My Spring Manifesto

Each season brings with it something new, a new chapter. I take real pleasure from noticing the changes and love the blurry edges to the seasons as they move to the next. My word this year is Awaken and with this in mind I have decided that I want to awaken more of a connection to the seasons than I have done before. I want to awaken more awareness and I want to awaken my senses.

To help me achieve this I'm writing a manifesto for each season of the year. A manifesto for me is a statement that pulls together my thoughts and the key things that what I want to get out of the season ahead and to help act as a guide. For me it's about thinking of the simple pleasures I love during the season, celebrating what the season brings, creating direction, actions, and practical and achievable intentions, with the outcome of connecting more to each season in an intentional and focused way. Life is full and creating a practice to allow myself to intentionally become more mindful is a such a good thing. Living with and observing the seasons is something that I do unconsciously, I adore it, but I want to awaken more of an awareness.

Over the past month or so I have been living with my Spring manifesto and wanted to share it with you today.  I'm putting my focus on a few key things this season...

My Spring Manifesto 2016

Make time to step away from digital habits

Reconnect to a handmade craft

Shape and grow something new in my life

Start a gratitude practice

Plant and cultivate seeds

This Spring I wanted to focus on growing, shaping, starting and reconnecting. As the plants bloom and new growth appears, I wanted to feel a connection in my own way and feel growth in my own life. Taking small steps to grow is something I'm really cultivating in my life at the moment and I'm really enjoying it. In the next month, as summer begins, I'll let you know how I've been living my Spring manifesto and what it has added to my life.

Oh how the garden grows...

The sunny spring weather has sparked our garden into life and it is once again feeling like a productive urban garden. Every week our garden changes and new growth is becoming even more noticeable.  

The seeds I planted a few weeks ago are growing well on our windowsil...

The radishes are loving their window box location and starting to establish themselves...

The potatoes are starting to grow. I've topped up the compost on top of these leaves and given them a good feed. I'm hoping for a really good crop this year...

 The carrots seeds are starting to germinate outside...

The mixed lettuce leaves are starting to take shape too...

My Hosta has started growing again...

as have the buds and leaves on our clematis that hangs into our courtyard.

Are you growing anything this year? How are things looking in your gardening space? I hope you are enjoying the simple pleasure of watching plants grow.

Springtime Planting

At last Spring definitely feels like it is on its way. With foggy mornings, blossom covering some of the trees and a gentle warmth to sunny days. This time of year is always so refreshing, with a change from the rainy cold miserable days, to the joy of more hours of daylight and a mildness in the air. I love it when the seasons change...I've recently packed away my chunky winter scarves and replaced them with my favourite light springtime ones instead!

I live in a little basement flat which was built in the 18th century, I love it as it has its charms and little alcoves for my many books. We don’t get the best light throughout the flat, however we are very lucky to have our own courtyard garden with unique archways and a little cave at the back. The problem is that it is a sunken courtyard garden, we live on a steep hill with other houses surrounding us and so we struggle to get all light we need to grow plants successfully. Last year we managed some green tomatoes and one courgette! I don’t think that my heart was in it last year but this year I want to try a bit harder and really look after things, plant some flowers to brighten up the space and hope that the veg I plant may some how grow much better this year!

Over the past few weekends I’ve been preparing our courtyard garden space ready for Spring. I’m really enjoying being outside in our courtyard at the weekends, whether I'm tidying up our little space, looking at the plants coming back to life after winter or pootling around planting things in various containers. Being in the fresh air is such a great way to have space for time to think and clear your head of the weekly goings on. A few months ago in my post Planting Onions I was hopeful that the onion bulbs I planted were going to do something! I'm proud to let you see that they are coming on nicely!

We have a few chunky windowsills that do get some light, so I took the plunge and a few weekends ago I planted some window boxes to brighten up the window sills. I wanted to make the most of the spaces that get the most sunlight and usher in the spring with some cheerful primroses and narcissus…oh and look how they’ve bloomed! I love seeing these happy flowers when I look out of our windows.

I was in the mood for planting so I sowed some seeds to see what I could grow!

I bought seeds to grow courgettes, marigolds, nasturtiums, peppers and geraniums. They have now been planted and placed near the window in propagators. Look what a dose of water and inside warmth has done to the courgette seeds and nasturtiums in a few weeks…

The other seeds are still dormant so I’ll wait and see what happens to them! Outside in our containers I planted carrot seeds and lettuce seeds, but upon checking them this morning nothing seems to be happening with these either. I have no idea if any of them will grow but it's worth a go.

Alongside the planting came the desire to have a spring clean of our outside space. So I swept the courtyard, tidied up the pots, moved some containers and gave our new little wooden greenhouse some clear oil protector in the hope that it will last many years. 

Finally I potted up some pink and blue hyacinths that I’d bought...and look how they’ve bloomed...

I’ll keep you posted on my gardening developments over the coming months! Fingers crossed some more seeds will germinate this week... I'd love to hear about what you are planting at the moment.