At 5.00am this morning my 10 year old son arrived at the side of my bed. He wasn’t unwell nor had he had a nightmare, he just wanted to climb in for a cuddle. As we both lay there unable to go back to sleep, we decided to play a game in the darkness. We...
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” ~Albert Einstein My daughter has become quite the clock-watcher of late as she has been learning about “time” at school. She is particularly fascinated by clocks with roman numerals and was spellbound when I managed to produce an old Mickey Mouse alarm...
“Life can be rich without riches. And it can be full without a cupboard overflowing with toys or a drawer stuffed with computer games.” Next week marks 10 years since I became a mother. Whilst I was overjoyed at having a healthy baby boy, (followed closely by a beautiful little girl just 16 months later),...
Gardening and plants have long been a passion of mine. I’ve spoken before about how my obsession began and my desire to instill a love of the natural world in my children. I spend much time explaining to them that plants are integral to our emotional, spiritual and physical health. And whilst I’m not a...
I love grasses. There are over 600 genera and some 10,000 species of grass around the world. It’s my view that they are amongst the most important family of plants on the planet. They have a multitude of uses and functions ranging from purely ornamental to agricultural. They form our staple food grains and cereal...
“The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies.” - Gertrude Jekyll When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Grandfather. He was a professional gardener and would quite often take me to his place of work, which I adored. I would help him pull out weeds and...
I love this picture. I took it at our farm over the weekend. I crept up on my son who was relaxing in the tree (an ornamental cherry by the way), before he resumed a game of ‘skip’ with our dog. I love the mix of nature, relaxation and child.
I originally posted this a year or so ago, but in the run up to spring I thought it worth revisiting. The great outdoors …. sometimes the thought of allowing your child to run free outside can be a daunting prospect. There are so many variables; so many places of potential injury. Every stick, insect,...
