Reconnecting in lock down.

Oh, hello! My goodness me, it’s been a 'little' while since I sat at the laptop to pour out some words about gardening and share some lovely thoughts with you all. So why now?

Well it is no secret that there is a big thing going on right now across the globe where many countries are implementing a lock down to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19. It is a very scary time for everyone and no doubt difficult. So many people are so used to busying around going about their daily routines, suddenly must stop and stay at home be that through having to self-isolate or because workplaces are closing down to keep everyone as safe as possible. Myself, I fall into the latter as well as caring for my two children. 

It has been a challenging few weeks to adjust to a new 'norm'. Keeping up with schoolwork, panicking over food shopping and getting used to not just popping out here and there and not visiting loved ones.

I have had moments of terrible anxiety, panicking about the what ifs? and hearing the awful rise in numbers just added to it. That is difficult to get away from as it's constantly in the news or across social media. I've taken to not having TV on at all during the day and only having the radio on.

Something positive that is coming out of this situation is the power of nature.

We as a family have always loved being out in nature be that walks in the woods or visits to the local seaside and even enjoying the gardens at home, but I have to be honest that has occurred a lot less long before the lock down came into force. Now though I have lots of time to look closer to home and appreciate the small but great things about it.

We have been super excited to watch lots of lovely birds visiting the lilac tree including the new goldfinches who have found the feeders!

Lots of lovely bugs and critters have been found creeping around thanks to some improvised school activities and it has been lovely to see so many plants springing back to life or popping up through the soil.

I’ve been using the greenhouse to escape to a little bit more recently and it’s been very medicinal to just potter. All these carry the same common theme. Have you worked it out? It is to completely slow down or stop and reconnect with nature. Going back to that point made earlier about us all milling around on our hamster wheels that it all becomes too easy to forget to stop and notice what is right in front of us and spend quality time together.

On the days its been warmer we have spent time in our garden to have fun and plan our new veg beds. We miss having the allotment and this time has given us the push to bite the bullet and begin the process of growing veg at home.

Just sitting with cups of tea, rifling through packets of seed and dipping our hands into compost has been very therapeutical not just for me but for the kids too. Not to mention that it's educating them at the same time! We are very fortunate to have a garden and can only imagine how harder it must be for those who don’t have access to green space but if there is a sunny windowsill having a small pot of flowers, herbs or even veg will absolutely lift spirits.

If there is one thing that I would encourage anybody to do it is this. 

To stop and be present and maybe give gardening a go. 

There is a wonderful quote I will leave you all with and in this current situation which I think it is very apt.

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow ~ Audrey Hepburn

Until next time

xNx

Put the breaks on!!

My goodness me where does the time go?! 

Since my visit to Gardeners World Live I just don't seem to have stopped much at all. Although it has all been great fun from exploring a local National Trust hall, making progress in the garden to even managing to run the fab Ali Brownlee 5k Riverside Run!!

A local piece of beauty!

For many of my childhood years I only lived a short distance away from Ormesby Hall, but I have never been along to discover what it has to offer. Sunday 25th June they held a free open day to all Teessiders and what a perfect opportunity it was to spend some of my birthday strolling around and taking in this beautiful hall with all its history and beautiful gardens. Even Hollie and Maximus enjoyed playing old fashioned games on the lawn and seeing how the house would have ran with all its staff. The gardens where stunning too with nothing overly fussy and natural looking borders it added to the calm and relaxing atmosphere. I will definitely be heading back there again.

Ormesby Hall

Practically living outdoors

The summer months become peak season for us keen gardeners and more often than not over the last few weeks I have been in mine pottering, planning and creating. A heavy drizzle wasn't going to stop me from weeding and tidying up the front garden either (even if the neighbours thought I was mad!). I finally got round to making up my hanging baskets which are just now starting to fill out nicely. I've even stepped up in the grow your own game. I was pleasantly surprised at how many veg varieties can still be sown this month. Having my fab little VegTrug has helped my confidence with growing veg and allows the kids to easily see the progress they make so we opted for some Dwarf French Beans and Dwarf Turnips. Don't be put off by the time of year you can grow some great veg for later pickings and can just use good sized pots/troughs. 

French Beans & Turnip

Hanging Basket all ready

 

Come and find me

Alongside this blog you can find me over on social media. I love to see what you all get up to in your own gardens and hope that I can encourage/inspire more to reconnect with your surroundings which will benefit you in so many ways and also give nature a helping hand. I would love to see you over there. You can ask me questions & I'll do my best to answer or share what has made you smile from your own gardens/spaces

https://www.instagram.com/thepintsizedgardener/

https://twitter.com/PintSizeGardenr

https://www.facebook.com/ThePintSizedGardener/

                              

Keep growing & nurturing

Until next time 

N x

Hello Happy Nichola

Hello Happy Nichola

I wanted to share with you what discovering gardening has done for me since I've began my education in this fabulous hobby. I shall try keep it short as to not to bore you but I hope it may be of some use.

So as a typical busy on the go mum & wife getting wrapped up in everyday chores and responsibilities I started to become a bit lost with myself. I can do mum quite well (most of the time when they aren't making me yell or despair) and I can do being Mrs W good too but being Nichola, well I didn't really know how to! I didn't really have anything to escape to or have a hobby that kept me engaged enough (like my 2 year old boy I get bored easy!). Things came to a crunch when I hit my lowest point I had ever been. Things at home weren't great with Mr.W losing a job and wondering how on earth we would cope and trying to keep the family happy just became all a bit too much. I cried lots, I over thought a LOT, and I just couldn't see any light at all. Thankfully a little hope was thrown our way when Mr.W managed to get a new job, great so the 'normal' functions of family life could start to get back on track but I knew that I had to find something for me to do where I could switch off from being mum & wife. 

Hello gardening! I can't really remember exactly how it started but I had a pack of seeds(Cosmos Versailles Tetra) I'd gotten free from a magazine and thought "Oh I'll give it a go and hope for the best!" Wow I couldn't believe I had managed to not kill them. They actually became the start of my obsession. Everyday I got up I would check on them, soon as I returned home they would be checked again. Then when the first flower bud appeared I was elated. What a proud moment I had (sounds a bit pathetic haha) but it was like nurturing a baby-minus the sleepless nights and smelly nappies! So a few more different seeds were sown with success which helped me create my fabulous hanging baskets, and well the rest as they say was history. I had something that I could be good at for ME that gave ME satisfaction and made ME happy, you get the picture here :D. 

A Very happy Nichola 

The lovely thing about gardening is there's always something to learn regardless of experience or age and I love to learn. I got a fab bunch of books off Mum-who is a very good gardener, which I read lots to get to grips with and find rather fascinating. I've got some lovely friendly people on Twitter who offer fantastic advice when you need it too all from different backgrounds. The other nice things are it gives you escapism from everyday woes and offers you down time to reevaluate life's little trivias. It gets you outdoors and out with nature, yes even if it rains a little. It's a good bit of exercise but it's the best for giving you mindfulness & hope! For me it's helped me be Nichola again with extra happiness & a new lease of life. 

Until next time

N xx

A Busy time

A busy time for gardeners

Well the sunshine finally arrived in Middlesbrough and it's been non stop since. The summer months bring some of the biggest rewards for gardeners of all levels, reaping the benefits of hard work on the lead up from sowing seeds,buying plugs,organising/planning borders,baskets and pots. BUT it's not quite time to sit back and relax(too much). A few important jobs that become part of my routine begin. The hotter weather means we have to feed feed feed those wonderful plants. Watering my plants has become a daily ritual which I prioritise at the top. Some days life takes over & I did forget once to get out which proved a bit costly! My fabulous baskets succumbed to the heat(you have never seen me run so quick to fastly grab the watering can to save them!!) thankfully they bounced back and look as radiant as ever and nothing stops me from forgetting again!! I also give them a liquid feed once a week (Miracle Gro all purpose soluble feed) that gives them the nutrients needed & helps flower growth.

Another top job to do (and I find this one super therapeutic) is dead heading. I knew it was a job that had to be done before I began gardening seriously but I fully understand why it is done. Not only does it stop your plants looking a little scruffy and drab, it encourages new growth which prolongs the plants giving you more time to enjoy them. There is something calming about pottering around checking on the plants picking up on any little issues or simply being proud of successfully  nurturing such a wonderful part of nature that brings extra lovely benefits to wildlife. Another little added benefit is being able to collect all of the fabulous seeds for future growing & possible gifting if you happen to run out of room!! 

         

 

I quickly want to show you some gorgeous plants I have managed to keep alive and are thriving(despite an ongoing war with slugs!) I can quickly become disheartened but having read tweets & posts on Facebook groups I've kept up with removing as many of the little critters as I can each night which is paying off. My little garden is becoming an abundance of colours and sweet smells. 

                                

            

I have a Gazania Hybrid, Crocosmia Monbretia, Verbena(compact variety) and the gorgeous 'Blacky' Fuchsia.

I shall let you enjoy them and hopefully anyone just starting out gardening like me can see how rewarding it is!!

Until next time 

N xx