With many of us staying at home during these current circumstances, more and more people are looking for ways to make the most of the garden and spend more time outdoors. The outdoors has many benefits, for mind, body and overall wellness.
WE’VE PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF IDEAS TO HELP YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR GARDEN
GROW SOME VEG
Now spring has sprung and warmer weather is here, it is a perfect time to plant seeds and pot up some veg. Salad leaves, Beetroot, French Beans, Carrots and Potatoes can all be planted in containers and if you are looking for quick growing veg, why not plant some cut and come again salad leaves. If you don’t have any seeds available, why not try using your vegetable scraps, rather than throwing them out?
For example, ends of leeks, lettuces and spring onions can be placed in pots full of soil, water often and watch regrow.
MAKE A BEE HOTEL
If you’ve got old pallets, scraps of wood, anything that is untreated; why not use these bits to create a Bee or Insect Hotel. This is a great activity to do, especially with kids. The RSPB has a great guide on creating a Bug Hotel, or just have a look online for lots of other ideas. You can fill your Bug Hotel with lots of different natural materials, such as Straw, Moss, Dry Leaves, Wood Chips, Bricks, Pine Cones, Soil, Old Tiles, Old Pots & Bamboo Canes
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
MudandBloom.com provide a monthly box which has everything you need for gardening based craft activities for children aged 3 to 8 years old. They’re easy, fun and educational and really encourage children to get involved in the garden. Also, how exciting for them to look forward to their own parcel arriving - April’s box includes grow your own poppies!
HAVE A FIRE PIT OR WOOD-FIRED OVEN?
Why not experiment with your wood-fired cooking and try new dishes outside? Perhaps a BBQ Brekkie or even bake bread! There’s nothing nicer than huddling around a chimenea or fire pit on a warm evening, once the temperature drops off. Don’t forget to top up on either our Hotties Heat Logs or Pizazz pizza heat logs. If you haven’t got a fire pit there are some very reasonably priced ones available online, to get you started, like this one from Go Outdoors.
DON’T HAVE ANY OUTDOOR SPACE, BRING NATURE INSIDE
If you don’t have much of an outdoor space, why not create one indoors! Find an area in your home that has sunlight and bring nature into your home. We’d suggest placing succulents and plants around your room, pots of all sizes, placed on window sills, shelves or hang from the ceiling. It’s surprising how much plants can brighten up any space and instil a sense of calm. Taking inspiration from our earlier idea of growing veg, you could use sunny window sills to regrow vegetable scraps, just place the scraps in a good amount of water in a shallow dish or why not grow some herbs or even chillies, both can go grow really well on a bright shelf.
The above are just a few ideas on how you can make the most of nature and your garden, we’d love to hear any ideas you have, leave a comment below and let us know your top tips on making the most out of your garden.
