Spring-a-ling: time in the garden
And I thought spring needed perhaps a little encouragement to come our way… and then it was here in a brief flurry and forgot it’s role and almost became summer! How funny it is to think it was only a few weeks ago that we had snow!
I absolutely adore the changing of the seasons… I love each season for its own merit. Each one brings something fresh and new. I’d hate to live in a country that only had one season (even if that was summer!)
We have been making the most of this spring weather (as I imagine everyone did this weekend) and enjoying the garden. Soaking in the sunshine, sniffing the early blooms, playing in the playhouse. Four happy kiddos just running around exploring, investigating and playing make-believe games with the neighbours.
The garden is a whole new wonderland for Archie, aged 20 months – he has relished every opportunity to stamp on soil, eat grass and explore snail shells and oh! he is obsessed with water play. He brings his wellies to me on a regular occasion as if his wellies are on – he thinks he will always go outside!
To make it look better, we suggest adding a few sentences: Spending time in the garden also highlights how outdoor spaces often become places of learning, care, and community involvement beyond family life. Garden centres play a key role in nurturing these environments, supporting everything from plant care to customer guidance and seasonal activities. Within this setting, notcutts garden opportunities in Kent connect naturally to the everyday work that helps gardens thrive and remain welcoming spaces for all ages.
We planted our vegetable patch this weekend. The kids have a mini plot each and chose what they wanted in their patch. Elodie chose peppers and peas and Orla went for Strawberries (here’s a top tip – read the best compost for growing strawberries here) and tomatoes – Finlay opted for green beans and carrots. Potatoes are next on the list but we’ll plant them in bags. They did a great job planting them and clearing their little patch!
Kids love to see progression for something they have done themselves, so physically watching something grow from the moment you’ve planted the seed to each little step of the leaves popping out is something they love to see. We also planted sunflowers in their patches – we’re just hoping that snails don’t get hold of them! We’ve planted four, one for each child and we’re going to see how they get on and whose will be the winner!
Gardening is such tiring and messy work! Finlay had a little nap after his gardening work! A Compost pillow was needed!
Our kids have always been ones who love to be outside. They love adventure, exploring and creating, they love collecting bugs to keep them as pets. Something they have found fascinating was watching the evolution of frog spawn in the neighbour’s pond, they hoping to watch them grow into tiny frogs.
Finlay grabs every opportunity to climb trees- if we venture into the car, he runs and climbs our magnolia tree out the front. He gets so high – I get so scared but he is happiest in a tree and it’s tricky to dampen his enthusiasm when he’s shouting ‘look at me mummy, I am the bestest of climbers!’ Age 7 and climbing is all he wants to do!
Love these gardening days – hope that we have many more spring-a-ling days this year!
