Spring Indoors

There's nothing more lovely than the start of spring. We've passed the 1st March, the official start of spring according to the Met Office and also the Spring Equinox, so spring is well and truly underway.  The daffodils are out in full force, tulips and bluebells are bursting through ready to follow and many spring garden plants like the forsythia, are either blooming or preparing to bloom. 

The weather is always so changeable in spring though, with warm sunny days where you can be outdoors and enjoy the garden and the birdsong to cold, wet, windy and even snowy days where it's not as easy to be outdoors for too long. This is why I love to have some plants and flowers indoors, to both cheer up the house on those changeable spring days and to reflect a little of the outside indoors. 

I find spring flowers so cheerful and uplifting and love filling vases of daffodils and tulips to spread a little spring cheer around the house. I also love orchids and colourful plants in the conservatory which add to the array of spring colours and make the conservatory a bright and sunny extension of the garden. 

Conservatory in Winter

We've had a little bit of early spring sunshine this last week or two and the conservatory is a special place to sit on days like this and enjoy the warmth. It's my favourite time of year in there - not quite warm enough to sit outside, but in the conservatory it can feel like spring or even summer with a little sunshine and you can look out on the garden and feel nearer to it.  

I like to have house plants and seasonal plants for some foliage and flowers in there, to make it as though you are in between the house and the garden. I've acquired quite a collection of orchids over the last year or two - most have been presents - and there are always some in flower to brighten the room up - even in the depths of winter. 

I grow dracenas and weeping figs and together with a miniature olive tree - another lovely present -  they give lovely green foliage. There are also a few cacti and succulents too. I like to add seasonal plants in there as well. At the moment I've still got a couple plants left over from Christmas - cyclamens and poinsettas, which are still doing well and adding some bright colour. I've also got some bowls of miniature daffodils in there, just to add to that near spring feeling! 

A cup of coffee, a good book, feet up, sunshine and birds singing - what could be more perfect! 

Marche Aux Fleurs

We were in Paris at the weekend and were lucky enough to spend some time at the 'Marche aux Fleurs'. It is a very popular flower market situated between Sainte Chappelle and Notre Dame in the heart of the Ile de la Citie. 

It has attracted gardeners and tourists alike since the early 1800s and is both under cover of pavillions dating back to this time and in the open air. It is famed for its vast array of plants and offers a huge selection of seasonal plants, shrubs, greenery, exotic plants and magnificent orchids. It also offers many interesting stalls full of trinkets and garden paraphernalia. On Sundays it is transformed with a bird market too and all the accessories you may need to keep birds. 

It is a picturesque delight to the senses and has been described as the most fragrant stop along the banks of the River Seine. Artists, poets and writers often come looking for inspiration to this most peaceful and quirky spot set between the urban developments of many centuries. It is a little oasis, a quaint place to be enthralled, where you can escape in tranquility and beauty for a time. 

Have a little wander round for a taste of what you may find...

Open daily from 8am until 7.30pm