Purple Plants

03/10/2026

Are you making the most of the Indian summer? It's been lovely but a difficult summer with a drought in our area.

Anyway... quick post to say I have been super organised and BOOKED THE DATE for next year's fundraiser 🤩

Slightly earlier in May - the early bird catches the worm and all that! There were things at the last sale people wanted but we didn't have. Fear not, I made a note and all being well, will make sure we have some on offer for 2027.

06/09/2026

Prep for next year begins - although something 🐭 has already been at the trays 🙄 a few perennials sown, we'll see if they are successful.

Thanks to the more frequent rain, the garden is starting to look greener, though I suspect there will be some casualties from the drought.
I have moved my chickens into their new coop today so hopefully we can start to clear some junk from the garden and get the veg patch ready for next year 🤞🏻

It will be nice to start to get the garden straight, we have loved here almost 19 years and it's still a work in progress!

29/08/2026

Monsoon! It's a bit of a novelty at the moment... 💦

16/08/2026

Where'd she go 👀

Apologies for the big gap in posts. I finally did a video but its long so I thought instead I would do a post and share some pics.

So, its all about the 'W's .... almost.

We are officially in drought here in East Sussex, despite some very heavy looking clouds, we have had no rain for weeks. And it has been so hot - 5th heatwave underway 🥵

Back to the W's then.

W for water 💦 you can still water your plants using a watering can - however....
W for water wisely
W for water for wildlife 🐭🐦‍⬛🐝
Water storage

In the here and now put trays or saucers under your pots to prevent water loss, and choose what you water, don't waste it on plants that are going over. Cut your losses and use it for for others. This is watering wisely.

Please put out water for wildlife. The birds are both drinking and bathing lots, but I'm also seeing various other things having a drink. Make sure it's not too deep and that there is something in there to make it easy to get out.

Water storage - where you can, harvesting rain water is a really sustainable thing to do. Just make sure it is safe - water butts should have lids or a cover, it is even sensible to use something to cover the filling hole on your watering can to prevent small birds and mice from falling in.

Going forward... I suspect our summers will become more like this - hot and dry - as a way to future-proof, if you're going plant shopping look at those that are drought tolerant 🌼 things that you would find on a prairie like echinacea, or pelargoniums.

19/07/2026

19/07/2026

I know this will resonate with you!

29/06/2026

Drum roll please....

Apologies for the delay in announcing the final total from the fundraiser in May. I had a few more small sales but finally drew the line.

It was a random £892, so I rounded it up to £900. This was made up of monies from the fundraiser, a few plant sales after and £35 on JustGiving. Overall it will actually be £908.75 with gift aid.

Combined with the first plant sale last year, this takes the Purple Plants fundraising to around £2,700.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in some way.

We are already planning for next year 💜

31/05/2026

If like me you reuse plant labels, you may also have suffered the frustration of 'I literally just saw a label for that and now I can't find it 💁'

So I had a little think about it and decided that a little set of drawers would be just the thing. 30 smaller ones that I can label A to Z with room for pens and spare labels.

Undecided about the bigger drawers, probably not enough room for all my seed packets but I know I'll find a use for them 🙂

And finally, I have planted a few annuals out. Morning Glory, sweet peas and stocks (or possibly phlox, can't remember 🤔!)

30/05/2026

Meant to post this last night.... excuse the birds - we have lots of families lurking, as well as a very vocal woodpecker ☺️

25/05/2026

🥵 I'm a bit done with this heatwave now. I keep doing bits of jobs in the garden but it really is too hot. As well as making sure you stay hydrated, standing plants in trays of water will help keep them from flagging.

Please also put some water out for the wildlife. I have several watering holes in the garden, in different places as well as some containers that have collected rain water. For slightly deeper water, pop a stone or similar in so that insects or small animals can get back out.

I've started clearing where the greenhouse was, hopefully we can get the new chicken run up and the 'new' (old!) veg patch up and running even if only partially for this year 🤞🙏