Het bergje: a small mountain in the Low Countries

I live in a country called ‘Nederland’, the Netherlands. In France, they call it ‘les Pays-Bas’, the Low Countries.  And it’s true, the landscape is mostly low and flat, with large parts of the country (ca. 26%) actually below sea level. Knowing this, would you believe I live on a mountain? The area around my neighbourhood has been called a mountain for centuries though it is really only 44 metres above sea level. This means it probably only qualifies as no more than a hill.

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Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants & Flowers

When I received this month’s Urban jungle bloggers theme I couldn’t have been happier. Even though Urban Jungle bloggers is all about green and growing plants, this month’s edition is very special. For the first time, all Urban Jungle Bloggers are asked to style up their home with plants and flowers. I always have flowers somewhere in my home, so this is right up my alley.

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Bring the season into your home with Autumn flowers

Hello, and welcome to market days. Once again I want to take you to the flower market in my hometown. Each month I show you what flowers are in season and available at the market. This time of year, autumn flowers, berries, grasses and rosehips fill the flower market. Their colours remind you of an autumn forest on a bright sunny day. With flowers and fruits, you can bring a little bit of the abundance of nature into your home.

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Autumnal Dahlia bouquet – fresh from the garden

When I wrote about my summer bouquets back in July, I promised you to create another summer bouquet after our summer holiday, this time using the dahlias I have been growing in my dahlia garden. Today is the first day of Autumn, so it’s obviously too late to make a summer bouquet. Luckily, my dahlias are still blooming and in this post I am sharing a very autumnal dahlia bouquet. It’s made from flowers, berries and foliage fresh from the garden.

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5 things I learned about garden photography

Last Saturday, I attended a garden photography workshop hosted by Modeste Herwig at the Botanical Gardens in Utrecht. The weather forecast for the weekend didn’t look very promising. Fortunately, it didn’t turn out as bad as predicted. So I spend most of my day outside, in a beautiful garden, doing what I love to do most: photographing flowers.

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Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants & Art

I have a confession to make. I’m not very good with houseplants. It’s not that I can’t keep them alive, they are not dying, but they aren’t exactly thriving either. I always forget to water my plants, but luckily, most plants like to have the soil dry out a bit before being watered again. Apparently, most people are deathly afraid of under-watering their plants and tend to over-water! Continue reading Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants & Art

Hold on to summer with sunflowers: market days August

Hello there and welcome back to Market Days, where I share whatever flowers are in season and available at the flower market in my hometown. This month I am highlighting sunflowers, a typical summer flower, bright and cheerful and with an unmistakable resemblance to the sun. Continue reading Hold on to summer with sunflowers: market days August

Dahlia garden update: my favourite cut flower dahlias

Hello there, welcome back to my blog! After my long break, I am happy to take up blogging again and share my love of flowers with you. Today, I am taking you to my dahlia garden and I think it’s about time! We have been back from our summer holiday for two weeks now. Those weeks rushed by unpacking and doing the laundry. I have been trying to catch up  in the garden and my boys have been getting ready for school.

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Summer bouquets: Mix and match

Hello there! Whether you are you reading this in the back garden at home or at your holiday location, I hope you are enjoying summer. To bring out your summer feeling even more, in this week’s blog post I am sharing my summer bouquets. You know you should always have flowers in your home. Research shows you’ll feel happier and more satisfied. If you are looking for inspiration for your summer bouquets, just read on.

Summer bouquets - Cloverhome.nl
Monkshood, poppy seed pod, clematis, eucalyptus, phlox

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The flower market in June: summer flowers in abundance

Hello everyone, welcome to this month’s market days, where I share whatever flowers are in season and available at the flower market. After last month’s peonies, this month’s focus is on summer flowers.

Market days June: summer flowers, nigella - Cloverhome.nl
Nigella or love-in-a-mist

But maybe I should begin with: hello, is anybody there? After all, it’s finally summer. We have had our first official heat wave, and everyone seems to be getting ready for the great escape. When the weather gets warm, people spend more time outdoors, take time off from work, have long weekend escapes and go on holiday, while watching less television and spending less time online. And that’s a good thing! I hope, you too, are taking some time off, spending time with friends and family and enjoying the outdoors.

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