DREAM PLANT GROW PICK MAKE BUY
PEONY PETALS
MAKE LIFE LOVELY
These are the blooms that weaken our knees like no other! And because one flower yields such an abundance of petals, you can be generous with scattering them over an alfresco dining table to pretty it up in a finger-snap if you have guests over for the bank hols.
PUZZLE IT OVER
Mindfulness and meditation can absolutely come in the form of leisurely piecing together a puzzle in your garden. Mystic Garden 500-Piece Puzzle, £24 anthropologie.com
GUILT GAUGE
Get over that nagging feeling that you should mow the lawn before you sit down in a trice with this no-nonsense measure. UPTTHOW Grass Gauge Gardening Lawn Tool, £8.99 amazon.co.uk
HERE COMES THE SUN…
…or, if it doesn’t, a cushion that resembles it to cheer your mood! Sun Pom Pom Outdoor Cushion, £15 marksandspencer.com
SPECIAL BREW
Make enjoying a cuppa alone into a special moment with this just-right teapot and cup. Allium & Lavender Tea for One, £20 prezzybox.com
MANTRA MAKER
This Garden Wood Slice Coaster Set (£8.99/4) is part of a new range raising money for a cancer charity – check it out at shop. tenovuscancercare.org.uk
ROCK ’N’ ROLL
We think you deserve a new garden chair to pause and ponder in. Lois Garden Rocking Chair, £129 marksandspencer.com
Tools for tiny tasks
It’s the season to start pottering, and this mini scoop and fork have been designed with seeds and seedlings in mind. Downsized to dinky and crafted from high-carbon steel with a lifetime guarantee, they’ll make the process of growing gorgeous stuff for your garden even more joyful. Seedling Tools, £ 22.99 each crocus.co.uk
PLANT A TASTY TREAT
PHYSALIS PERUVIANA
Also known as cape gooseberries, these vitamin-rich mini fruits are a cross between a gooseberry and a tropical fruit and, in their wispy encasings, look just as intriguing as they taste. Buy as plug plants (from £2 each, simpsonsseeds.co.uk) and pot up outside in a sunny sheltered spot. Stake as they grow and water well, and pluck the fruits come July, to jazz up a cheeseboard or just a bowl of ice cream.
PATCH IT UP
Deal with those pesky bald patches of lawn now for a covetable swathe come summer. Miracle Gro Patch Magic, £12.50/1kg tesco.com
TOOL TABARD
Extra long, durable and wipeable, and an absolutely bargain price! DAKSJUS Waist Apron, Wipeable/ Sprout Patterned, £6 ikea.com
SOW STYLISH
Strawflowers are back in fashion and we’re sowing vintage shades to dry for summer crafting. Helichrysum bracteatum ‘Salmon Rose’, £2.25/250 seeds sarahraven.com
