I haven't sent one of these for a while. After lockdown, I wasn't sure how many lovely things there were to celebrate each month, or how welcome this content would be at this time, especially as so much of it I connected to nature. But after doing some soul searching, maybe this is exactly the sort of thing we need at the moment. Maybe some pure nature shaped escapism can provide a much needed respite from virus doom. So here I am, with a slightly different version of my monthly newsletter; things to make, do and celebrate in this month of May. Because it is a very sweet month.

The Spring solstice has passed and Easter is just around the corner. Many of us are at home much more than we usually would be, so I have decided to update this post in light of Corona, and because I simply don’t have time to create a whole new one (Like so many people, I’m trying to work and keep the kids semi-entertained!) Spring can still be a huge celebration at home, even if it’s just for 1! I have been doing small things here and there, when I think of them, to decorate the house and prepare for a much smaller Easter celebration than usual. But I think it’s lovely to make it just as much of a celebration as we would if we were gathering with friends and family, in fact I’d argue it’s more important! So get out your best linen and crockery, have a forage in the garden, and light the candles. I have started a hashtag, the same name as my e-book #asoulfulgathering, please do use it if you decide to mark the occasion at home!

As a family we celebrate each solstice/equinox. For our agnostic family, they mean more to us than the traditional Easter and Christmas celebrations, although we do celebrate those too. Any excuse for a celebration, really! The solstices/equinoxes come at the quarter points in the year so they act as brilliant points to review yearly plans. Marking the solstices and equinoxes also help us plan activities (marmalade making, strawberry picking, etc.) and we use it as a prompt to change toys and books around for the kids. I also love styling my home for each season too.

How do we plan now?!

How the world has changed in such a short amount of time. I’m writing to you as the the country goes on lockdown in an attempt to stop Covid19 spreading. Although I’m not too worried about the health of my family, I am worried about the vulnerable members of my family and community, and the wider effects of the impending recession. Auden has had a temperature so we are self isolating in an attempt to not be part of the spread. The sheer scale of the change both at home and internationally is dizzying, which is compounded by the speed at which it’s happened.

I LOVE working with flowers. They bring me so much joy I embrace the imperfection and wildness of nature, and favour a wild, asymmetric look, rather than super neat and curated.

The getting of the flowers is itself an enjoyable act, whether that’s selecting blooms from the florist, snipping them from your garden, or foraging a few bits when out walking.

Then there’s the act of making itself, it’s surprisingly meditative to sit and work on something just for the beauty of it. It’s not something we do very often. I’d encourage you to focus on those mindful floral moments to get double the enjoyment!

Then there’s the act of giving them to people you love, and this is such a joyful thing to do!

These little posies would make the perfect present for Galantines, Valentines or Mothers day, a friends birthday or just because

Welcome to my February Sunday Supplement. The darkest days of winter are now behind us, and the first crocuses are sprouting in the ground. Spring is but a hair's breadth away! In December we had about 8 hours of daylight. In February this will stretch to 9 hours. Have you noticed? 4pm is so much lighter than it was a month ago. Taking some time to reflect on that feels pretty special. I have been planning my spring workshops and am super excited to announce that i’m running a Spring Wreath workshop on Sat 21st March (the day after the spring equinox and the day before Mothers day!) . I'll be teaching my popular woven base wreath and we'll be adorning it with fresh and dried foliage and flowers. These workshops sold out quite quickly last year so grab your spot here.

If you steer clear of the Valentines tat February can be lovely month. I've come to quite enjoy this month of love, especially when you expand your definition of love to your friends, children and the earth. It’s also the month of pancakes, Galantines day, and Imbolc too!

I was so so excited to be asked by Medina from Grillo Designs to tour my home for her rented house series. I’ve followed Medina for ages and have pored over her other home tours. Anything which normalises and celebrates renting is so welcome and necessary as far as I am concerned and I was delighted to be involved. For this tour, Medina’s usual photographer wasn’t available, so Dave stepped in. We style and shoot together quite a lot so it felt really relaxed and fun, and it was really lovely to just hang out with Medina. I wish we had longer! This was filmed in October and released in November, then i got super busy with workshops and my e-course. But I saw that today the series is back, so I was inspired to finally hit publish!

We have lived in our rented house of dreams for 2 years. We love living here and have a great relationship with our landlord and lady. We also share similar taste. We inherited a house that had White walls, stripped pine floor boards and some gorgeous antique furniture. (the dream, like I said) So our own style fit in effortlessly.

My style values are: calm, spacious, minimal, natural, fun, storied (ie secondhand or antique) and ethical. In the white rooms in the home, we have layered in our own possessions keeping things minimal and calm. I adore plants and have them in every room, and have put up art and textile pieces. Many of our possessions are antique or vintage. It’s really important to me that my home has as little environmental impact as possible; from using a green energy supplier to buying secondhand.

I love our home and try to honour it as much as possible, even though it’s rented.

I could talk and talk about it but am going to stop there! The sources are listed at the end of the post.

You can see the video by Medina at the end of the post too. There is a full interview over on medina’s blog here. All photos are by Dave Bullivant.

Ok, on to the house (and maaaaany photos!)

We have lived in our rented house of dreams for 2 years. We love living here and have a great relationship with our landlord and lady. We also share similar taste. We inherited a house that had White walls, stripped pine floor boards and some gorgeous antique furniture. (the dream, like I said) So our own style fit in effortlessly.

My style values are: calm, spacious, minimal, natural, fun, storied (ie secondhand or antique) and ethical. In the white rooms in the home, we have layered in our own possessions keeping things minimal and calm. I adore plants and have them in every room, and have put up art and textile pieces. Many of our possessions are antique or vintage. It’s really important to me that my home has as little environmental impact as possible; from using a green energy supplier to buying secondhand.

I love our home and try to honour it as much as possible, even though it’s rented.

I could talk and talk about it but am going to stop there! The sources are listed at the end of the post.

You can see the video by Medina at the end of the post too. There is a full interview over on medina’s blog here. All photos are by Dave Bullivant.

Ok, on to the house (and maaaaany photos!)

You are probably all aware by now how much I love this first month of the months. But whether you love or loathe it, most of us could probably do with a bit of organising to make sure the year ahead feels as smooth as it can. Despite not being in formal education for nearly 2 decades, there is something of the back to school fever that grips me in January, similarly in September. After a busy Christmas where all the usual routines fly out of the window, and bedtimes slip and nobody knows what day it is, January is a great time to take a breath and get things organised.

January is a quiet contemplative month right in the middle of winter. It’s a cozy and indoorsy both literally and figuratively. So all of these ideas fit very well with the concept of a 'slippers-and-cups-of-tea January. These activities also work if you happened to have busted your ankle, like I did this week. Hmph.

Even if you aren't experiencing back to school fever, the quiet of winter and the start of a new year is a good time to get back on track with the things you want to be doing. Here are some of the satisfying things I’ve been quietly busying myself with.

Not a 2020 goals and plans post(!)

My full planning process is ongoing- I tend to take the whole of January to really flesh it out. I also do the stages of the planning process alongside students on my e-course, which only just got started. So this isn’t a “my goals for 2020 post”. I’m not there yet. But by way of a 2020 partner to my 2019 post, I wanted to share my word for the year and vision board, and give some tips too, as I’ve had lots of dm’s about both when I mention them on Instagram stories.

Releasing last year

Firstly though, I have been spending some time releasing 2019. What I mean by that, is before I race in to 2020, i’m allowing the experiences, growth, lessons and love from the last year soak in. I have been re-reading both my 2019 and 2018 review posts and just letting them marinate. I really recommend not rushing the looking back process, and not racing headlong in to Big New Year Action. There is so much wisdom in the last year, even if we are very glad to see the back of it.

Unpopular opinion alert: January is my favourite month of the year. There, I said it. It gets a pretty bad rep; month of self-punishment, debt and cold. I am reading a lot of blog and Instagram posts bemoaning the talk of resolutions and new you and new starts. But I actually love it.

I don’t love the ‘New Year, New You’ talk. I don’t love the self-loathing or insidious diet talk and I don’t love the toxic productivity talk But. When done from a place of love and kindness, using this time to celebrate your wins and set some intentions and kind goals for the year can be really powerful.

I love the promise of a new year. I love it in the same way I love the promise of a new season, and sometimes a new month, week or even a fresh new morning. I like the first page of a new diary, the first sprouts in the soil.

Man, I love reading these posts. It’s the same part of me that loves going for a dusk walk and looking in peoples windows (I can’t be alone in that?! right…?!) Anyway- I am always so grateful to others for sharing their year-end reviews, especially when they’re a bit vulnerable and include both personal and professional. I get a lot from them. So here is (part of!) mine. I’ve split it up into me, work, and family.

Me:

I have loved flowers, and anything produced in nature since I was a kid. Being surrounded by nature (inside the house and out!), and working with it was a far off pipe dream for many years. But as 2019 comes to an end, I’m looking back on a dreamy year that has (amongst other things!) been full of making and flowers. From large shopfront installations to giant wreaths, floral clouds to huge garlands, teaching in some incredible venues, making more wreaths than I can count and teaching over 400 people in my online and in-person workshops. I mean. whoa. Past me wouldn't have believed it was possible!

How to decorate your home with nature this festive season. Learn 5 effective ways to use evergreen foliage in your home this Christmas, to create simple, beautiful decor that is free or low cost and compostable.