Amsterdam :: Inspiring Urban Container Gardening

Last weekend we headed off to Amsterdam for a long weekend away. I fell in love with the city and felt really inspired while I was there. I loved the tulips, the elegant bikes with baskets, picturesque canals and bridges, and the simplicity of Dutch design seen in the little boutique shops and cafes. We spent lots of time soaking up the laid back city atmosphere over many coffees, pancakes and beers.

With many of the residents in Amsterdam's inner city living in apartments or houseboats, space for growing plants is at a premium. But the residents have made the most of all the space they have using practical and simple container gardening carried out in the smallest of urban spaces...

The city's canals were lined with simple square containers packed with tulips, brightening grey pathways and ensuring the urban dweller is greeted with floral treats as they walk the many canals...

A single pot of pansies provides a softening feature to a set of grey stone steps leading to a front door...

...a collection of plants balanced in a mixture of containers on the roof of houseboat, bring an urban garden close to the waters edge...

...a pot of cheerful daffodils sun themselves on a blue bench...

...and more daffodils in a simple terracotta pot on a wooden seat greets visitors with a bright mass of yellow contrasting against the black front door

An impressive collection of container plants are packed onto a street level space...

...and when you look up at the tall town houses there are pots of purple pansies with the best roof top views high above the city...

I hope that some of these pictures and ideas will inspire you to start container gardening, however little space you have at home. They certainly inspired me!

Today is the last day of National Gardening Week but tomorrow I'll bring you my final post of the week celebrating my new love of container gardening.

Brighten up your home with flowers

I love flowers. Whether it’s giving them to friends, receiving them, or just browsing flower stalls, there is something about seeing flowers that makes me smile. Flowers instantly add natural beauty and brighten any space. They need to be placed somewhere people can enjoy them so you can get the most of their blooms while they last.

Whenever you see photos of home interiors in magazines, on websites and discussed on blogs, there are nearly always flowers added into the styling of the space. Flowers may be placed on a mantel piece above a fire as a focal point, or used as a centre piece to a beautifully dressed dinner table, or even a single stem placed in pretty vintage jar on a bedside table. Flowers seem to be the one thing that adds the finishing touch to a space, however big or small.

With so many varieties of flower, in different colours and size, there is hopefully a flower out there that you love. Have a think, are there any that come to mind? I have a few favourites which include pink gerberas, white and pink peonies, lilies and vintage-pink roses to name but a few. As well as their beauty seen from a distance, I love the tiny details of flowers when you look at them up close. I dream of owning a macro lens for my Nikon camera so I can capture all the small details of flowers you wouldn’t normally see. Plus wouldn’t you just love to be able to arrange flowers like a florist and to know what flowers look good together? Learning about this is definitely on my list of to-do’s.

If we had more space and natural light in our little home I'd probably buy a lot more flowers than I do. A few times a year I may get flowers given to me or I may even treat myself to a few stems.

This week my home felt like it was full of flowers and it was such a treat! The bunch of daffodils I bought last weekend opened up bringing cheer and a hopeful spring vibe to our kitchen.

I had a lovely bunch of tulips given to me for Valentine’s Day from my special man. Don't you just love the way the petals have two contrasting colours?

Plus some of my orchids are in flower....Orchids are great plants to have at home as they can flower for weeks at a time. They die and grow back overtime with a new original display. I love it when their little buds form and burst open overnight to reveal a beautifully crafted flower. Look closely and you will see what I mean. 

Moving from flowers inside the house to flowers growing outside...I'm starting to think about what I'm going to grow in the garden this year. There's always so much choice and I get a bit overwhelmed reading books about what flower I could plant. I just don't know what will grow in our little courtyard but I want flowers to be a big part of the growing I do this year so I can enjoy flowers inside and outside our home.

February is an odd month. It is so close to spring but is still winter, with cold overcast days and the odd occasion a bit of sunshine. So why not get some natural brightness into your home...go on, treat yourself to a lovely bright bunch of daffodils this week and see what a great feeling flowers can bring to your space, however big or small it may be.