The Mindful Gardener Bristol

Yesterday was a morning of pick your own… caterpillars! The lovely roses I help care for are covered in Rose Sawfly larvae who’ve eaten most of the leaves! As I don’t use pesticides, I picked them off by hand, picked any up from the ground too and then watered and mulched the roses. The roses are all pretty healthy so should bounce back

Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like…? Cos it looks a lot like Autumn and I am just not ready to accept its arrival 😱

This is the only little bunch of flowers I’ve managed to pick from my garden this year. My health both mental and physical has not been great and meant I didn’t sow as many seeds or give growing flowers the usual effort. However, the fact that I do have one gorgeous little bunch tells me it’s a start and things are looking up. The simple joy of picking my own flowers as the sun goes down, is something I haven’t felt for a while. So it feels especially good because of that ❤️

Homegrown figs! Moved our little fig tree from the ground into a pot and we’ve had a veritable bounty! 6 figs in total compared to maybe 1 every other year. Plus they’re delicious.

Spoils from today’s job. Apple and blackberry picking, cutting back some floppy Crocosmia, hedge trimming and checking on the leaf mould compost. Just a few of the jobs I got ticked off today 👊.

Happy from Max and Fern ❤️❤️❤️

Lovely productive day yesterday. So satisfying when the hose reaches all the way to the front garden 🙌🙌. The Japanese anemones at this job are looking fabulous now I’ve put supports in and given them a good drink. Bees enjoying them too ❤️. Removing diseases plums and picking the few good ones was another job yesterday. Plus the grapevine had gone totally wild. A great morning 👊

Lovely productive day yesterday. So satisfying when the hose reaches all the way to the front garden 🙌🙌. The Japanese anemones at this job are looking fabulous now I’ve put supports in and given them a good drink. Bees enjoying them too ❤️. Removing diseases plums and picking the few good ones was another job yesterday. Plus the grapevine had gone totally wild. A great morning 👊

Beautiful white flowers in the sunshine at yesterday’s job 😍. The anemones are looking perfect and have just opened

Beautiful sights today. Lots of great spots to escape the heat under the trees and in the gorgeous house

Homegrown blueberries are the best

Such beautiful Hollyhocks in today’s garden. They are well worth growing when they look this good 😍😍

Look how my suncream came out this morning! I’m taking it as a little bit of love from the universe just for me ❤️

The Community Garden is looking really beautiful. Stopped in the shade of the tree this evening and it was a chance to really enjoy the Foxgloves 😍

Made a new friend at work today - it’s a Garden Tiger Moth caterpillar. Such a furry little dude! I relocated him to the back lane

Lots of trimming last week. Bit of a serious cut for the Hypericum as it’s growing over the path. They’re tough as old boots so it will bounce back. The clematis Rebecca also got pruned back to strong buds and will flower again. So important to deadhead at this time of year to keep the flowers coming

A few pics from this week. A reminder of what a difference it makes to have sharp edges and phase one of a front garden makeover.

Feeling gutted that the strawberries at my allotment are all being eaten by wood lice. I’ve got lots of strawberry plants this year (from runners luckily I didn’t buy them) and was hoping for a bumper crop. Anyone have any ideas?

Feeling very happy with this planter on my patio right now.

Living my best ‘mindful’ life for the next few days here in Devon. Well as much as we can with an over excited 7 year old 🤪

A couple of this week’s jobs. Hoping for less rain tomorrow please!

A little spruce up at the allotment. Weeding and re-instating the stone edging. The California poppies were looking resplendent in the sun this afternoon 😍

Advice and guidance sessions - sharing my knowledge and helping people enjoy their outdoor space is a passion of mine. Do you have a new garden? Are you in need of ideas for a tricky area or want a re-think of the whole space? I would love to help. Get in touch with any questions or to book [email protected] or check out my page The Mindful Gardener Bristol

Pruning this mop head Hydrangea is even more satisfying when you can see the new flower heads forming. Looks much smarter for a lovely trim and the plant can put all its energies into those new flowers.

Just loving my Libertia Formosa right now. It’s simple, elegant and practically maintenance free. I’m also wondering if it will ever stop raining???

Lovely visit to the allotment today. Picked a few tulips and sowed some seeds. Even found this amazing twin tulip! Caught a bee enjoying another tulip and the resident Robin came to visit me too ❤️

Just some beautiful apple blossom at the allotment 😍. Giving me hope that maybe the weather might warm up and it can feel a bit more like Spring. Please?

Do you need some help on where to start in your garden? Got a tricky area you don’t know how to beautify? Or a brand new garden that intimidates you? Just a little reminder that I also do advice and guidance sessions. I love helping people to enjoy their gardens. Get in touch on here or via [email protected] for more info

Just look at these tulips 😍. Some weeding today, plus pruning here and there. My lovely client told me twice what a fantastic job I do and how happy they are, which is always lovely to hear ❤️