Are your plants looking sad? Does your garden lack the wow factor? Now spring is upon us we start to think about the garden and how we can give it some much needed TLC, but where to start? So I thought I would ask my son (the gardening one) for his opinion on the 5 common mistakes his clients make in their gardens and his thoughts on the solutions. I have been guilty of all of them! Gardens, like interiors, are very subjective and we all want different things, but these common mistakes apply to all gardens, whatever your design thoughts and colour preferences.
1. Light levels
Planting position is the key to a happy plant. A sun lover in the shade is going to be very sad and become sickly so check the sun levels in the different parts of your garden before purchasing plants. Shade and sun lovers apart there are many plants that fall in the middle that will tolerate part sun/part shade with the accepted measurement of this to be about 4 to 5 hours of sun a day but there is a big difference between early morning sun and hot afternoon sun. In essence this is not an exact science and some experimentation will be necessary.
5 Things you Didn’t Know About Us
15 Apr 2015
You may have been reading our blog since the beginning, which means you’ve been reading our ramblings for coming up to 3 years now and we thought it was about time you got to know the ladies behind Audenza. So we have shared 5 things about each of us that you didn’t already know. Unless you already know us in person us of course… but there might still be a few surprises in there! Read on to find out why Hollie is a puffer fish, why Amelia resorted to rinsing a chicken tagine under the tap and how Jacqui managed to survive bringing up 5 kids….
We Love: Paint by Conran
3 Apr 2015
We first heard about Paint by Conran on twitter otherwise I think it would have passed us by as it doesn’t seem to be very widely available yet. Terence Conran is one of the world’s best-known designers, restaurateurs and retailers and he has teamed up with Master Paintmakers to produce a range that is inspired by the beautiful colours of British plants and landscapes. There are 96 colours curated into five collections comprised of colours that work well together, which makes it easier to design a room scheme.
Urban Jungle Bloggers- Easter Styling
27 Mar 2015
I love Easter, not just for chocolate, but for the promise of longer days and warmer weather, and emerging buds in the garden. And, really, I think Easter styling has to be rather kitsch with lots of eggs, bunnies, birds and choc – the more the merrier – and blossom to remind us of new beginnings outdoors.
This vignette started with the china bunnies that belonged to my great aunt and I think they look so happy resting on a bed of moss and nibbling at the chocolate eggs.
5 Tips for Choosing Plant Pots for House Plants
17 Mar 2015
Spring is in the air which always makes me think about re-potting my house plants and giving them some room to grow and a new lease of life after their hibernation. It does mean having to re-think your pots though as some plants will need to move up a size. Choosing plant pots for house plants need not be a tricky business, in fact as long as the pot is big enough to get the plant into, then there’s plenty of tips and tricks to make a plant fit the pot you want. Here’s my top 5 tips:
1. If the pot is too big put pieces of polystyrene in the base to fill it out and then stand your potted plant in and fill round the top with moss. The plant can be watered without removing it as the polystyrene allows the water to drain away from the plant.
So you may remember reading our blog post, ‘How to Style a Contemporary Home with Vintage Pieces’ which was the first in a three part series for Period Living Magazine. Well, we’re back with the second instalment and this time we’re looking at how to style and integrate two current interiors trends into your home using vintage items: warm metals and indigo.
Tips for styling indigo pieces:
1.Vintage blue china, from plates to bowls, cups and saucers and teapots can be picked up quite cheaply at charity shops and vintage emporiums.
5 Gift Voucher Ideas for Mother’s Day
5 Mar 2015
Mother’s day is March 15 so you better get a wriggle on if you want to impress your mother and show how much she is in your thoughts. The trouble with mothers is they have usually accumulated a lot of stuff over the years and consequently it can be tricky to choose a present, so gift vouchers have to be a winner,and we have picked 5 gift voucher ideas that are all tried and tested by the girls here at Audenza HQ.
Colander Hanging Planter
26 Feb 2015
February’s Urban Jungle Bloggers theme is hanging planters, which are a big trend right now but I remember their last outing in the 70’s – mainly hanging by means of macramé holders. Now I did google macramé but it looked like some form of slow torture, involving a lot of fiddly knots, (no, not Fifty shades of Grey) so decided to give that a miss and think of other ways around hanging my lovely greenery.
Copper and brass are a great contrast to greenery and as warm metals are trending I thought I would use my fab copper colander as a hanging planter, and my goodness was it easy to do, no Girl Guide knots for me!
How to Update Vintage China
21 Feb 2015
I can never resist having a browse round charity shops when I am in my local town– there are so many of them on high streets now it’s quite a temptation. The trick is not to come home with too much naff stuff just because it’s cheap, but occasionally I will spot a piece of vintage china I like the shape of but it’s very dated looking. Updating (or upcycling) vintage china is so easy to do and completely changes the object from something tired and outdated to a vibrant and on trend piece.
Shed Decor- Book Review
13 Feb 2015
Summerhouses, sheds, log cabins – whatever they are called – are all about a retreat. In the good old days every self-respecting husband would have a shed to escape the wife! I think the tables have turned now and many of us want a retreat from the pressure of everyday life and a place to play, read, relax, and a place to beautify, where we can be whimsical with the decor. Now we are into February and the daylight increases I start to think about my garden and summerhouse and the possibility of spring, and what better way to inspire us than this lovely new book Shed Decor, by Sally Coulthard.
The book gives lots of style ideas that are put into six sections – rustic, vintage, plain and simple, recycled, retro and country – and every section has some really inspiring photos to whet your appetite.
