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 ...
The best flowers for bees, and easy ways to make your garden bee friendly
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 ...
Nature Crafts for Kids: how to make a journey stick
Making a journey stick is such an easy, fun outdoor craft to do with the kids - and a great low-cost way to have some fun family time. We learnt what a journey stick is and how to make one at our local Skylarks nature reserve in Nottingham, which is part of the Wildlife Trusts. What is a journey stick? I'd never heard of journey sticks before, but apparently they've been around for a very long time. A journey stick (also known as a ...
Easy sustainable gardening: eco-friendly gardening tips for greener gardens
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 ...
Win a nature books bundle for all the family
Welcome to another brilliant book giveaway! I've teamed up with the lovely people at Welbeck Publishing again, to bring you another fab prize bundle of outdoors-y books for all the family. The bundle includes six titles, each with a nature or outdoor theme, and is worth £106. Let's take a look at each book in more detail. RHS The Rose The Rose tells the story of the world's favourite flower, through 40 of the most popular and ...
Gardening in June: jobs to tackle this month
Welcome to your one-stop resource for quick and easy gardening jobs for June. If you always feel like you don’t have enough time for gardening, or just need some guidance on what to focus on each month, this is the series for you! You can check out my garden jobs for every other month in this post. Gardening in June With everything growing so fast this month, I think the ‘little and often’ approach is best for gardening in June. Keeping ...
Growing sunflowers in a pot: fun gardening for kids
Are you growing plants with the kids this year? If you're looking for easy seeds to grow with children it's hard to beat growing sunflowers in a pot. And now is a great time to get planting! As well as producing seriously impressive blooms, sunflower seeds are easy for little hands to deal with, and pretty low maintenance to grow. They're also brilliant for local wildlife; the flowers are great for bees and other pollinating insects, ...
Win a bundle of nature books and bring the outdoors inside
Welcome to a lovely new giveaway! This one is perfect for nature fans and anyone who's keen to bring more of the outdoors into their home - which is pretty much all of us right now isn't it? I've got a fantastic bundle of five Paperscapes books from Welbeck Publishing worth £100 to give away to one lucky winner. The Paperscapes series of books features wonderful illustrations and lyrical text, with press-out sections that transform the ...
The importance of green space in London
Collaborative post When people first think about London, usually it is of the busy streets, the major tourist attractions, and the tube. London is a major metropolitan city, but it also has many large, beautiful green spaces which are hugely important to the capital in a number of different ways. Cleaner Air One of the main reasons that green space in London is so important is that it helps to provide cleaner air. This is vital in a ...
60 fun garden activities for when you’re stuck at home with the kids
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 to keep kids busy and get them outside. Scroll down for online resources and recommended reads too. Things to do in the garden when stuck at home with the kids 1. Grow your own salad from Growing Family 2. Recycled garden markers from Pink Stripey Socks 3. DIY slate bunting ...