Perfect Potatoes with Twigz

Our lovely friends at Twigz have supplied us with some awesome gardening equipment which I have used ALL year. One of my favourite things to grow is potatoes. Here I tell you a little about what I have grown, how my Twigz tools have helped and also a crafty project if you have a left over potato…

Me getting stuck into the tattie harvesting with some help from Twigz

Me getting stuck into the tattie harvesting with some help from Twigz

Way back in March, I told you about 10 Easy Peasy Veg to Grow this year. Did you manage to grow any? One of the things I grew was potatoes, Maris Peer potatoes to be precise. They are really easy peasy to grow. You need to:

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

And how did my tools last the test of time. Well, as a feisty toddler, I certainly put them through their paces this spring, summer and autumn. They have been well used from planting and harvesting veg, weeding the flower beds and generally just being a great helper to M&D. There isn’t the slightest bit of wear on the tools, none have broken and they still look great. I would definitely recommend them to any budding (excuse the pun!) gardener out there.
Our trug full of lovely perfect potatoes

Our trug full of lovely perfect potatoes

So there you have it, easy peasy potatoes in one year. They store really well through winter too, just keep them in a hessian bag in a cool, dark spot. (The hessian bag is perfect for the sack race come Spring time too!)

If you don’t eat every single potato (which it is hard to resist, believe me!) then I like to do some potato stamping. Here’s what to do…

Potato Stamping

Potato stamping fun

Potato stamping fun

You will need:
1. Choose a medium or large potato.
2. Ask a grown up to cut it in half and to carve a pretty pattern into the cut edges.
3. Dip the pattern in paint.
4. Make a pretty picture!
We cut some cool shapes

We cut some cool shapes

 

Happy stamping!
Lulu xx

Feed The Birds, Tuppence a Bag…

I love birds. They can fly for one thing, which is pretty cool. They are also great friends to us gardeners. In my latest blog I am reviewing a super book all about garden birds from the cool people at the RSPB. I have also created a trendy bird feeder which is soooo easy for you to make at home.

Book Review: My First Book of Garden Birds (RSPB)

The lovely people at the RSPB do an incredibly important job in protecting our feathered friends. They kindly sent me their “First Book of Garden Birds” so I could read it and, more importantly, tell you all about it.

The first thing you notice before you even open the book  are the beautiful bird illustrations on the cover. These continue throughout the whole book making it beautiful and colourful as well as educational.

The book is split into interesting sections. “Birds in your garden” tells you some basic information on what its important to do to look after the birds in your garden and to encourage more in.

The “Guess Who” section is my favourite. You are given lots of clues about common garden birds and a beautiful illustration and you have to try and recognise them. It’s a great introduction to bird spotting for littlies like me and you don’t even need to venture outside with binoculars and waterproofs!

Loving reading My First Book of Garden Birds

Loving reading My First Book of Garden Birds

 

There is also an explanation about some of the terms used when talking about birds such as plumage and markings so you can talk like an expert!

At an RRP of £6.99 for a hard backed copy, this book is great value and a wonderful introduction to the world of birds. It’s a must for all young readers who like the outdoors and nature.

One of the things that this lovely book tells you about is how important it is to feed the birds in your garden. I have created this awesome bird feeder from an old drinks carton. Read on to find out how…

Make Your Own Bird Feeder

You will need:

To make:
1. Take your empty drinks carton and give it a good clean out.
2. Paint your carton. I gave it two coats of paint so that it was well covered.
3.  Ask a grown up to carefully cut a whole in two facing sides, big enough for small garden birds to enter.
4. Glue on lots of pretty accessories, glitter or paint some patterns.
5. Under the whole cut a small cross on each side and slide a pencil through to create a perch for the birds. You could use a piece of doweling.
6. Add a piece of string or ribbon through the top so you can hang up your bird feeder.
7. Fill your bird feeder with some lovely bird seed.
My lovely new bird feeder!

My lovely new bird feeder!

Your garden will be THE place to be seen and hang out in the neighbourhood for all the local birdies!
Lulu xx

Beautiful Butterflies

I love butterflies (unlike my Auntie Kathleen!) They are so pretty and great for the garden too. This week we have been releasing butterflies at nursery which is great fun. In my latest blog I tell you some fluttery facts as well as three (yes three) cool butterfly related things I have been doing in my garden. Come on, join in…

Look - a butterfly!

Look – a butterfly!

Fluttery Facts

Now, we have all heard that butterflies are good for the garden and we should try and encourage them in. But do you know why?

 

Upcycle Your Own Butterfly Garden
M&D love to do a bit of upcycling and I have decided to have a go myself. Daddy recently had to replace the wheels on his trailer. He used the old tyres to make this funky container for our deck:

The tyres were turned into a funky planter

The tyres were turned into a funky planter

So we were left with the wheel rims and I was sure we could do something cool with them too. We turned them upside down, found a pot which fitted perfectly in the hole in the middle and then filled the pot and the ridge of the wheel with compost.

We sowed butterfly seeds in the rims!

We sowed butterfly seeds in the rims!

We got a packet of butterfly seeds and sowed these and waited for the magic to happen. We didn’t have to wait long – soon our wheels were filled with pretty flowers to attract both bees and butterflies!

Kabloom – Throw a Butterfly Bomb!

The wonderfully clever people at kabloom make really cool “seedboms”. Not only do you get to throw a bomb in your garden (that doesn’t happen every fay, does it?!) it is filled with lots of lovely seeds which grow into pretty flowers which attract butterflies.

Kabloom have a great range of different types of “bombs” and they make lovely gifts too. You can even buy a catapult to sling your bomb with – cooooool! I will be telling you more about the “Catnipbom” in a future blog.

Butterfly Clothes Pegs

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good ole craft project. And what better than to take advantage of this lovely summery weather and to make it in the garden. Here’s how:

You will need:

To make:
1. Paint your clothes peg whatever colour(s) you wish and leave to dry.
2. Draw wings on your card to suit the size of your clothes peg. It’s easier to attach the wings if you draw them on one piece of card with a space in the middle which you can glue your peg onto (rather than trying to attach two separate wings.)
3. Decorate your wings using your pens, paint, accessories or whatever you wish.
4. Once dry, glue your clothes peg onto your wings.
5. Make two antenna out of the pipe cleaner and tuck it between the peg and the wings before the glue dries.
6. Add your googly eyes.There you have it, a gorgeous butterfly to cheer up the inside of your home too!

Our pretty butterflies in the sunshine

Our pretty butterflies in the sunshine

So, have I persuaded you to love the butterfly yet Auntie Kathleen?…

Lulu xx 

Awesome Blossom

I just LOVE this time of year. There is pretty blossom sprouting everywhere! In our front garden we have pretty blossom on a tree called Amelanchier ‘Ballerina’ (it was named after me I think!) and our lovely old cherry tree. It’s a cheery sight to welcome you home. But do you know why trees have blossom? And why does it only last a few weeks? Well, read on to find out why and also, how to make a lovely Spring blossom card.

Look, I have plum tree blossom coming out of the top of my head!

Look, I have plum tree blossom
coming out of the top of my head!

What is blossom?

Blossom is simply flowers on fruit trees. But did you know that EVERY single tree in the world has flowers? Just that some have flowers so teeny or so hidden away that it’s impossible to see!

Why do trees blossom?

Fruit trees need to attract pollinators (e.g. bees) to help it set fruit. The bees flit from flower to flower, transferring pollen between flowers to ensure pollination.

Why does blossom not last long?

It only takes the pollinators a short amount of time to pollinate the trees so then the blossom falls off. It’s a pity as it’s soooo pretty.

Even though the blossom isn’t around for long, don’t worry as I have a lovely project up my sleeve where you can recreate blossom and make a lovely Spring Card.

Blossom on our apple tree

Blossom on our apple tree

 

Make Your Own Blossom Card

You will need:

To make:

1. Fold your piece of white card to make a card shape.

2. Use your pen or crayon to draw a tree trunk and branches on the card.

3. Dip your cotton wool into some pink paint and dab it around the top of your tree to make blossom.

4. Add grass (and flowers if you wish) to the bottom. Ta dah! A simple project which means you can have lovely blossom to look at for a lot longer.

My blossom card

My blossom card

Lulu xxx

Make Your Own Easter Basket

Hey everybody. Easter is almost here so I decided to combine two of my favourite activities (gardening and doing crafty stuff of course!) and come up with a suitably eggs-citing project for my latest blog. So read on and find out how to make your very own Easter Basket for free!

My Easter twig basket

My Easter twig basket

 

Easter Twig Basket

You will need:

To make:
1. Collect some twigs. We found lots lying around the garden but there will probably be plenty shrubs being pruned you can steal some from too!
2. Select six strong twigs which can bend too and make a star shape with them and tie them in place.
I kept a close eye on Grandma as she made the star shape to make sure she got it right!

I kept a close eye on Grandma as she made
the star shape to make sure she got it right!

3. Weave your other twigs around the star to make the start of the basket.
4. As you weave more you will need to curve your original twigs (the star) up to make the basket shape.
5. Add your decorations.We added some nice pine needles for colour and scent!
6. Fill your finished basket with some pretty Easter eggs, chicks or of course chocolate!
I filled my basket with some pretty Easter eggs

I filled my basket with some pretty Easter eggs

Isn’t that a pretty way to give someone a gift this Easter?
For this and more fab projects get yourself a copy of 101 Things For Kids To Do Outside by Dawn Isaac.
The book is PACKED full of lots (well 101 to be precise) of awesome ideas

The book is PACKED full of lots
(well 101 to be precise) of awesome ideas

Happy Easter everyone!
Lulu xxx

10 Easy Peasy Veg To Grow This Spring

You have seen in recent weeks I have been busy sowing seeds and getting a good head start for Spring. However, I know some of you maybe don’t have the time, space or even the inclination to get involved with the whole propagating indoors malarkey. Don’t worry though, there are LOADS of easy PEASy vegetables you can grow straight into the garden. Here is the “Lulu’s Garden” Top Ten veg to grow this Spring. Oh, and a quick and easy craft project to make your own plant labels too!

Teeny weeny onion sets!

These teeny tiny sets will grow into big onions!

1. Beetroot

Beetroot is really easy to grow and yummy to eat. And it makes your hands go funky colours 🙂 Just sow a row of seeds, cover them over and watch them grow. Remember to thin out those seedlings as they come up so you can make room for some lovely big beets.

Gather your sets, seed potatoes and seeds in a funky bucket like this one from Twigz (2)

Gather your sets, seed potatoes and seeds
in a funky bucket like this one from Twigz (2)

2. Radish

Radish grow super fast, even faster than me! You just need a small area and just follow the same rules as beetroot and you will have some funky radishes to add to your salads in just a few weeks.

3. Peas

That’s right, I told you it was easy-PEASy! Sow your seeds, leaving some space between each one. Peas will need some support so they scramble upwards so add some canes and string. You can buy special varieties which are bushier and perfect for growing in pots too if you have less space.

Make sure you weed and prepare your veg beds before you sow your seeds

Make sure you weed and prepare your
veg beds before you sow your seeds

4. Lettuce

Like radish, lettuce grows really fast and you will have your own salad in just a few weeks. I like sowing a mixed salad with different types of leaves in it and you just cut some when you need it and it keeps on growing. How clever is that?!

5. Tomatoes

Regular reader will know all about what keen tomato growers we are. We have all sorts of wonderful tips in our Tasty Tomato blog. You can grow them in a greenhouse but if you don’t have space go for a bush or tumbler variety which grows brilliantly in pots or even hanging baskets!

6. Potatoes

We all love potatoes don’t we? I love digging them up at the end too. Loads of fun! Growing them is dead easy, just plant them deep in the soil and cover up with soil. As the leaves come through keep “earthing up” (covering over with soil, lot’s of fun!) ’til they are way high in the air! You can grow them in a bag on your patio too if you don’t have a veg patch.

Our potato crop

Our potato crop

7. Spinach

Spinach is another easy one to grow, just like lettuce. You can add it to salads or any of your cooking. Apparently it makes you really strong like Daddy too!

8. Courgettes

Courgettes are great to grow and I like to grow them in among our flowers rather than in the veg patch. They have lovely big leaves and funky yellow flowers (which you can eat too) and then the lovely courgettes appear. Make sure you water around (not over) the plant so the courgettes don’t rot. And watch out how quick they grow too or you will have marrows before you know it!

9. Onions

Onions are the basis of most meals we cook so we need a LOT of them. From pastas and risottos to pies and curries they are an essential ingredient which are really easy to grow. Growing them from teeny onion sets is really simple and they need very little attention other than some watering and weeding as we go. We always grow both white and red onions as well as shallots.

Awesome onions!

Make sure you space your onion sets out nicely like me

10. Spring Onions

You can’t have a spring veg list without Spring Onions can you?! Another one where you grow seeds in a row and thin out as seedlings come through. A lovely addition to salads and all sorts of cooking.

If you have never grown anything before why not choose just one thing off this list and give it a try? Whether it’s salad in a window box, tomatoes in a pot or potatoes in a bag there is always space to give it a bash. Let me know what you choose to grow this year and even better, send me some pics!

And don’t forget to label what you have sown so you remember what will be coming up. Forget expensive plant markers, why not make your own out of old lollipop sticks (1)…

 

Make Your Own Plant Labels
You will need:
Make your own plant labels

Make your own plant labels

To make:

1. Paint your lollipop sticks funky colours and leave to dry. You could draw pictures of what you are growing, add glitter or even make little people out of them too!

2. Neatly write on the name of the veg you are growing (remember to not write too near one end so you can push it into the ground.)
3. I recommend that you ask a grown up to give the markers a coat of clear varnish which will stop your paint from running and protect the lollipop sticks from rotting. Mummy also recommends that you place the markers on the furthest away side of the veg beds away from toddler hands. I have no idea why!
If you want some more inspiration have a look at these blogs:
Nasturtiums: The Life Cycle
10 Super Easy Spring Veg To Grow

Easy to Grow Veg That’s Hard to Buy

So come on, join in and in just a few months you will be harvesting lots of lovely, home grown goodies.

Lulu xx

1. Thank you to the wonderful, clever people at the RHS for the idea to make your own plant labels. For more cool projects like this read the fabulous “RHS Garden Projects” book.

2. Also, a BIG shout out to the cool people at Twigz who have designed a great range of garden tools for children, some of which you can see me using in this blog. I will tell you lots more about them in future blogs…

Make Your Own Hairy Caterpillar

Hi everyone, you know me well enough by now to know what I love being outdoors in the garden as much as possible. Indeed, it’s my new year’s resolution. However there are times when even I am beaten by the weather and decide to stay indoors, all nice and cosy. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still garden. Today I am going to share the coolest indoor gardening project yet – make your own hairy caterpillar!

Most gardeners think I am weird as I love the “enemies” such as snails and caterpillars. In this blog I am going to show you how to make your own big hairy caterpillar which won’t munch your cabbages. Instead it will grow some lovely cress for you! Here’s how…

Make Your Own Hairy Caterpillar

You will need:

How to make:

1. Take your egg box and remove the top half. Ask a grown up to cut off the pointy bits so your egg box can sit flat when you turn it upside down. Now you can paint it green.

Paint your egg box green (or any colour you want!)

Paint your egg box green (or any colour you want!)

2. Cut out a round head from a piece of card and paint it green too. Leave the box and the head to dry then glue the head to the body.

More painting - I love it!

More painting – I love it!

3. Add colourful pom poms to your caterpillar.

Add some colourful pom poms (or glitter or whatever you like!)

Add some colourful pom poms (or glitter or whatever you like!)

4. Cut the pipe cleaners and make feelers and sellotape them to the back of the head. Glue on googly eyes and draw on a smiley mouth.

Googly eyes are a must!

Googly eyes are a must!

 

5. Add cotton wool to each hole, pour in a little water to make it damp and then sprinkle your cress seeds. Pop it on a sunny windowsill and within a week you will see your cress sprouting and your caterpillar will become a hairy caterpillar! I love adding the cress to some boiled egg for eggy cressy sandwiches!

Carefully sprinkle on your cress seeds

Carefully sprinkle on your cress seeds

There you have it, your completed caterpillar!

There you have it, your completed caterpillar!

I’d love to see photos of your caterpillars too, please email them in to me.
Lulu

Up the apples and pears…

‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la! But did you know that it’s also the season to prune apple and pear trees? In my last blog of 2013 I tell you how, why, and what to do (I do love telling people what to do ;)) And if you don’t have an apple tree in your garden don’t worry, I have included a cool craft project telling you how to make your own!

Winter is the perfect time to prune apple and pear trees

Winter is the perfect time to prune apple and pear trees

The perfect time to prune your apple and pear trees is between November and March while your trees are dormant. Pruning is an important exercise so that you can:

A little bit of time spent on your apple and pear trees just now will allow you to reap the benefits next year

A little bit of time spent on your apple and pear fruit trees just now will allow you to reap the benefits next year

The aim is to create an open, “goblet” shaped tree with around five major structural branches. When pruning you should:
And look at the wonderful reward you get for your effort

And look at the wonderful reward you get for your effort

If you follow these steps then you should be rewarded with a lovely crop of fruit next summer. If you want tips on what apples to grow in your garden read this blog. 
If you don’t have your own apple tree in your garden then here’s a cool project you can do so that you have your very own apple tree and cute little apples that you can keep in your bedroom…

Create Your Very Own Apple Tree

You will need:
To make:
1. Take the kitchen roll and cut it down slightly to suit the size of paper plate. Cover it with brown paper to make the trunk. Push the paper into the toilet roll at the top.
Cover the kitchen roll in brown paper to make  the trunk (it also makes a good trumpet!)

Cover the kitchen roll in brown paper to make the trunk (it also makes a good trumpet!)

2. Take the paper plate and glue on pieces of green paper for the leaves and some red paper for the apples.

Gluing - my favourite!

Gluing – my favourite!

3. Cut two slits into the edge of the plate so it can slot onto the toilet roll trunk. You may need to add some sellotape to the back to help secure it. Your tree is ready.

4. Cut the toilet roll down to make a smaller size for an apple. Cover this in red paper. Create a leaf from coloured paper and attach it to a pipe cleaner. Attach the leaf to the apple and glue on some googly eyes and draw a mouth.
Make an apple to go with your tree

Make an apple to go with your tree

And there you  have it, your very own apple tree and apple.

Your very own apple tree and apple!

Your very own apple tree and apple!

I’m going to sign off now but I hope you all have a fun filled Christmas and a wonderful new year. I’ll be back in 2014 with lots of informative new blogs and great projects.

Lulu
Thank you to Krokotak for the inspiration behind this lovely art project