February thoughts

Springs seems further away than it did in January! Even though the mornings are brighter, and there’s a grand stretch in the evening with the recent storms and snow, the outdoors don’t feel like a great place to be. 

The situation in Ukraine is in my thoughts - possibly one of the reasons that this newsletter is so late going out. Hard not to feel paralysed with the news coming in every day. Here are some thoughts that I found helpful.

That said, the snowdrops are out (note, now is a great time to plant snowdrops, they prefer to be moved ‘in the green’). We visited Burtown house, and braved the rain to see masses beneath their lovely old trees. I was especially taken with a weeping chestnut tree.  The main trunk didn’t look too healthy, but there are some seedlings doing well at the margins of the mothers tree. Nature takes care of succession planning. 

My daffodils are just starting too, the exotic ones have a while to go, but the basic ones that are in the ground for decades have just produced flowers - I was able to use some of these for a special get better bouquet just after Valentines day. I had to buy some Irish grown tulips, but everything else is from my garden. And with all the foliage, it will last a long time. 

Tulips are pushing through too - although it may be April before they produce blooms. Hellebores are blooming, but it’s better to pick them later to ensure a good vase life. I may have to pick a few to put into a bowl, though, they are so beautiful. 

Anemones and ranunculus are just starting to bloom in the tunnel, and I’m soaking more that I’ll plant out later. They can handle a little cold, but not too much. And they don’t like to be soggy either. And when the days get too long they stop flowering, which makes for tricky timing - you need to get them out at just the right time so that they miss the worst frost, and there’s time for them to bloom before high summer. 

The ranunculus in particular are so glorious, I can’t not plant them. Look at this beauty.

As we are moving into March, it’s time to get more seeds planted - if you’d like to have loads of annuals to pick in the summer to fill your home with flowers, I’d recommend Calendula, Ammi, Nigella, Cornflowers and Sweetpeas. One thing to realise about annuals - they more you pick the flowers, the more will grow. And if you can’t bear to that that beauty from your garden, then make sure to remove the immature seed heads/dead flowers, that will encourage the plants to produce more blooms. 

Mothers day is March 27th this year, I will have a few bouquets available then, book your bouquet in advance. They will contain daffodils, tulips (maybe), Anemones and ranunculus. And lots of beautiful seasonal foliage.

Earlier in February, I ran a soapmaking course, if you’d like to see some details click here.

I’m planning two March courses - Home composting, and growing and cooking with herbs. 

Composting is such a great way to feed your soil and plants, and at the same time you can educe landfill and food waste. I’d feel really bad throwing a piece of fruit that was gone off in the bin, but feeding worms with it seems like a win-win. Click here to book.

Those of you how know me in real life know that I love to cook and bake, and that when you come to one of my courses you will be well fed. I’m very excited to share some of my favourite recipes, and demonstrate some of the methods I use to grow and cook with herbs. Participants will leave with recipes and a selection of herbs to grow at home. Click here to book.

Finally, I’m excited to be collaborating with The Refill Mill on an Eco-friendly cleaning course. This is a great way to save money, but more importantly to keep the harsh and possibly dangerous cleaning plroucts out of your home. Further details here.