My Gardening Story + 20% off @ Joules

One of my new year's resolutions was to become a bit of an active gardener this year. We have a really good boarder that runs the length of our garden that I have been building for a few years now but every year I let it get over run and don't really tend to it. This year I wanted to be way more active in keeping it nice as I wanted to benefit from it more and more. When we did our extension near 4 years ago I made the change from growing veg to growing just flowers. I couldn't do both and as I said, I wasn't the best caretaker so we let lots of free food spoil. Flowers are a passion for me though so it already has me more encaptured. 

When I started planting up my flowers lavender and hydrangea were a big feature. I have two big patches of them both and I love them. I also have a big rosemary patch from where I planted all my sister's wedding table decorations and they are now full and green and a lovely little memento of a good day. Last year I bought my first David Austen rose which has taken really well and is coming up full of leaves now. I have daffodils, grape hyacinth, tulips, ranunculus, scabious, veronica, wax flower, peonies, lilacs and wisteria now all in the garden and all have buds or big green leaves on ready to burst through the seasons and really show off a culmination of a few years of collecting my chosen plants. Interestingly I have spent the very few warm days getting outside and moving a few plants around, giving them more space and just rearranging slightly as I got rid of dead space. This year I am really looking forward to the blooms coming out as I want to try and harvest them better and encourage better growth for next year. Sometimes thinking about gardening makes me feel so old, but I really love just getting out there and having a go.

I also have found that gardening brings me a real sense of peace and calm. Even though I can get all hot and sweaty digging and moving things it really makes me feel good and it is becoming a real passion. I sit in the living room and look out in the space wanting to do things and waiting for colour to start popping.

One of my main tasks is going to be lawn care. I want grandparents' lawn. Do you know what that is? Rob and say it all the time, but it's when the lawn is full and soft and bouncy and perfectly cut (usually your grandparents as they are retired and have time to tend to it). So that is my aim this year as our grass is really mossy, I am going to try all the potions to feed it and make it luscious! I can't believe I am talking this passionately about grass!

Aside from that though, I want to be in my garden more this year and just get more sun on my skin as I have had a vitamin D deficiency over the winter which has really pulled me down so I need some serious sun on my skin!!

Getting out with the kids is great too. In fact last week, on that one hot day that tricked us into thinking it was really spring, we spent nearly an entire day outside. It was just beautiful and I enjoyed being in the garden for me, not because I had to sort it.

It also gave Etta and I the perfect opportunity to try out our new spring coats. Light, easy, waterproof, everything you want out of an outdoors jacket and that makes them perfect for me.

I'm wearing the Swithin Soft Khaki Parka (SALE) and Etta is wearing the Cloudy Clear Raincoat.

Even more interestingly I am finding that getting our coats on and getting outside is leading to wonderful opportunities with our neighbours and as our kids just love them and we are wasting many outdoors moments chatting and planning with them. It's so lovely as they are keen gardeners and they are really pointing me down the right track with any conundrums I have.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, I urge you to get out in it and enjoy the outdoor space, it will do wonders for your mood, I promise!

As an extra spring time treat get 20% off Joules Clothing with code BDG20 until 1st May 2017 on full priced UK orders!!

Emily

* Coats sponsored by Joules.