How to grow cut flowers

Here's an idea: turn a tired area of your garden into a cutting-flower patch and you'll be picking blooms all summer

If you don’t have green fingers, start with long-lasting perennials and shrubs from your local nursery or garden centre. A trio of scented ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ roses underplanted with pincushions of astrantia, daisy-like echinacea, and the foliage of bronze fennel all make good picking and will supply dozens of fragrant bunches. While autumn is the time for planting daffs and tulips, spring is good for getting gladioli and allium bulbs in the ground, as well as dahlias, with their stunning cactus and anemone shapes. 

For everyday bunches of loveliness, sow sweet peas. They’re easy to grow, and so benevolent with their blooms, you can pick every day of summer. There’s a wide range of colour, too. Build a hazel or bamboo wigwam for them to twine around and plant at the base of each strut. As seedlings appear, encourage them to clamber onto the frame with twine. Tender seedlings are a gift to molluscs, so sprinkle some wildlife-friendly slug pellets, too.

Turn to page 118 for more cutting patch advice, including how to do the groundwork, growing from seed and how to arrange your blooms.

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Nest | Pilea

Once a rare sighting, the round, glossy leaves of pilea are now seen increasingly in our homes. This is largely because they are so easy to propagate.

Plantlets that spring up around their base can be snipped off and potted on in a twinkling, with the resulting plants dispersed among friends.

“They’ll lean towards the light,” says Alice Howard of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop, “so keep them out of direct sunlight. Otherwise, they are as easy to care for as they are to propagate.”

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Nest | Succulents

We’ve all bought succulents expecting them to be a breeze to look after, only to find they bolt or simply perish. 

“Most succulents are killed from over-watering,” says Alice Howard of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop. “Wait until the soil is completely dry, then water. They need constant light to prevent straggliness.” 

Hang them in a pretty planter, like these, to keep them in your eyeline for daily pleasure and monitoring.

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Guide to eco cleaning

Green alternatives to environmental and health damaging chemical-based cleaners

For doing the dishes: 
Method’s Pomegranate washing-up liquid is free from chlorine and phospates and smells delicious; £2.25 for 523ml, biggreensmile.com

For floor mopping: 
Dr Bronner’s Organic Liquid Castile soap is free from synthetic dyes, fragrances and preservatives and is as good for floors as it is for bodies; £10.50 for 473ml, ethicalsuperstore.com

For kitchen cleaning: 
Kinn Living’s Eco Friendly Kitchen Cleaner’s essential oils disinfect naturally; £4.25 for 500ml, kinn-living.com

For scrubbing dirty plates: 
LoofCo washing-up pad is made from natural loofah and coconut fibres and is biodegradable; £2.75, greenbrands.co.uk

For cleaning glass: 
Good for Glass, harnesses the cleaning power of lemon oil to bring the sparkle back to glass and mirrors; £5.60 for 500ml, mangleandwringer.co.uk

For cleaning the toilet: 
US company Seventh Generation’s Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner smells sweetly of cypress and fir;
£3.83 for 946ml, evitamins.com

Turn to page 115 of the March issue to read more on our love for a clean and pleasant house.

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Nest | Cacti

You can be fooled by cacti: they look unchanged week after week, bristling stoutly in their pots, not growing. Worried, you water around their roots, and then you water a little more. Then suddenly, they rot and die. “Cacti are a good option for the negligent plant owner,” says Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop, “as long as you make sure the soil is dry before watering. And don’t water during winter.” Replicate their desert origins in a
well drained pot on a sunny windowsill and they will thrive.

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The Comfort of Things | Grown up tableware

There are certain things in your home that are like old friends: they always cheer you up. This month we feel the love for grown-up tableware - turn to page 116 of February's The Simple Things.

This month's home quandary:

I love having friends over for meals and enjoy preparing and cooking the food but by the time the doorbell rings and they all pile in, the table is still bare. As a result, I throw plates and cutlery on it in a higgledy- piggledy fashion that looks nothing like those attractive overhead shots you see in magazines. How can I master table laying?

Table laying is actually a pretty straightforward business that should not daunt you. Unless you live in a stately home and have to wrestle with silverware, napery and cut glass, all you need to do is place a few plates and cutlery on the table in an orderly fashion. Dragoon another member of the household to carry out this task, preferably an hour or so before guests arrive, and it becomes even simpler. With a little supervision, children can lay a table as well as anybody, and often respond positively to being trusted with this grown-up task. You can swan in at the end to straighten napkins and make sure glasses are fingerprint-free.

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Life Skills | Furniture painting

Spend a day learning a new skill. Mindful and mind full (in a good way). Clare Gogerty joins an Annie Sloan workshop in Oxford

If you've ever attempted to paint a piece of furniture only to be disheartened by the laborious process of sanding, painting and waxing, the day you discover Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is a day of wonder. Developed nearly 30 years ago, it brushes onto surfaces including wood, leather, concrete and leather, with no need to sand or prime. Suddenly that tired old bedside table can be revitalised with just a coat of paint and a layer of wax.

You can develop your skills at an Annie Sloan workshop. I attended one run by Annie at her Oxford HQ, but her stockists in independent shops nationwide are all trained in her techniques and run their own. The morning was spent painting a wooden box with a neutral colour (Old White, in my case), letting it dry, then painting a thin coat of another colour on top (Paloma, a soft grey) and scrunching it off with newspaper. This process, known as frottage,
creates a two-tone marbled effect similar to rag rolling, and can be used on any surface, not just wood.

Colour theory was tackled in the afternoon, with Annie encouraging us to think of colours “like ingredients used in cooking”. She urged us to be brave with colour in our homes and, using her palette of 37 Chalk Paints, fabric swatches and an outline sketch of a room set, we created schemes for a living room and a kitchen/dining area. By the time I got home, no piece of furniture was safe from my brush.

To find your nearest Annie Sloan stockist and your nearest workshop, which also includes gilding and waxing, visit anniesloan.com.

 

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Growing | Hydroponics

No longer the preserve of commercial growers, hydroponics - a soil-less method of growing leafy veg - is made for urban edible-gardeners. 

Growing veg can be tricky if you don't have a garden to cultivate or a sunny balcony to fill with tubs. Redemption for would-be urban gardeners, however, could lie with hydroponics, a controlled method of growing plants in water rather than soil

But what to grow?

Stick to leafy salad veg and herbs for the best results. Which varieties you choose to grow will depend on the size of your growing system: the lights of the Ikea Indoor Gardening System, for example, are 30cm above the growing tray, so any plants that grow taller than that won't fit. Plant 1-3 seeds per plug, depending on the plant, and remember that different seeds germinate at different rates. You should see plants with leaves big enough to eat after 5-7 weeks. 

Cherry tomatoes

Small tomatoes often planted in containers will also suit hydroponic systems. 'Balconi Red', 'Bajaja' and 'Sweet 'n' Neat Cherry Red' are all nice and compact.

Chillies

Smaller varieties such as 'Krakatoa' and 'Basket of Fire' will fit hydroponic systems best, but taller plants can be pinched out to encourage width rather than height. 

Lettuce

Most varieties will flourish in a hydroponic system. Ones with looser leaves such as Lollo Rossa, Cos (red and green) and Butterhead varieties suit hydroponic cropping better than tightly packed ones like Iceberg.

Other leaves

Pick the leaves of spinach, rocket, pak choi, oriental mustard and garden cress when they are young for best flavour. They are often found together in salad leaves seed mixes. 

Herbs 

A handful of fresh herbs in snipping distance is a boon to any cook. Most thrive in hydroponic conditions: try basil, chives, coriander, mint, parsley or lemon balm. 

Turn to page 106 of February's The Simple Things for more of our feature on Hydroponics, including what you need to start out. 

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Nest | Oxalis

For a plant with such theatrical qualities – its purple leaves track the light and fold up at night like butterfly wings – an oxalis is remarkably low maintenance. Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop, recommends adding grit to the pot, and feeding every so often. And don’t give up on it during winter when it dies back – it will recover in spring and reward you with pretty lilac flowers in summer.

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Nest | Sleep kit

With just a few adjustments, you can turn an ordinary bedroom into a decadent den of slumber

• Choose the right bedlinen and bedclothes If you get chilly, brushed cotton is snug and comforting. If you easily overheat (or have hot flushes) opt for silk or bamboo, both of which wick away heat. Silk pillowcases are heavenly – keeping your head cool and preventing wrinkles. Patra (patra.com) has a great selection of all these.
   
• Play a relaxation track
  Headphones are impractical when you’re trying to sleep, so play your favourite music or coloured noise through your pillow. Try the Sound Asleep Pillow (£19.99, soundasleeppillow.co.uk).
   
• Spritz your pillow with a sweet-scented mist Try Tisserand’s Sweet Dreams (£12.95; tisserand.com) or Calm Sleep Mist (£19.99; calm.com/uk/sleep-mist).
   
• Wake up gradually with increasing light courtesy of the Lumie Bodyclock (£59.95; lumie.com), which helps to reset your Circadian rhythm. The fading sunset light is also the ideal wind-down.
   
• Combine light, sound and aromatherapy with the dinky Alto Aroma Diffuser (£79.99; madebyzen.com). It mists your bedroom for an hour at a time, and you can play soothing sounds via its Bluetooth speaker.
   
• Add slumber-friendly potions to your bedtime bath or shower
  Try Bloom and Blossom’s Sleep Night-Time Bath Oil (£25; bloomandblossom.com) or Spa Magik Organiks’ Deep Sleep Lavender Bath Salts (£12.50; magikorganiks.com), which also contain sleep-friendly magnesium.
   
• Sip a soporific herbal Pukka NightTime (£2.49; pukkaherbs.com) and Free Soul Sleep Tea (£6; herfreesoul.com) sedate and soothe.

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Nest | Calathea

No one puts a calathea in the corner. This most flamboyant of houseplants with its dual-tone leaves – stripes on one side, deep purple on the other – deserves to be centre stage. As long as it’s kept out of direct sunlight, that is: “Its natural habitat is the jungle floor,” says Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop Artisan Store & Flower Shop, artisan store and flower shop, “so direct light will scorch its leaves. Mist regularly and water consistently, so the soil doesn’t dry out.” Do all of that and a pot of tropical lushness will be yours. 

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Nest | Ferns

With its delicate, feathery leaves, a potted fern will bring a soft lushness to any room.

Cluster a few different varieties together and the effect is even lovelier, conjuring up the speckled shadows of the forest floor.

Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop Artisan Store & Flower Shop, recommends keeping its woodland origins in mind when bringing a fern home: “Don’t place it in direct sunlight,” she says. “And don’t let the soil dry out – mist regularly, especially when the air is dry.”

A little sylvan corner right there.

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The comfort of things | Layering up

There are certain things in your home that are like good friends: they always cheer you up. This month we feel the love for a well made bed. 

A bed can have many layers, each of varying quality, cost and sophistication. Take your pick from the smorgasbord of tog ratings and thread counts and assemble yours to your own specification.

Mattress

The foundation of a good night’s sleep so worth investing in. The perceived wisdom is to change it every eight years, but this depends on the quality of the mattress.

Mattress protector

A thin, often quilted, cover to keep the mattress unsullied.

Mattress topper

An affordable option to changing your mattress. Padded with feathers or made from Memory Foam, it is an extra layer of support.

Electric blanket

A necessity as the temperature drops, even when the central heating is on: little makes you sigh with pleasure like getting into a toasty bed.

A sheet  

Flat sheets beat fitted in our book: you can fold them easily before putting into the airing cupboard, and you get to show off hospital corners. Thread count of 300 is ideal; it’s high quality and launders well. Ironing sheets may be considered a waste of time, but slipping into a bed made with freshly laundered cotton sheet is a civilising thing.

A duvet

There are too many choices of fillings and togs to go into here but a tog of 10.5 suits most, reduced to 4.5 in summer.

Duvet cover

Tempting though patterns and designs are, plain colours are more versatile, with white top of the heap.

Pillows

A better-quality pillow really does mean a better night’s sleep. Try a firmer pillow (mixture of down and feather) topped by a pure duck down pillow (expensive but dreamy) for a blissful combination.

Pillow cases

Choose between the annoyingly named ‘housewife’ (simple and plain, fits snugly over pillow) and the Oxford (has a fabric border with a mitred corners). Ideally, they should match the duvet cover.

A pillow protector

(a plain pillow case slipped inside) to prevent staining and ensure longevity of the pillow is a sensible addition.

Bedspread or quilt

An extra layer of warmth and handy for covering up rumpled bedding and toast crumbs.

Throw

Adds a touch of interior designer show-offiness and handy on chillier nights.

Cushions

Can be changed at whim. Also useful for propping yourself up if reading in bed. Pile neatly on to an ottoman at night.

Turn to page 114 of October's The Simple Things for more on the comfort of beds, including how to get that elusive plumped up showroom look.

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Nest | String of hearts

This pretty plant with its string of heart-shaped leaves is just lovely tumbling from the top of a cupboard; add a couple more to create a delicate screen. 

“Let the soil dry out and then give them a good drenching,” says Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop. “And mist the leaves, otherwise they can get scorched.”

They are easy to propagate, too. Each strand can be planted in a new pot to make a new one – in no time at all, your flat surfaces will be festooned with verdant delicacy.

String of hearts in terracotta pot, from £10; Brass mister, £14, both from Botanique Workshop, Exmouth Market, London EC1 (botaniqueworkshop.com)

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Nest | How to make your home your sanctuary

• Make the most of the healing benefits of natural light and fresh air
• Choose objects and furniture made with quality materials and care
• Every now and then, have a really good clean. Tackle windows, rugs, fireplaces and all the rest of the spots that gather dust
• Improve the flow: move that annoying door, piece of furniture, pile of shoes or bike you always bump into
• Bring life and energy into your home with plants
• Pick colours that remind you of a happy place – greens for nature, blue for water, and so on 

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The comfort of things | The bookshelf

There are certain items in your home that are like good friends: they always cheer you up. This month, we feel the love for the bookshelf on page 112 of the September issue.

It’s an undeniable fact that a bookshelf improves a room. The addition of a row of books, no matter how small, instantly adds warmth, colour and personality. Novelist Anthony Powell knew this when he entitled the tenth book in his ‘Dance to the Music of Time’ series Books do Furnish a Room. Any house without at least one bookshelf feels empty and unloved, and its owner risks the danger of looking like someone with a sketchy, suspicious identity. Nosing around other homes lined with a bookshelf or two, on the other hand, can reveal much, and is as irresistible as poking around a vinyl collection once was.

But which book lover are you?

The bibliophile

Organises their books according to category, chronologically, or alphabetically by author’s names, like a bookshop. 

The aesthete 

Arranges their books in colour bands: all books with colour co-ordinated spines are grouped together. Not especially handy when actually looking for a book however.

The would-be librarian

Houses books in bookcases that line walls or even entire rooms, which can then be called ‘the library’ or ‘the study’ with justification.

The curl-up-with-a-good-book loafer

Sits and reads on a wet afternoon in a designated armchair by a window next to a shelf of books. 

The interior designer

Intersperses objects, plants and photographs in front of books. Shelves can then be treated as ‘decorative installation’ with displays changing according to whim.

Turn to page 112 of September's The Simple Things for more, including our pick of bookshelves to buy, make or hack.

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Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums are plants that just keep giving

From the moment they are planted in spring, they respond to the smallest amount of care (a bit of earth, occasional watering) with vigorous growth, lily-pad-shaped leaves and then, around about now, cheery and abundant blooms. Not only do the flowers look good in the garden as they scramble and tumble about, but they make a pretty, peppery addition to salads, and they can be brought indoors for an instant bit of summery colour. 

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Nest: Lilac

A lilac bush is the most bountiful of plants, festooned with frothy blooms and swathed in a heady scent

Snip off a few branches and bring armfuls inside – it won’t miss them. Put the blooms in a suitable vase, bottle or jug, relish the prettiness of the tiny mauve flowers and inhale deeply. 

Heavenliness ensues. 

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Home Truths: Brunch

The boom in restaurants serving brunch is unstoppable and, while the joys of going out for this most leisurely meal are not to be sniffed at, hosting brunch at home is even better and costs a great deal less. Not only do you handpick your guests (no rowdy people or ill-behaved kids on neighbouring tables), but you can collapse on the sofa with the papers afterwards.

Brunch feels very modern but the term was first coined in an 1895 feature in British magazine Hunter’s Weekly, which described the meal as “cheerful, sociable... it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” All of which is as true today. 

The great advantage of this hybrid meal is that it is easy to assemble and doesn’t involve fancy cooking, table-laying and general showing-off like a dinner party might. It’s an easy-like-Sunday-morning affair, laden with everyone’s favourite carbs (Bagels! Toast! Waffles! Muffins!), eggs cooked in various ways and lashings of juice and Bloody Marys. It’s unhurried, unpretentious and the antidote to weekend hangovers. The king of meals. We love it.

How to brunch

As this is the most laidback meal there is, there are no rules. But a few pointers might help make yours even more chilled, so here you go:

• Don’t even think of doing anything else: brunch is long and leisurely and will easily expand to fill the entire day.
• Ask your guests to bring something: extra pastries, smoked salmon, juice and coffee will always be demolished.
• Have a few post-brunch activities up your sleeve. A gentle stroll around your neighbourhood or a rowdy karaoke session are good options.
• Hold your brunch late-morning on a Sunday to give you time to prepare and the hungover, time for a lie-in.
• Have a pile of Sunday papers for those who aren’t feeling chatty.
• Start a brunch club and take it in turns to host. Although this could add a certain competitive element...

Turn to page 114 of May's The Simple Things for more of our look at Brunch.

Some brunch-ready recipes:

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Nest: Tulips

A bunch of spring tulips bought from a pavement flower seller and wrapped in brown paper is one of the most gratifying of purchases.

Bring them home, snip a little off the stems, plunge into a tall, upright vase and suddenly spring has arrived in the kitchen. Buy blooms with tight buds and enjoy watching them as they open and even grow a little. If you want to keep stems upright, place in a vase that covers at least half their height, but we can’t help thinking that the sinuous movement of the stems as they twist towards the light is all part of their charm.

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