Ready, Steady, GROW!

Well I think we can say it officialy, Spring has Sprung! And i'm glad to say, there is still a tremendous sense of anticipation for the year ahead (thank goodness). Seeing the first signs of life around the garden and the great outdoors means we can shed our insular winter selves and become outdoor loving sun-worshippers (well...we can always hope?)

To inspire some green-fingered activities through March, I thought i'd share my current inspirations for growing!

Firstly, at work i've been collecting the free seed pods from packs of Kids Innocent Smoothies!

The seeds are from their "Ready, Steady GROW" campaign which hopes to encourage children to reuse and produce from their smoothie cartons! It's a brilliantly designed concept, the seeds "pop" out as circles which you then plant in your washed out smoothie carton (or any other recycled receptacle!), water well, put on the windowsill and TA DAH! I think some grown ups have even forgotton that it is THAT easy to get growing! I'm very pleased to have the Violets pack, that's the first on my list to get going! This follows on from their "Buy one, get one Bee" campaign with the National Trust, which was just as well thought out at getting kids (and adults!) excited about conservation and preservation! Well done Innocent I say! Check out their cheery blog HERE

Personally, I am going to give egg shell seed-starters a go...maybe because it incorperates the seasonal easter-theme i get so excited about...and also because we enjoy eggs in our house, so there's definetly no shortage, and it makes a change from straight-composting them!

 found via Teacup Adventure

Next up, the ever inspirational Alys Fowler, showing us how to get a free, thrifty houseplant from an Avocado seed! I've been meaning to attempt this for a while, after I got too hasty with the last attempt and didn't let the roots develop enough before planting, this time, I will try to be patient! However be warned, I'm not sure a 'Blighty reared Avocado will bear any fruit, so just enjoy it for its greenery! Plus, it's just a lovely video full stop!

This is in the spirit of "Don't thow it, Grow it!" - a great book by Deborah Peterson and Millicent Selsam which details every growing use for kitchen scraps! I am really taking a liking to this "Windowsill Plants" theme, there really isn't an excuse for anyone not to have at least ONE green thing in their home, so why not give it a try for March, bring that springtime indoors!

And finally, some springtime shots on the Iphone, my Yashica is truly dead so I'm lacking in the camera department! Thanks for reading! Katie