All posts tagged: Gardening

Pantone Spring Colours

Published by Karen Knox

Remember I introduced you to Pantone’s Colours of the Year in January ? Since then i’ve seen Rose Quartz and Serenity popping up everywhere. From artwork to marketing, interiors and fashion, even influencing a current Making Spaces project. Pantone have since released their “colour report” for Spring 2016. A palette chosen by top industry experts to compliment and contrast both the blush pink and iris-y blue. “Like a serene sunset, flushed cheek or budding flower, Rose Quartz reminds us to reflect on our surroundings during the busy but lighthearted spring and summer months.”  “Weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, Serenity comforts with a calming effect, bringing a feeling of respite even in turbulent times. A transcendent blue, Serenity provides us with a naturally connected sense of space.” The “Transporting and Transformative”optimistic palette is no shrinking violet. This ten strong colour canvas is rocking some real stand out colours, ready to add a spring to your step this Spring 2016. As you probably know, I’m not the biggest “brights” fan for interiors. I love colour, but …

The Live Table

Published by Karen Knox

As you’ve probably learnt by now, I love a bargain. If there’s one to be found, i’ll find it. But I put the hours in. You’ve got to spend the time looking to get real good at it. So on ANOTHER trip to Ikea (Jesus, I know), and during a quick trip to Bargain Corner (which should be called, “Hi Karen nice to see you again), I came across these. Ikea ENHOLMEN, sectional garden chairs. Priced online at £45 each, these were brand new in their boxes at £10 each. £10!! I had no idea where I was going to put them, but I was damn well sure going to find somewhere. I ummed and aahed about how many to get and decided that as there was only three in our little family, i’d get one each. We have a smallish patio area which originally had our little bench on which was saved from a trip to the tip. A few screws and a paint job and it was as good as gold again. It …

Goodbye Ugly Wall

Published by Karen Knox

So recently I wrote a post about our recent garden sprucing, which included new furniture, splashes of colour and a home made planter. But I failed to draw attention to this ere eyesore above. The mingin’ concrete wall boundary wall. Luckily our neighbours agree it’s bloody horrible so they were happy for me to attempt to make it look a little better from our side of the garden. The driveway and patio are also completely knackered, but we are planning an extension down the entire side of the house in the next few years, so no point in paying to get the wall, patio and driveway re-done. So that’s why it looks so rubbish. All in all. This bit of the garden sucks. I was stuck with how best to improve this area as I wasn’t allowed to eat up any driveway space. It’s already tight to get the car down the drive, so there was literally no floor space to use. So I played around with some ideas: Ivy – Nowhere to plant it and takes …

Oh my!

Published by Karen Knox

I’m a nightmare to buy gifts for. I have very specific tastes when it comes to most things (everything). Most people buy me vouchers, give me the receipt and my parents have just resorted to cold hard cash for birthdays and the like. This is normally put towards something interiors-y, but practical stuff like a new laundry basket or bedding. My other half thinks I take the fun out of him buying me presents. Apparently I request boring “non-gift like” items. The most contentious being new door handles for our front and back door. I managed to swing that one, and they made me so much happier than a fancy new dress or an expensive smelly candle. I smiled for weeks when they were finally changed. To me that’s a super, smashing, great gift! So anyway, this week i’ve caught up with one of my besties. I don’t get to see or even speak to her very often as she lives in flippin Singapore now. She is one of those peeps that likes to spoil the …

Quick & easy garden spruces

Published by Karen Knox

As mentioned a couple of months ago in Green Fingers, my love of gardening has come out of nowhere. My idea of a nice garden before moving here involved decking, shale and a pot with a plant in. That one plant would die. The end. I had no patience for things that actually needed watering, feeding and “protecting from strong, cold winds”. Then we moved here. And the garden, although not huge had so much potential. I didn’t really know what to do with it the first year we were here and we had so many other jobs that needed sorting internally, the outside was left to my MIL to be, who was assigned the task of “garden manager”. She took bits out, planted some new stuff and slowly I started to see the woods for the trees so to speak. Potted Hosta and Aubrieta growing in the left bed Roll on two years later and i’m bloody obsessed with gardening. I can’t get enough of being in there, making things look as beautiful as they can …

Green Fingers

Published by Karen Knox

Last year, I experienced something i’ve never experienced before… A serious love of gardening. Any spare moment I had I was at the garden centre, or pottering in our back garden planting, painting, weeding and generally trying to make it a beautiful place to be. And you know what, I did a pretty good job. For a complete noob. My relationship history with house plants, however has always been pretty abysmal. I either forget to water them all together or forget i’ve already done it and drown the poor buggers. And so, I don’t really have many house plants. Well I didn’t. I’ve been ogling lots of lovely spring styling online and in particular the Urban Jungle Bloggers site, who have really inspired me to try again. Here’s their ethos. I like it. “Urban Jungle Bloggers is all about living with plants – in your home, in other interiors, in public spaces. We want to highlight the beauty and benefits of houseplants and other greeneries in urban spaces. Living with plants is not merely about styling and …