Green and gorgeous ...

"I am just wondering why we have never been here?", I quizzed my lovely Berkshire friend as I flicked through Country Living magazine and came upon an article about a gorgeous flower farm located very close to her house. 

So .. early one Saturday morning we found ourselves winding our way along the country lanes of West Berkshire to Wallingford, and then we arrived ... 

Every Saturday they throw open their farm gates and you can pick your own ... which we did ... lots.  It was a total and utter delight.

Here in our little shop we have had a new book delivery, including three lovely ones which are perfect for flower lovers xx

Discovering the Meaning of Flowers. Who knew that whilst giving a red rose means "I love you", returning a single rose leaf means "there's hope", and returning the withered original .. well, that's not a good sign. These helpful hints and many beautiful projects are explained in this gorgeous book.

£20 click to buy 

Cut Flower Garden. A glimpse into the glorious world of Floret Flower Farm where Erin has put together an indispensable four season growing guide that will inspire you to grow your own, be it one row or one hundred.

£21.99 click to buy

Handpicked. Simple, sustainable and seasonal flower arrangements . This beautiful book arrived and is so inspirational and caused a flurry of excitement that a copy is most certainly going into my basket and heading home. 

£14.99 click to buy

Have a lovely week xx

Buzzzzz ...

The view from our little Potting Sheds shop window is really quite lovely, even on wet days. You can sit and watch the bees busily going from one plant to the next for hours.

They are quite incredible insects. They existed before the dinosaurs and evolved at about the same time as flowers in order to pollinate them - thousands of years ago.  

Who knew .... Honey bees are said to be brilliant movers in that they share information about the best food source by performing a 'waggledance' . When the worker returns to the hive, it moves around in a figure-of-eight and waggles its body to indicate the food source!! 

Our lovely candles from Beefayre , who kindly donate 3% of their profits to bee conservation and research. 

£8.95 click to buy

Backyard Bees ... a beautiful and informal guide for the beginner beekeeper.

£14.99 click to buy

Unexpectedly...

we will have no electricity between the hours of 9am-5pm on Tuesday 1st August due to maintenance, so our little shop will be closed, our lovely online store will be open though! We will be back open bright and breezy on Wednesday xx

Parties and picnics ..

Picnic .. an occasion when a packed meal is eaten outdoors. 

You don't actually have to venture that far though, a garden picnic is lovely when you don't fancy lugging a basket just that  'little bit further' in search of the perfect spot. 

The obvious delight in staying close to home though , is that you can surround yourself with blankets and cushions to make it comfy, or for when the sun goes in, also if you are I n the garden, you also have the added plus of being able to pop inside for anything forgotten!! 

We have chosen three things to help with the perfect picnic or party.  

Drinks dispenser .. fill with lemonade, cucumber water or pack with fruit for an amazing Pimms. Lovely for summer -y days. £22 click to buy.

Blankets .. use to snuggle up in when it goes chilly or use as a floor cloth. £46 click to buy. 

Basket .. pile high with all of your favourite picnic-y treats. From £24.99 click to buy. 

All things garden-y

With this gorgeous mix of sunshine and showers our gardens are hopefully looking stunning. 

Deadheading and weeding go hand in hand with our random climate, so here are two things to help you along ..

Japanese razor hoe

Probably one of our most popular garden tools both with customers and our own gardeners. This sharp, angled hoe is easily drawn through the soil, chopping and removing weeds in its path . £14.95. Click to buy

These beautiful handmade little snips are ideal for deadheading and gathering herbs. £10.50. Click to buy

Croston Open Gardens

9th July

11am -4pm

A range of stunning private gardens will open their gates to welcome visitors. From wild and informal  to landscaped minimalist ... something for everyone!!

Tea and cakes, a plant and flower stall, planting demonstration, a raffle and children's quiz will also be in the lovely grounds of the church.  

All proceeds will go to the 'Croston Together' charity.  

This is the beautiful garden designed and created by The Potting Sheds which will be open on the day. 

Tickets on sale in our little shop or at Croston's Old School on the day. 

Have a lovely weekend xx

Fathers day

Father's Day .. 

There is no doubt about it, dads can be tricky to buy for, so we have put together three gifts, all thoughtfully made and wonderfully unique. Hop over to our website to see the rest of our Father's Day collection. 

Brass corkscrew 

This vintage look corkscrew is handmade out of solid brass and would make a perfect Father's Day gift ... £24.95 click to buy

Galvanised thermometer

Keep track of our ever changing temperatures with the galvanised thermometer, completely weatherproof, handy with this British weather!!... £24 click to buy

Knife

The culture, craft and cult of the cooks knife, beautifully illustrated with practical advice on knife care, this book is a cool and desirable addition to the bookshelf...£20 click to buy

New arrivals at The Potting Sheds ..

You may remember that we headed off on a shop shopping trip a few weeks ago, returning full of ideas, excitement and inspiration.  

Well our purchases have slowly started to arrive in our little shop and online so here are a few of this weeks favourites ..

Fig handwash .. smells divine and doesn't contain any baddies so is also kind to your hands ... the packaging is rather gorgeous too. £12

Pretty Moroccan glasses £3.99

Traditional wooden flower presses, I  am sure I had one of these as a little girl, from £11.50

And how beautiful are these roses which we bought for the shop this morning .. Memory Lane incase you wondered xx

The Potting Sheds easy Easter reads...

Even though the good old English weather may have missed the memo, it’s now officially spring which means the very welcome sight of lighter, longer days. Outside is starting to look a little more colourful and we’ve got the early morning bird chorus waking us from our slumbers.

And, on those days where mother nature decides to play ball and shower us with some sunshine instead of rain, we love nothing more than taking life a little slower; popping on the kettle and enjoying a brew alfresco with a good book in our hands.

Handpicked ...Simple, Sustainable and Seasonal flower arrangements. This book arrived recently and is so beautiful, inspirational and caused such a flurry of excitement,  that a copy is most certainly going in my basket and coming home with me. 

£14.99 - Click to buy

Imperfect home ..A lovely book,  a look that is not swayed by trends. Its rough around the edges and sees the beauty in imperfection.

£ 25.00 - Click to buy

Knife ... the culture, craft and cult of the cooks knife.

Lavishly illustrated, with practical advice on knife care, this book is a cool, personal and desirable addition to the bookshelf.

£ 20.00 - Click to buy

How to be a wildflower .... a field guide - "do you remember how easily you perceived the magic of the natural world when you were a child"

A beautiful book for all ages.

£12.99 - Click to buy

At The Potting Sheds, our stock of lifestyle reads are flying off our shelves and so we’re constantly on the hunt to make sure we’ve got the best selection of books on offer for you to enjoy in the peace and tranquillity of your own home.

All books stocked are tried and tested by our very eyes. It’s a hard life.Here’s our favourite selection of books occupying our shelves this Easter…

Making the most of the longer days...

The clocks have finally sprung forward which means lovely, lighter evenings are upon us. Here are our favourite ways to make the most of the extra hours of daylight…

PICK YOUR OWN

If you’ve not already started to ‘grow your own’ in your garden then it’s never too late in the season to start. In the shop we’ve got everything you need to get going alongside expert advise so you can go all ‘hunter gatherer’ picking fresh, seasonal produce to cook up for dinner. Spinach and rhubarb are already in season, potatoes and multitude of salad leaves come in season this coming month and May brings us carrots and onions too.

BBQ

Time to dust off your BBQ and get that bad boy fired up! You might think a grill out in April is ludicrous but we think there’s no better way to savour those extra hours of daylight. Pull on a warm jacket or jumper and cook up a couple of steaks with a fresh salad dressing from the garden and you’re on to a winner! 

Galvanised bowl

With its curved design and steel handles this bowl makes a fabulous centrepiece, planted up or piled high with ice and cold drinks., ideal for barbecue - ing.

£25. Click here to buy  

GET GARDENING

A few evenings spent in the garden now is going to make life so much easier when it gets to that first sunny weekend and all you want to do is kick back with an ice cold drink. Grab your trowel, do a bit of weeding, mow the lawn all with your lighter evenings so you’re fully prepped for when (not if!) summer hits. Need to stock up on your choice of gardening gear? We’ve got it covered here.

Transplant trowel

A gardeners must have, this trowel has a narrow body for precise digging with depth marks, helpful for bulb planting.  

£10.99. Click here buy. 

Hand fork

Hardened and tempered prongs to withstand tough cultivating.  

£10.99. Click here to buy.  

All available online or in our shop.  

A little tour of The Potting Sheds and Cedar Farm.

So , for those of you who follow us remotely and can't easily pop in to say hello in person, we thought we would give you a little tour of our shop and Cedar Farm,  the old converted pig farm that we are situated on in rural Lancashire. 

We are located in a courtyard which we share with a few other shops including a gorgeous cafe, whose guests spill outside on sunny days and where, when sat out there, you really couldn't wish to be anywhere else. Even on rainy days it's still rather lovely.

Our shop is quite tiny but filled with all manner of beautiful things

Through our little side door we have a covered area where our potting bench lives, so even when it's pouring down, we can still be outside.

We also have a tiny shop garden which usually looks lovely but is a bit of a state at the moment as we are having a little jiggle about with it ... hence, the photograph below is of the aquilegia I long for but have never been successful in growing.

Even though it is the shop which is predominantly mentioned here, it is in fact only a small part of The Potting Sheds. We also have an amazing and thriving garden design, build and maintenance business based here too. 

Clever aren't they!!