A Practical Guide to Sowing Spring Seeds in Small Urban Spaces

Urban gardening has quietly taken hold among people who simply want a bit of green in their lives. It doesn't matter whether you've got a balcony the size of a postage stamp, a narrow strip of garden, or just a draughty windowsill - there's usually something you can do with the space you have. Sowing spring flowers is one of the nicest places to start. They're forgiving, they're cheerful, and watching something you planted from seed actually bloom never really gets old. This guide covers the basics of getting seeds in the ground (or compost, more likely) in a small urban space. Nothing too complicated - just the practical stuff that actually makes a difference. Picking the Right Spring Flowers for Where You Are Space, light, and containers - those are the three things worth thinking about before you buy anything. A lot of people assume you need sprawling plants to make a garden feel full, but that's not really true. Compact varieties can look just as good, some......

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Prepare Your Gardens for Winter and Capture Its Beauty

Oddly there is something about winter that makes it a great period to enjoy and capture the beauty & serenity of your garden. It is also a time to winterise your garden, catch up on things that need to be done to prepare your little paradise for the cold months and perhaps, redesign the area to give some brightness and cheer during shorter days, I wrote a little post about on keeping it looking it's best this time of year so do check it out. Here are some tips to keep your garden fresh so that you can still enjoy its splendour when you are outdoors or looking from the inside of your home. Do the Basics Summer does not leave you much time for gardening. After all, enjoying good weather and staying outdoors are far more important than weeding or pruning. Besides, all the plants, shrubs and trees in your garden seem to be doing fine by themselves blooming and growing tall. But it is now time to give your backyard some attention and protect your vegetation. Water the garden......

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Blazers and Bank Holiday style

What a wonderful end to a bank holiday, after a bit of a rainy start it was nice to finish with a blast of sunshine and some time spent in Cardiff at the Street Food Circus and then a walk through the park. You can really sense that change in season with the days slowly getting cooler and more jackets are making there way out from the back of my wardrobe.  I also treated myself to this cute organic Cactus printed tee from one of my favourite ethical brands People Tree and managed to get this for a real steal in their sale and adds that little bit of colour to what would be a straight monochrome outfit. So this weekends street style outfit is Karen Millen trousers, People Tree t-shirt, Wallis blazer, Doc Marten shoes and an Anchor and Crew necklace.  I have to say secretly I am quite looking forward to Autumn, don't get me wrong I absolutely love summer as it's my favourite season of all but there is something so lovely and cosy about Autumn, as well as wa......

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Spring Spritz and Kilner Giveaway

The past few days there has certainly still been that wintery chill in the air but with the sun out buds are starting to show, crocuses have grown, the daffodils have opened up and the days are getting that little bit longer each day. You can sense the change and the feeling of spring is slowly starting to filter into my soul. I really want to get out of the gloominess of winter and burst into colour and thought a nice little Spring Sprtiz would be perfect for that so I had some fun in the kitchen today and came up with this refreshing little number. Green Spring Spritz 1 Apple 1/3 of a Cucumber 1/4 lime Mint leaves Lemon slice Ice cubes Sparkling water. Place an apple (I used a Gala), 1/3 of a cucumber, quarter lime and a few mint leaves into a juicer. Pour into a glass with some ice and top up with sparkling water, add some slices of lemon and there you go - simple as anything. This drink is wonderfully refreshing, full of goodness and is great for those in nee......

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Autumn Inspirations

The only thing that makes the end of summer bearable is Autumn in all its cosy country fashion. It's such a visually inspiring month with the leaves changing to beautiful hues of red, brown and orange as well as the fact you can start layering your clothes and justifying 3 cups of hot chocolate in one day.  Just like with spring, I feel the need to clean, make a few changes to the home and get involved with more crafts. I have made a little list of things I want to do this month especially as it also feels like the calm before the storm that is Christmas, Autumn is truly a time to soak up the smaller quieter moments while still enjoying the last few days of fairly mild weather before plummeting into those ice winter temperatures and being a southern hemisphere ex-pat I will never get used to the biting festive season. So here are a few things we are planning to get up to this Autumn 1. Finish decorating all the bedrooms, making them a place you want to lay your head a......

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A little Instalife

Every couple of weeks or so I love to go through my instagram feed and reflect on what we have been up to, it's serves as a mini diary and also occasionally when I feel we have not been up to much it actually shows me how those little moments captured are the best and even though life seems to be  on a conveyer belt at the moment with weaning, changing nappies, night feeds and teaching a 5yr old to read we have managed to fit a whole lot of fun into our life lately. 1. During my pregnancy I slightly over-indulged, something which I have never really allowed myself to do before, it was fun while it lasted but I know I feel better when I am kind to myself so starting the day with a bowl of low sugar nutty Granola, Greek yogurt and some fresh raspberries 2. Soaking up there last of the summer sun 3. Baby G is very mobile these days, crawling everywhere at hyper speed, pulling himself up onto everything and shuffling around the couch, he is little early doing these things whi......

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Monday kitchen Interiors with HomeSense

With the Great British Bake off starting in two days time I thought I would do a little kitchen and baking inspired post for this Monday Interiors. As some of you may know I love to pick things up for a deal and we are very lucky to have a large HomeSense in Cardiff which stocks some amazing things for the home and really is like a treasure trove, you have to look through a fair amount but we never leave empty handed and have purchased many things from there over the years and they currently have some wonderful kitchen accessories in store. 1. Pink Oil Bottle £16.99 2. Marble chopping board £7.99 3. Striped tea towels £4.99 I really love all the pastel and soft hues paired up with that vintage look, such as the simple but stylish striped tea towels and cute oil bottle which is perfect decanting infused olive oil into. For those who are into baking and fancy trying out some the dishes from The Great British Bake off themselves this Blue Loaf tine for £4.99 would work a t......

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Mini Spring Adventures

So since having baby G we have slowly been getting back out there as like some of you may already know we don't like to stay still for long and with spring arriving we have tried to make the most of every dry day with some kind of mini adventure wether it be at the park down the road, planting seeds in our back garden  or a picnic further afield, we have been enjoying the spring sunshine and while I am still recovering from the c-seeciton my Cosatto Giggle Stroller has been a god-send on these adventures with the little man being tucked up nice and cosy. My mother, Mr A, baby G and I enjoyed a lovely picnic in oath park with some yummy fresh food, hummus, pittas to dip and what not after which we enjoyed a little walk around the greenhouse followed by feeding the swans some bird seeds. It's these simple pleasures that we really love and enjoy the most and seeing all the flower buds starting to pop up is very exciting, can't wait for all the outdoor ......

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Puddles, spotter sheets and autumn inspiration

So since Mr A is learning at home we try to keep things as flexible as possible - we love being outdoors and autumn is the perfect time for seeing the changes of the season first hand as well as spotting different leaves, berries and wildlife. There seems to be so much change going on and it's always wonderful to get out into the fresh air and see it for yourself.  Luckliy it was quite mild as Mr A seems to get warm very quickly, even though I remind him constantly to keep his jacket on he has hit that age were he is adamant to make certain decisions and one of those being what he wears. At least he is finally wearing socks again, after our trip to the South of France he refused to wear socks for a month, so that is some improvement. We collected a lot of fallen Autumn leaves and I have been putting together a few ideas on what to do with them and how to bring more Autumn inspired nature into the home...don't you love these simple crafts? I love......

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