and dobbies garden centres

If you're keen to keep the kids busy and active, I've got lots of great kids gardening ideas to inspire and occupy them! Children make very natural gardeners in my experience. They love hands-on activities, they’re curious about nature and the world around them, and they generally relish the opportunity to get grubby!  Gardening caters for all of this, and right from the toddler stage it’s perfectly possible for kids to get stuck ...

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Filed Under: Gardening with Children Tagged With: Books, Family, Family Fun, Family home, Flowers, Garden, Garden tips, gardening, Gardening with children, Grow Your Own, growing from seed, Homegrown, Nature, Outdoor Play, Outdoors, Top Tips, Vegetables, Wildlife gardening

Win a wireless wildlife camera worth £149.99 – plus discount code

March 19, 2020 by Catherine 154 Comments

Welcome to a great new wildlife camera giveaway which is perfect for spring, when our garden wildlife starts to get busy! I've got a state-of-the-art Wireless Wildlife Observation Camera worth £149.99 from Wildlife World to give away to one lucky winner. There's also a very generous discount code for my readers on this product, read on for more details :) Wildlife World are based in Gloucestershire, and specialise in the design and ...

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Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: competition, Garden, Gifts, giveaway, Nature, Wildlife, Wildlife gardening

Why gardening is good for you and the planet

May 7, 2019 by Catherine Leave a Comment

Collaborative post Are you someone who’s been gardening for years? Someone who’s only recently discovered the joys of gardening? Or maybe someone who’s never even picked up any gardening tools before, but curious to find out what the hype is all about? Well, gardening engages the body, stimulates the mind and uplifts the spirit! Not only can gardening provide many mental and physical health benefits, but it can also provide environmental ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Garden, Garden tips, gardening, gardening for wellbeing, Grow Your Own, Houseplants, Wildlife gardening

Summer garden makeover ideas with T J Hughes

July 10, 2018 by Catherine 1 Comment

T J Hughes window box with saucer

Aren’t we having the most glorious summer at the moment?  I’m writing this post with the windows open and the sun streaming in, and I’m thinking I really must sort out some shade for my laptop screen so that I can write out in the garden.  I’m desperate to make the most of the season when it’s so glorious out there - particularly after the extra-long cold start we had to the year! Spending more time outdoors in the garden always gives me a ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Bedding plants, Containers, Flowers, Garden, Garden Lighting, gardening, gardening equipment, Gardening with children, Home, Outdoors, Planters, Planting, Plants, Reviews, T J Hughes, Top Tips, Wildlife gardening

11. The 10 minute gardener: winter wildlife gardening

January 23, 2018 by Catherine 5 Comments

wildlife gardening frosty seedheads

Welcome to a special wildlife gardening edition in the 10 minute gardener series.  This time I’m looking at quick gardening jobs you can fit into a busy schedule that will help your local wildlife during winter. Winter is a tough season for garden wildlife; the cold weather demands high-energy food, but natural food sources are hard to find.  Because we don’t spend as much time outdoors in winter, it’s easy to forget that our local wildlife is ...

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Filed Under: Garden jobs this month Tagged With: Birds, Compost, Garden, gardening, Minibeasts, Nature, Top Tips, Wildlife, Wildlife gardening, Winter

Garden tips for creating a winter wildlife haven

November 27, 2017 by Catherine Leave a Comment

winter wildlife robin

Is your garden a winter wildlife haven? We tend to spend a lot less time in our gardens during winter, but that isn’t necessarily the case for our local wildlife.  As well as visiting your garden in search of food, wildlife will also use it as a place to hibernate during the colder months if you’re providing the right conditions. If you’d like to make your garden wildlife-friendly this season, check out this fab infographic from Oeco Garden ...

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Filed Under: Exploring Nature Tagged With: Garden, gardening, Nature, Top Tips, Wildlife, Wildlife gardening, Winter

Welcome!

I’m Catherine, mum, wife, writer and fan of wellies. We love exploring, creating and growing things and my blog shares ideas, inspiration and tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
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Catherine Hughes is a home & garden blogger sharing ideas, inspiration & tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
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