I've sort of given up on our garden lately, it's just too much hard work! I can't keep up with the weeds.

This year I have been focusing more in our indoor jungle, which is more worth while in that I can appreciate it all year round...and no weeds!

Our house had a new extension put on it before we moved in and it's very sunny due to the bi-folding doors and roof light, so it's quite a good spot for growing things in pots. I discovered that propagating plants from cuttings is dead easy when I accidentally broke off a stem and shoved it back into the soil, and hey presto! a new plant. I'm not one for doing things properly and I usually read the instructions only if something didn't work, so I'm a hap-hazard indoor gardener, with a pinch of luck.

I love collecting old pots, from antique markets and junk shops. I think any plant looks lovely in a nice old wonky terracotta pot.

I also have been collecting nice handmade objects that have a lovely texture and colour. I have a few pottery tea pots, and I love this wooden (butter mould?) I found a while ago.

My mister has just put up some shelves for me as an anniversary present! I have a fear of drilling into walls as I always make a mess of it. I now have a lot of pots to look at.

(by the way, the purple plums are from our garden and the little yellow plums are called Mirabelle and we found them next to a Halfords car park 😂).

 

I rescued this cactus from a Botanic Garden shop, it was very cheap and was grown outdoors. I'm really hoping it will start to look happy soon.

I also have a few orchids which are quite amazing flowers. They last for ages! One orchid I have has been flowering since May.

I'm also quite keen on those sort of 70s naff mountain scene pictures. I have just found two new ones. This is one of them, I'll show you the other one in the living room once I have got around to hanging it up.

What I like about having plants in the house is that, whilst I'm drinking my tea in the morning, I just do a little inspection, and when I see a new leaf, it's like my day has set off on a the right foot.

Also new are these hooks which were at our London work shop for many years. We now have a sort of utility area. Of course no one is allowed to use my special brushes!

We mostly use Henry the hoover.

This Devil's Ivy is growing in almost darkness, this room get no light at all.

I think the kids are so fed up with my plants. 'Mum it's getting like a jungle in here' 

But it is very educational!

But, they do love the Botanic Gardens in Ventnor. We have a membership there and visit often. It's my favourite place on the island ever since I can remember.

And I used to do this when I was P's age too!

We've been quite busy this summer, with the Vintage Car Boot Sale, work and London trips,we haven't been camping since June! We did have a couple of days at my mum's house so that we could have a nice anniversary dinner out. Maybe we will come back here very soon with our caravan, it's the best camping spot ever!

p.s. If you want to know all about indoor plants properly, then I'd recommend this book which has loads of info and nice pictures! 

We live a very spontaneous life due to the way we run our business, we work just whenever, finding snippets of time here and there to work.

We decided to come to London again with the kids and left the next day. It is sometimes hard with two littles in tow to get work done and entertain them at the same time, but we like it this way! Sadly, our little P starts school this september and it will be somewhat of an end to our freedom. We will have to be at home every weekday at 3pm. It will mean a huge shift in our current lifestyle and way we make a living. It will mean an end to our spontaneous trips to London except school holiday time. Booo!

I'm being extreme of course, but we will have to spend less time as a family, as trips together will become less : ( So we are making the most of it this last year!

We try to find things in London that the kids would enjoy and spend some of their energy.

This time we were in London it rained the whole day non stop. We ended up at the Tate Modern which is near to our workshop, but we didn't look at a single piece of art.

Just running around then ate some cake.

The market at Spitalfields was amazing as usual. It's here that we come for inspiration for our jewellery or shop display, and for our home too!

 

I bought this little pot for my plants at home, and those glass tiles for our jewellery display...

The kids also love the market. We never leave without a car of some sort for Mr Leafy, and P loves finding little discarded shiny things on the floor.

My favourite stall 

I bought that pot I'm holding and a wind up crocodile. Nao bought some inks...

 

I do love wandering around East London.

 

I might have bought a couple of plants from here 😳

...and we happened across a lovely kids shop

 

We are getting to know a lot of London playgrounds!

There is two separate shops next to each other, a small but perfectly formed deli, and a beautiful interiors shop, with chandeliers and ferns and gorgeous things.

I wanted this hat so badly! but it was a bit too expensive for me.

 

We had tea and cake when Mr Leafy sat on a chair for 2 mins and then ran around the apple market about 8 times.

On the way home i managed to get a few minutes to visit this garden centre in West London called West Six, that I've been wanting to come to for a while. So whilst the kids had a nap in the van, I went by myself.

They would let me take photos indoor, but they have a great stock of house plants and pots.

And a really nice cafe with friendly staff!👌

So, I hope my next post will be about camping, but the weather has really let us down this August.

We will be hosting our second Vintage Car Boot Sale on Sunday 27th, so I'll also be back with an update for that! We will be having some live music there this time, yay!!