My mum loved to garden. I recall very vividly as a tween and teen saying to her “I don’t get it, why would you find this fun, it’s soooo boring”. Fast forward over 20 years and she would be laughing her head off at me now.

I love being in the garden. I love clearing out weeds, slashing down brambles, pruning our fruit trees, planting new things and watching them grow. I mean, I make myself laugh quite frankly. It’s relaxing, therapeutic and very satisfying.

It’s a good job I’ve had this epiphany really, as our garden is quite the project.

Buying plants online

I do love a garden centre. I can’t actually remember when I last walked around one though. Years ago I think. Before I had children I travelled quite a distance to work and every Friday I was so tired driving home, I worried I was going to fall asleep at the wheel. There was a garden centre I passed about half way, so every Friday I would stop and walk around there for half an hour, before getting back in car and driving the rest of the way home. It was the perfect Friday wind down and probably kept me alive!

After my first child was born I used to visit a local garden centre once a week to meet up with some mum friends and their babies. It was the perfect meeting spot, with the best baby changing facilities.

For many years now, virtually all my shopping has been done online. I’ve never really considered until this year, buying plants online – but why not?

No need to queue outside a shop or have your browsing limited by social distancing, just hop online and browse at your leisure.

I’ve been collaborating with Eddington House Nursery, who are a garden centre offering home delivery. I’ve been planting up some of their gorgeous succulents. Let me tell you, being a ‘plant parent’ is WAY easier than being a proper parent!

Plant Parenting

Plant parenting has tons of advantages. Plant babies sleep really well, they are very quiet and they require a lot less snacks. They won’t argue with you and they don’t squabble too much with their sibling either! Sounds good right?

You do need to nurture them though, plant them well and take care of them. I’ve been planting a range of succulents this week, they are so cute, every one of them is unique.

If you aren’t into gardening outside, you can bring your gardening inside. Maybe you can have a few house plants? Or, grow some window herbs? After the bizarreness that has been 2020, plants are a great reminder that growth is still happening.

I love a good upcycling project, so I’ve upcycled the crown that was taken off our chimney a few weeks ago and used it as a pot for some of my plant babies.

If you are interested in planting your own succulents, you can find a helpful care guide here.

This is a collaborative article.