Make | No-sew Outdoor Bunting

Whether you’re planning a midsummer outdoor supper, or a right Royal knees-up in the garden for the Jubilee, some bunting dangling from branches is sure to set the right atmosphere. Here’s how to make bunting – that won’t go soggy in the rain – without a sewing machine.

You’ll need a few off cuts of oil cloth – an old table cloth is ideal. Cut a paper template for the flags. They can be as big as you like but around 30cm tall is a decent size. Draw around the template with a pencil on the back of your oil cloth to make as many triangles as you need and cut out.

Cut some thick twine to the length you want. Lay it on the floor and space out your bunting triangles along its length to check where they should go. Leave a little length at either end.

Use a hot glue gun to squeeze glue along the base edge of your first triangle on the back of the cloth, about an inch from the top, then fold the edge over the twine, sticking it to the back of the oil cloth beneath. Repeat for other triangles. Once dry, hang at a jaunty angle and pour a Pimms.

This is just one of the ideas for things to note and notice, plan and do this month, from our Almanac pages. Find more seasonal ideas for June starting from page 26.

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Make | A Solar Oven From a Pizza Box

A bright idea for when the sun is baking hot 

1 Leaving a gap from the edge, cut three sides of a square into the pizza box lid. Score on the fourth side to make a liftable flap. 

2 Tape foil over the inside side of the flap.  

3 Open the box and tape a tight layer of hole-free clear plastic over the inside of the lid (including over the flap-hole you just made).  

4 Tape foil over the rest of the inside.  

5 Add a square of black card to the inside base of the box.  

6 Get ready for use on a hot and sunny day by sticking in direct sunlight for as long as possible with the flap held open. Angle the flap so the foil directs the sun towards the plastic.  

7 Wait until the box/oven gets hot and pop something inside on the card to cook (marshmallows are probably a better option than pies for now). Use oven gloves to get out when ready. It takes a while but who needs to be anywhere on a sunny summer day, anyway? 
 
 This make was from our July Miscellany pages, but we thought it was fun enough to share now. Find more miscellany in every issue of The Simple Things.

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From our August issue…

Project | Antiquing Terracotta Pots

Give your patio pots and containers a distinguished, aged look

Planning a little pottering in the garden this weekend? In our June issue, we have a feature with Arthur Parkinson, container gardening guru, about how he has created flamboyant islands of colour using only containers in his tiny but teeming plot.

The pictures are amazing, showing what looks like a vibrant jungle, but is really just a five-metre pathway unfurling to the front door of Arthur’s mum’s house in Stoke-on-Trent. 

Arthur trained at Kew Gardens before going to work for Sarah Raven and is now one of the UK’s youngest gardening stars. He talked to us about how to create showstopping gardens using flower pots - it’s definitely worth a read if you’re thinking of getting out in the garden this bank holiday weekend and getting elbow deep in compost. 

Here, he explains how to get that lovely aged patina on terracotta pots, so they look like you’ve been hard at work for years on your container garden. 

Arthur’s instructions on ageing terracottas

“With small, newly-bought terracotta pots, the best way to age them is to dunk them in a pond or in a water butt, then a coat of algae will grow quickly on them. Even a bucket can be filled up with rainwater for the task – it must be rainwater for the algae spores to be present. I have an upside-down dustbin lid propped up on bricks on the floor of the yard that we use as a bird bath and trios of terracottas take turns soaking in this, while providing little bathhouses to the precious town frogs! The water is emptied and refreshed weekly so that it does not harbour mosquitoes, and birds and bees also visit it to drink; all gardens should have watering holes for wildlife. After a month of being submerged, the teracotta pots will start to slime up and, once dried, will look marvellous.  

“Large terracottas too big to be submerged can be painted generously with organic, natural yogurt in the summer, which will then go green. For the algae to take, the pots need to be kept damp and away from full sun for a few weeks so that the spores can really get growing. When planting them up for summer, line their insides with old compost bags as this will help them to stay cool and reduce moisture loss.”

 Follow Arthur on Instagram: @arthurparkinson_  

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Wildlife | make a hedgehog hotel

Reach out to a spiky friend and invite them to stay in your outdoor space

Having a hedgehog visiting your garden is pretty special. In our May Inspire issue (in shops and available to buy from our online shop now), our Magical Creatures slot celebrates the hedgehog. Turn to page 64 to read all about our favourite hedge-dwelling hogs.

At this time of year, hedgehogs are putting the finishing touches to their homes and getting ready for mating season. So what better time to build a hedgehog hotel? If you want to provide a dedicated boutique bolthole or a simple bothy for hedgehogs, hedgehogstreet.org has some good ideas, whatever your budget or DIY expertise. 

Self-catering hedgehog hostel

One of the best habitats you can provide is actually just to leave an area of your garden be. A compost or a wood pile that hasn’t been disturbed for a while is a favourite place for hedgehogs to lay their heads. And because insects will also make these areas their homes, your hedgehogs will never go hungry… there’s a full room service menu of grubs and bugs for them to choose from!

Simple hedgehog B&B

Use an upside-down crate or plastic storage box (add a few air holes) and cut an entrance into the front 13cm square. Cover the box with plastic sheeting and cover that with twigs and leaves. Finally, add a comfy bed (some pet straw or dry leaves). 

Five-star hedgehog hotel 

Using untreated wood, nail together a box. Leave the ‘roof’ loose so you can get in to clean it out when it’s uninhabited. Add batons underneath to lift it off the ground slightly and stop it getting too damp. Add a narrow tunnel at the front to prevent predators getting their noses in. You can find an easy to follow plan on the RSPB’s website. 

Whatever type of dwelling you go for, remember not to put food in it. Hedgehogs like their food a little way away from their beds. And it’s best to locate it at the boundary of your garden, within five metres of the house. If you also ensure that there are some gaps under your walls or fences, you’ll make it easier for hedgehogs to find you.

If you like the spiky little chap illustrated above by Zuza Misko, you might like to know that you can buy a print of him for £15 from our online shop. It’s one of four of our Magical Creatures that is available as a print.

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