End of summer

The summer holidays are over and my boys are back in school. A lot has happened since I was last here. At the beginning of summer, I lost my blogging motivation altogether. I even hardly picked up my camera anymore. My husband was having serious back problems and was in a lot of pain. After  examination in the hospital, it turned out he had a hernia and needed surgery.

I was worried.

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What’s blooming in the garden: June 2016

As I am writing this it is dark and it is raining. It has been raining for days which is in a way a good thing. Plants and gardens need the rain. But people don’t. I need sunshine and happy days!

At the moment, I am not a happy gardener. We are renovating our garden terrace so our back garden looks a mess. The seedlings I planted out have all been eaten by slugs. It’s not the end of the world, but it is frustrating!

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Mixed flower bouquet in shades of purple and violet

Do you know what the ingredients of a perfect mixed flower bouquet are? A mixed flower bouquet features different types of flowers. Focal flowers, base flowers, spires, vines, fillers, and foliage. Have a closer look at this beautiful arrangement in shades of purple and violet. Do you like it and want to know more? Read on to learn some interesting floral facts and how to get the most out of your flower bouquet.

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Bring colour into your garden with rhododendrons

Rhododendrons are the perfect spring-flowering shrub for bringing colour into your garden. They come in all colours of the rainbow and most produce many clusters of flowers. They are easy to grow and low maintenance. No need to prune them unless they grow out over a sidewalk. They look especially wonderful in large gardens or parks where there is space for them to grow. A large rhododendron in bloom is a spectacular sight.

Bring colour into your garden with rhododendrons - Cloverhome.nl
Rhododendron Madame Masson

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Spring floral arrangement: saying goodbye to tulips

Spring is well underway and sadly, tulip season is coming to an end. The Keukenhof is closed for this year after receiving over one million visitors! Have you ever visited? I still haven’t! I’ll put it on my to-do list for next year. To say goodbye to the tulips, I am sharing a spring floral arrangement, featuring tulips, hellebores and clematis. 

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What’s blooming in the garden: May

And suddenly, it feels like summer. After a cold and wet spring, with even some snow at the end of April, temperatures are in the twenties. The warm weather has made a big difference to my garden. Lots of things are emerging; leaves, flowers, and unfortunately, slugs. May is a busy time in the garden. I have been weeding, and removing dead leaves and slugs hiding under the leaves. Obviously, I should have cleared up the leaves months ago but I didn’t. I bought some new plants and planted them in the garden and made a wigwam for my sweet peas. What have you been up to?

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What’s blooming in the garden: April

Hello, I hope you are enjoying spring! We had some nice days and cold nights. Spring is later this year but is now well underway. Last week I wrote the cherry blossom trees were not in full bloom yet, they are now! The magnolia flowers are already starting to fall on the ground.  It’s such a shame that the spectacular flowering trees only bloom for such a short time, don’t you think? Luckily, there is much to look forward to these days. It won’t be long before the azaleas and rhododendrons start blooming. They are not as sensational as the cherry trees, but they come close.

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Tulip and anemone spring arrangement

Hello and welcome back to Cloverhome. After a cold start to spring, we finally had some warmer weather last weekend, with temperatures reaching 20°C on Sunday!

Spring has definitely sprung and more and more flowers start to bloom. This is the perfect time to use and arrange some of those beautiful flowers to bring spring into your home. Why don’t you join me and make a spring flower arrangement using tulips, anemones, and snowball viburnum?

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5 reasons to grow your own flowers (and 3 reasons not to)

A vase of fresh flowers cut straight from the garden and brought into the house can instantly brighten up a room and in many cases fill it with scent. One of my favourite garden activities is picking flowers I grow in my garden. It certainly beats other garden chores like weeding. Growing your own flowers is fun, it’s easy and it’s a great way to save money. So it’s surprising that more people don’t try growing their own flowers. There are plenty of cut flowers that you can grow at home, it’s easy if you choose the right plants. Not convinced yet? Here are 5 reasons to grow your own flowers.

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DIY pressed flower Easter eggs

It’s almost Easter, so it’s time to get crafty. Join me in this blog post where I show you how to make pressed flower Easter eggs. I have always loved decorating eggs for Easter. First as a child, and later with my children. My boys are growing up too fast and are no longer interested in crafts. They love an Easter egg hunt but prefer chocolate eggs over dyed eggs. I’m on my own now!

DIY pressed flower Easter eggs – This Easter egg decorating idea is an easy and affordable project. All you need are eggs and pressed flowers. I used pansies because they are some of the best flowers to dry. They are small and flat and they seem to hold their colour very well. Simply apply them to the eggs using wallpaper paste - Cloverhome.nl

Last year, I dyed my eggs in different shades of blue and green to create an ombré effect. This year, I tried a new Easter egg idea I’m sharing with you. It’s an easy and affordable project. All you need are eggs and pressed flowers.

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