Summer 2025 Welcome to our Green Shoots Project 🌱 Introduced in 2021, The Daisy Garland Green Shoots project has been specially designed to inspire children and young adults with complex epilepsy to get outside and practice a bit of ‘green therapy’ by sowing seeds and growing nutritious low-carb vegetables and edible flowers. This year, 70+ families we support have signed up to be part of this exciting sensory project, with many more joining us along the way, and we look forward to charting their progress here on our website and The Daisy Garland Facebook page over the coming months. This project has been made possible through funds raised and donated by our Daisy Garland fundraisers and supporters. We are enormously grateful to each and every one of them. May and June are frost free, so time to plant out those little Green Shoots 🌱 you've been keeping inside! You can also sow all kinds of tender plants now - beans, courgettes, carrots, cucumbers and cucamelons to name just a handful. And it's time to sow seeds of annual flowers like nasturtiums, marrigolds and night-scented stocks. Let's see what our Green Shoots families are up to this summer... "Gethin and I have put his seeds in their final pots... Gethin got distracted by the paddling pool in his clothes xxx" Helen "We have the sunflowers replanted now and are waiting on the runner beans to come up... We have also planted some lettuce and the carrots will go out once the frost risk is away." Gail In forty years of medical practice, I have found only two types of non-pharmaceutical 'therapy' to be vitally important for patients with chronic neurological diseases: music and gardens. ~ Oliver Sacks (1933-2015) "This was a couple of weeks ago, after realising we hadn't thinned out the radish seedlings They grew so quickly! I'm complete novice, and have since sorted them out. It's really therapeutic. Half the flower bombs have grown, and the carrots are doing well. Thank you for inspiring us! " Hannah The Daisy Garland Green Shoots Project has helped us lots to engage with garden and life a bit of the good life. Claire "I thought it's about time to post an update on our Yesterday we pulled out the last bundle of radishes. This year we shared a lot of them with ... This season's lettuces have a way to grow yet but we still have some winter lettuce on the go. What we are really enjoying now is all the herbs. We have lots of marjoram, thyme and sage, hyssop, chive, rosemary and lemon balm. And there will be more to come. Tomatoes are finally going in this weekend and then courgettes and pumpkins at last. Can't wait for all the crop. Yum yum. " Erika "First salad harvest of the year! 🎉 " Sara x "Everything is blooming great!!! lol" Sadia "Here's our Green Shoots 🌱 from seed to garden. Emily had a little 'help' from Marley our new puppy." Sarah "Our outside is a building site. So we spent some time in a friend's garden." Marie "I replanted my sweet peas today was trying to separate them but the roots were so deep and intertwined so I’ve put them all in together - not sure this is the right thing to do anyway let’s see what happens - I have some bigger canes if needed." Debbie In April 2024, Kay tragically lost her only child to epilepsy. Her son, Spud, was 21 years old. Spending time in nature with Tilly her dog at her side is helping Kay through the grieving process. Here Kay tells us: 'I keep finding myself pottering about in the garden. There's something very soothing about being out there and seeing the progress being made each day.' This year Kay has some lovely plans for her garden, which she shares with us HERE "A lovely day in the garden, if a little chilly! Planted peppers and sunflowers, watered our sweet peas and turned a steep grassy bank into a wild flower meadow with a little help from dad!" Julie We received our seeds this week. Jonathan is really excited about sowing them. Tami Lachlan and Rex having fun planting up seeds and seed balls... "Funny how the rain makes everything come alive!" Sadia "Still watering here... xxx" Helen Let’s get composting!! What to do with all those veggie peelings and fruit stalks? I know! Let’s get composting! To learn more about kitchen composting click HERE Children love it when things grow in the garden and composting is a great activity for children to get involved in. It teaches them lots about organic recycling and waste reduction. And by explaining that the compost is the food that the plants eat to grow big and strong is a very good place to start. Compost provides the necessary nutrients in the soil and also encourages bio diversity in the garden. Peppa Pig explains the concept of composting HERE Our friends at Burgon and Ball have some fabulous composting tips to share HERE Did you know that composting bins are available very cheaply from many UK local authorities; check www.getcomposting.com to see if the scheme is available in your area. We bought our compost bin from the council and we love it! It's stood in a semi shaded spot to avoid overheating the worms inside! Fruit and veg peelings, a few select weeds, inner tubes of kitchen/toilet roll, newspaper, torn up cardboard and lots of other bits and bobs are added on a weekly basis. A few days with the lid firmly on and this will all rot down making room for lots more to be added as the weeks go by. With the Bank Holiday weekend looming, there's lots to be getting on with. Tomato seedlings to be hardened off*.... And a 'table of plenty' to tackle: marigolds, peas, tobacco plants, delphiniums, wisteria, geraniums and verbena. Looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting my hands in the soil... More pics coming soon! SARA X * Hardening Off You do this by moving your seedlings from your windowsill or greenhouse, and popping them outside each morning, getting them used to the cooler air, the wind and the sun, before bringing them in again by the early evening. Repeat this process for a week or so. You can then plant them directly into the soil, firming the soil around each plant and watering them in well, which helps settle the soil around their roots, preventing big air pockets forming which can dry the roots out. You might also want to consider using pet friendly, organic, slug pellets, as a pest deterrent to prevent those little green shoots being gobbled up by an army of hungry snails! For more tips, hints and information, take a look at this: https://www.thompson-morgan.com/pricking-out-hardening-off Happy Growing Everyone! 🌱 🌻 🥕 🥬 🐝 🐌 🍅 🥒 🍓 🍐🥦 🥀 "Some growing updates." Angela "We are definitely growing, beans have gone a bit wild! xxx" Helen "Peppermint, Chili and Tomato Plant" Chloe "First strawberry our family have grown this year. Reese was so excited . Tomato plants are doing well too " Tina "Colour bursts in the pots and buckets around the garden." Sadia "Potting on here we come! A productive BH weekend with hands well and truly immersed in compost!" SARA X A new addition to TDG team - Tommy the Tomato plant! "Green Shoots update from Esme’s garden. Baby turnips, yellow courgettes, far too many tomato plants, mini cucumbers and special dragon’s egg cucumbers too and a blueberry bush covered in baby blueberries! Since the rain arrived the other day we have had slug and snail invasions so we are using felted wool packaging from frozen dog food deliveries around courgettes and wool pellets on the other things as a defence." Mary [Green Shoots] it’s become a whole family effort! Mary "Some delicious hidden gems getting ready to be picked." Sadia "For Isabelle's 15th birthday we held a small brick-a-brack sale in our allotment. With the help of our kind fellow allotmenteers we raised £40 for Daisy Garland. " Erika Flossie on the allotment, waiting patiently as we water our (now not so little) Green Shoots! 🌱 Beetroot, radish and spring onions are doing well, but the sweet peas (pic 3 below) seem to be on a real go slow this year. Hmmmm, I wonder why... Runner beans are looking fab and so are the sunflowers and courgettes. Now the warmer weather's here it's important to keep a close eye on your plants and seedlings making sure they're getting enough to drink. Lack of water will cause those green shoots to wilt in no time. This is where Rex the watering can comes into his own! 💦 🌱 Keep Calm and Water On! More updates coming soon... SARA X "Some insects are hiding from the rain today!" Sadia The Daisy Garland: Sadia, it's great to see your Daisy Garland Bug Hotel in action! "Poppies are a favourite for our bees at the moment...." Sadia "Just wondering if anyone else had any success in growing Sicilian Honey Garlic? See below - tall plant with pink and green bell-shaped flowers. The bulbs were included in last Autumn's Green Shoots Grow Boxes. I planted mine, and then forgot where I'd planted them, until I saw this one in full bloom. (Did this happen to anyone else I wonder?) The bees love them, and they've such beautiful flowers I so wished I'd planted the bulbs together in a little clump, as opposed to spacing them far and wide. In fact, I've yet to find the others and wonder if perhaps a hungry mouse with a penchant for garlic snuck them! Oh well, these things happen. That's the joy of gardening! I'm planning on giving them another go this year and will be sure to plant them in a little clump so I can keep a close eye on their progress. SARA XX Thank you Charles for sharing this stunning pic 🐝 "I couldn't decide where to plant them at the time so potted up. I think they didnt like being in the pot as only 3 of them flowered. They are going in to the ground in Autumn.” Erika "We have some from the green shoot's programme in our very wild planters.” Angela Happy Friday everyone! This weekend will see me planting two tomato plants into a grow bag, which I'm going to leave on the floor of our mini greenhouse. I'm interested to see what difference this will make, in terms of growth and crop size, compared to the tomato plants I'm going to plant out in the open air. Let's just watch this space! 🍅 🌱 SARA XX Two in a greenhouse grow bag, one in a pot and three still to plant directly into the soil. I wonder which one/s will come up trumps? SARA X "Callum watering his runner beans, he has now been watering my garden for half an hour while I relax and he does it all for me !" Charles "Checking in with our green shoots plants and making Rex earn his keep . The daisy's were seeds a couple of times ago - didn't do anything this year but have now started to flower. xx" Sarah Working with the soil and the seasons, growing crops that are nurtured from tilling the soil to harvest and then shared with friendly people is one of the sanest, healthiest and most healing activities that man can undertake. Monty Don "Our Green shoots are doing pretty well! Sunflower is getting tall, sweet peas starting to flower (think we must have had some tomato seeds in our home made compost ), and courgettes, cucumbers and runner beans are ready for bigger pots!" Julie " I think we can call it a strawberry party! " Erika Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese. They also contain good amounts of folate (vitamin B9) and potassium. Strawberries are very rich in antioxidants and plant compounds, which may have benefits for heart health and blood sugar control. Noticed a little visitor on my wild flower poppies whilst watering my Green Shoots last night... SARA X Did you Know? The male bees (in any species) cannot sting as they don't have the stinging anatomy, which makes them super safe. "After a disastrous start and only a handful of seeds growing we have finally got 2 radishes and around 4 sunflowers . I bought the 3 tomato plants as none of ours survived. Not sure what I did but not giving up. We can grow cress easily though. Thank you for giving us the chance to grow our own green fingers." Kim "Green Shoots update with a difference and a cautionary tale. Yesterday we identified a mystery plant in one of our raised beds. I thought it was self sown from some similar flowers I’d grown there last year but eagle eyed and poison obsessed Esme thankfully realised what it was. It’s only incredibly poisonous hemlock! Esme has a passion for forensics and crime alongside fantasy and wildflowers, mushrooms so the study of poisons was a natural progression. She’s done a lot of self directed learning about it and made aged paper to make notes for her own guide.She’s been inspired by the Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland as well which she has visited 5 times now. So relieved she identified what it really is. It looks incredibly similar to cow parsley, Ammi Majus, Wild Carrot etc so please beware. Now to remove it safely before it seeds everywhere including the long tap root it apparently has. Esme is delighted to add hemlock to her own personal poison garden along with common plants such as laurel, foxglove, rhubarb, (the leaves)rosemary and ivy. I’m less delighted! " Mary Daisy Garland Response: "EXCELLENT work Esme! ⭐️ Thank you for taking the time to make us aware of this very beautiful, but incredibly Toxic plant. One to watch out for and avoid touching/picking at all costs. We also want to highlight that Hemlock is toxic for dogs and other animals as well as humans." "I've been struggling a bit with our plants recently, so we decided to have a bit of a sort out today.. The flower seed bombs are looking good, half of them worked, and we'll soon have some cornflowers. There were a few oxeye daisy seeds left, so I thought there's nothing to lose by planting the rest. I can just try to tweak things this time, as the first lot struggled... And because I forgot to plant the tomato seeds (and Poppy was a bit cross with me about that ), we got a tomato plant instead. I also wanted to compensate and got a cucumber and pepper plant, too It's been a really good learning experience so far, and it's definitely teaching us to persevere. You don't learn until you try! #GreenShoots " Hannah "Tomato plants as far as the eye can see!! Seeds came from the same packet and sown seconds apart. The pots/grow bag were dotted around in various sunny spots on our kitchen roof terrace. Interesting results so far. As always, will be sure to keep you posted. SARA 🍅" "After a disastrous start and only a handful of seeds growing we have finally got 2 radishes and around 4 sunflowers . I bought the 3 tomato plants as none of ours survived. Not sure what I did but not giving up. We can grow cress easily though. Thank you for giving us the chance to grow our own green fingers." Kim "Radishes have started to flower. We've completely forgotten to plant the tomato seeds, and I haven't watered the carrots enough. But you've inspired me not to give up either! Some of our other flowers have worked, and it's not too late to plant the beans. Let's keep going!!" Hannah "I noticed my sweet peas opening up this morning for the first time beautiful!!" Debbie "Gethin is beginning to see the fruits of his labour, does anyone know when I can tell the carrots are properly ready?" Helen Daisy Garland carrot pulling Response: If you want baby carrots you can harvest in 4 to 6, while larger carrots usually take three months or more from the date of sowing. Check the carrot's "shoulder" (the area where the carrot meets the soil) this should be about 1" in diameter (the size of a 2p coin) or the feathery tops 10-12 inches tall. Both can be a sign the carrot is big enough and ready to pull. Gently pulling on the stems at the base, and giving them a gentle wriggle as you do so, helps determine if they're ready. They should come up fairly easily 🥕🥕🥕 Happy munching! "How cute are my sweet peas " Debbie "Bombarding with photos for the Green shoots as its the last day of June. How incredibly quickly it went by.. We have finally completed our allotment and had a lovely Open garden day up there. All this month we have been chumming away our lettuce, spring onions, dill and other herbs. Recently we began to pick some peas too . The very first courgette was harvested this morning! What we thought would be blackberries turned out to be one of the delicious hybrids. They are so very yummy with some double cream Surprisingly we saved few cherries from the Wood pigeons The beans are producing lovely speckled pods, some baby toms and squashed spotted too. Beetroots are almost ready to be cooked and turned into a pink soup (cold borscht - best dish for a such weather!). Just need to wait for cucumber or two. And yes, we are picking up sweet peas too! Happy Summer to All! " Erika, and Isabelle (pictured below) "Lily yesterday eve watering our beans with help of Rex. She's worried someone will pick 1st bean before she gets home from her school residential..." Vanessa "Annabelle’s beans are growing very well and in full flower!” Hannah Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) The MIRACLE of Nature 🌱 Spring 2024 Velvety Japanese Wisteria seed pods sent to us by keto mum, Erika to share with our Green Shoots families... carefully prised a couple of the pods open... and soaked the dried up seeds inside in warm water for 48 hours... sowed the seeds in a pot of compost... Placed a plastic bag over the pot to keep in heat and moisture and placed on our bright kitchen windowsill... and waited... six weeks later... January 2025 EEEEKKKK!!!! (lilac pot) has it died? will it come back? Let's wait and see... Summer 2025... 🤩 Phew... On our way to visiting the ketogenic service at Addenbrookes hospital last year I couldn't resist snapping this gorgeous pic of the Wisteria covering the front of the Masters Lodge at Christ's College, Cambridge. What a truly spectacular sight 💜 And to think this all started with a little velvety Wisteria pod... The MIRACLE of nature 🌱 JULY " 🌱 Daisy Garland Green Shoots Galore and they're thriving! 🌱 It's the 1st of July and we can't believe how quickly the year is flying by. The greenhouse now fully painted, beautifully decorated, and officially in its first proper year of use is looking absolutely fabulous. Chloe’s been busy harvesting and Woody helping of course. She’s already picked blackcurrants, and redcurrants aren’t far behind as are some of her raspberries. Today she gathered her very first crop of tomatoes, and they’re absolutely delicious! We’ve ended up with so many tomato plants, it’s looking more like a tomato house than a greenhouse! The rhubarb has been mouth wateringly good, and her herbs, lettuce, and cheerful pots of bedding plants (including her lovely dahlias) are flourishing. The sweet peas are climbing higher by the day, we're just waiting for them to burst into bloom! We also had a brilliant day out at BBC Gardeners' World Live at the NEC Birmingham. We saw Monty Don, met Nicki Chapman, and even bumped into Mr Plant Geek. It was such a treat! All of this has been totally inspired by the amazing Daisy Garland Green Shoots Campaign. A huge thank you. Thanks to you, we’re completely hooked! Keep growing and have the most wonderful summer, everyone! Enjoy the fruits, veggies and flowers of your labour! Love to you all xxx " Bridget This little poppet is having lots of fun in the garden with a little help from her friend Rex her sausage dog watering can 🤎 We have loved being a part of Green Shoots 🌱 this spring - especially the sausage dog watering can (not pictured!) We have just picked our first cucumbers and strawberries. Tomatoes are on the grow slow. Gorilla Gardening Sweet Peas also pictured Thanks to the Daisy Garland team "A few snaps of our efforts this year - tomatoes, raspberries, and pumpkins. Poppy and Teddy have continued to enjoy growing, all thanks to the Green Shoots project We also have a thriving bug hotel!" Emily Watering Your Green Shoots 🌱🌱🌱 Now the warm weather's arrived don't forget to keep a close eye on your little Green Shoots 🌱 making sure they have enough water to keep the soil moist, but not too much or they will rot. Use your instinct to strike a balance! The best time to water is early in the morning or later in the evening when the sun goes down so as not to scorch the leaves. Top Water Saving Tips: collect rainwater in a butt (ideally connected to a roof; save and use 'grey water' - the water used to wash vegetables, bath water, dish water (the soapy water will help kill aphids). For tips on keeping your plants watered whilst on holiday please click HERE Happy Growing Everyone 🌱 SARA X "Sunflowers are doing well, taller than Gethin now xxx" Helen Gorgeous fruit and veg flowers, snapped on Sara and David's allotment at the weekend... Tomato... Runner Bean... Gogi Berry (another Morrisons bargain bucket find!)... Butternut Squash... Potato... "This little ladybug ate all the black aphids from my plant ! They are better than the remedies!" Sadia Daisy Garland Response: We could not agree more Sadia! 🐞 We're all doing out bit to look after our beautiful planet 🌎 Did You Know? There are about 5,000 different species of ladybirds in the world. These much loved critters are also known as lady beetles or ladybugs, and in many cultures they’re considered good luck. They come in many different colours and patterns, but the most familiar in the UK is the seven-spot ladybird, which has a shiny, red-and-black body. Most people like ladybirds because they are pretty, graceful and harmless to humans. But farmers love them because they eat aphids and other plant-eating pests. And boy do they eat – in it’s year-long life, a single seven-spot ladybird can gobble more than 5000 aphids! (Extract: National Geographic Kids) "Green shoots bear has helped water them all some a lot more than others but he's been bringing the watering can to me and then taking me to the tap . Amazingly he can carry the big one almost full!" Francesca Doing Our Bit in Hot Weather... Bird feeding bowl (above) picked up last year in Morrisons end of line sale for 99p - what a bargain! It's easy to keep clean and I love it 💜 So do the birds and insects 🐦⬛🐝🐞🐜 🦋 👏🙌 SARA X Hot weather’s forecast across the UK this week, so it’s vital to provide fresh water for wildlife. Shallow dishes placed around gardens, yards, windowsills and allotments, can prove an absolute lifeline to thirsty birds, butterflies, bees, hedgehogs and other small mammals. TOP TIP: Add sticks and pebbles to your dish so insects can sip safely too! No act of kindness is ever wasted 💚 The summer months see blackbirds, robins, sparrows and starlings busy nurturing their newly hatched chicks. With the recent spell of hot weather not only is it important to leave out plenty of fresh water for these little birds to bathe and drink, but it's also vital to provide food to help them feed their babies. Experts recommend we leave out two different summer fruits that cost around 50p each at the supermarket - apples and pears. Bruised apples and pears in particular will be popular with thrushes and blackbirds. Simply slice them up and scatter them on your grass or yard or place them on a clean bird table or feeder. (Sparrows prefer 'ground feeding' over using a bird table.) It's very important to keep bird tables/feeders clean by washing them daily in warm soapy water. This advice follows the RSPB's recent decision to remove flat, open bird tables from their product range pending an investigation into whether these feeders might be aiding the spread of diseases amongst birds. "After a pretty disastrous start on our growing journey we are starting to see some results. We have tomatoes and sunflowers Feeling quite pleased now 😊" Kim Butterflies and Bees sunning themselves in the lavender patch on our allotment at the weekend 💜 SARA X Thank you Lee Bellett, keto dad and Daisy Garland fundraiser, for snapping these busy 🐝 🐝 at work! Here are some videos from Chloe, updating us on her Green Shoots progress… amazing work Chloe and Woody the dog! 💜 xx "Have been struggling in garden with heat, and plants needing a lot of water. Got lots of tomatoes growing. Several varieties. (We always put soft balls on end of canes to stop anyone getting poked lol). We have a pepper plant in bloom. Got lots of runner beans growing around the garden. Grow runner beans every year. As we all love them and they're very low in carbs. Runner beans not looking so full with growth as the weather isn't helping them. Have loads of apples on the tree this year too. They've been thinned out lots...." Lily and Vanessa "Raspberry plant looking good, another first for us... ...The leafy bed. One thing from keto Bean still loves is mayo with shredded cabbage and a bit of grated carrot... ...Flowering cucumbers , green shoots has helped us lots to engage with garden and life a bit of the good life... ...Peas, yummy xx" Claire "I’ve been meaning to send some photos of the beautiful sweet peas you posted up, they are looking lovely! They are much darker than the ones I had already, so it’s a nice contrast. I took some photos of some other things as well so you can have a look at how things are coming on.... The tomatoes this year have been amazing, I’m trying a new variety this year called Bauna which is a hybrid of the popular Shirley tomato I used to grow. It produces tons of fruit and everyone has said they are so much sweeter and nicer, so good news. All the sun has helped as well, they are ripening much faster. I’m also growing red onions and the cabbages aren’t far off. I have 3 colours of hydrangea (blue, pink and purple) and all of them are looking great, some people think they are a bit old fashioned but I think they are a great splash of colour. And beside those I have the lilies, snapdragons and the lovely blue sea holly, which I think always looks a bit special and different. So lots to see and everything looks great thanks to all this sun, long may it last!” Thomas "It’s one of those glimmers we have to look out for and hold on to. I saw this one yesterday. Big hugs xx" Mary "It’s been hard work keeping everything well watered during the heat waves We have also been potting up succulents as presents for all of Annabelle’s lovely teachers." Hannah "This morning as i hurriedly packed the van full of bags for our hospital appointment... my eye was caught by this beautiful flash of pink. Hollyhocks from the flower-bombs we were sent.So whilst I am disappointed I haven't had enough time to properly grow everything to perfection… this was (to me at least) a very poignant reminder That beauty always exists even in moments of chaos. And that sometimes you need to stop, take a deep breath, take stock of things, and admire the good things.So thank you The Daisy Garland for this. Knowing these should pop up again next year makes me so happy.Sending love to anyone else having a tough time (and just to everyone in general)." Ceri-Ann "Enjoying some of the pretty flowers growing in our garden! We've been very lucky to be given some from The Daisy Garland, some from neighbours and some from Amy's college! Lovely to see the bees enjoying them too!" Julie I actually wanna cry our polytunnel was destroyed in a storm and everything got attacked by slugs foxes and rabbits. We were left with nothing Kerriann "Our first crop of tomatoes " Kim "Here is a picture of Olivia watering the sweet peas we grew from the seeds you sent us " Cath "Emyr did the activity with his grandad and we've had reports that the runner beans are ready for picking!" Melanie "Here are some pics from our Green Shoots growing. George was given the strawberry plant with beautiful red flowers for his birthday and he is so excited every day to go and check whether any strawberries have ripened for him! We have a few courgettes starting to fill out and the cornflowers are beautiful. I will try and get a pic of him in the garden again soon xx" Ella "Annabelle’s first crop of runner beans were delicious! We puréed them for her with some celeriac, salmon and butter " Hannah "Green Shoots are going well here. Emily is desperate to eat her runner beans but we are just letting them get a bit bigger! The sweet peas have been loving the sun and producing lots of lovely flowers xx" Sarah "Growing with The Daisy Garland🌱 Summer's here and we have a sunflower!! " Sadia "Jacob with his tomatoes, which are growing well. We have red peppers too, but they are slow. Our small sunflowers have turned out to be massive. Not flowering yet, but not sure we will see them in the trees " Lynn "This year's experiment is blueberries as we eat a lot of them, we have 3 blueberry plants but only 1 has fruit. Bean's enjoyed the water and playing with the compost but we've struggled a bit as our gardens in direct sun." Claire Corey's Splendid Sunflower🌻 "Amelia has runner beans, green beans, tomato’s, peppers & red onions. She’s had loads of strawberries & potatoes too xx" Eve having lots of fun tending to her tomatoes 🍅 "You can't beat a spot of early morning pruning and a cup of tea from your favourite mug ✂️ ☕️ 🌱 " Sara x "I think we left it a bit late for planting. We were away for 2 1/2 weeks at Easter so didn’t plant until we got back as we wouldn’t have been able to look after the plants properly. I think we left it too late as not much has grown. We are complete novices at gardening but Amy has loved being involved anyway! She was VERY excited when a couple of the pots started to show green shoots! Our seed balls didn’t work. I think that was my fault though as I put them in tubs with too many other plants and that’s suffocated them. Here are some photos…." Gayle Hope and her beautiful Sunflowers 🌻 "We finally got round to planting our runner bean seeds a few weeks ago, and Poppy was very happy to see 2 seedlings in some of her pots! Our tomato, pepper, and cucumber plants are doing really well, but I have to admit I'm struggling to keep up with the watering - they're so thirsty! The baby carrots are also going a bit crazy, and need some attention! " Hannah THIRSTY GREEN SHOOTS 🌱 Now the warm weather's arrived don't forget to keep a close eye on your little Green Shoots 🌱 making sure they have enough water to keep the soil moist, but not too much or they will rot. Use your instinct to strike a balance! The best time to water is early in the morning or later in the evening when the sun goes down so as not to scorch the leaves. Top Water Saving Tips: collect rainwater in a butt (ideally connected to a roof; save and use 'grey water' - the water used to wash vegetables, bath water, dish water (the soapy water will help kill aphids). Happy Watering Everyone 💦 SARA X Little Green Shoots not so little anymore We've had lots of cucamelons but only 2 lasted long enough for me to take a photo and that's because he was busy eating the others. All in pots this year so when we move they can come with us. " Francesca "Trimming the hedge – and then Jonty wore his Green shoots T-shirt to promote Daisy Garland and spreads cheer when we went to the hospital this afternoon for a scan." Iona "We've had scaffolding up for the last week so not been able to access the garden easily. So after it came down today, it was time to check on our Green shoots. Lots of lovely sweet pea blooms and the sunflower is still beautiful. Everything else is a bit slow but we're waiting patiently! And Amy was excited to see a ladybird - that one is her photo! " Julie "Lily is standing with her runner beans. (like a little sun shelter ). We have few big flower pots of green beans as we all love them. Peppers' growing well. Think they're supposed to be red but they look green. Sweet peas are flowering. Sorry not in Green Shoots T- shirt. But that's in the suitcase packed for our holiday. To spread some Daisy love around in Cornwall . Hope my Mum & Dad have not eaten all the runner beans whilst we're away " Vanessa "You can't beat a homegrown lunch - radish, blackcurrants and mint - with a few slices of watermelon 🍉 thrown in for good measure! " Sara x AUGUST "Latest pickings and other news for Green shoots We planted out more peas and lettuce which need heavy armour to save them from pigeons Rain really helped courgettes and pumpkins. The Turks Turban (the green pumpkin) came as a surprise seed mix-up by the sellers. Wild bergamot is finishing flowering so bees will have to work on hyssop and marjoram. Happy August Everyone! " Erika Question from The Daisy Garland: "Hugely inspiring as always Erika. The pumpkins look amazing What's your favourite of all the things you're growing so far? xx" Erika's response: Thank you very much. Its a good question. My immediate answer probably would be tomatoes but then I think if I had to pick one or two thing to grow, my choice would be herbs. There is something really soothing, cosy and magical about herbs. I love just to stand and stare at them Very meditative as well as picking them and adding to cooking or drying them in my shed. All that aroma! " Loving every single second of The Green Shoots Project. Sara "I investigated the back yard over the weekend and we only have pots with remaining bulbs in them, which will sprout next year. The wild flowers have grown. Look at this Sunflower and Hollyhock! The veggies have gone with the extreme weather. I have some beans and radishes left in a pack to sow next year." George and Marguerite "Our first pick of the runner beans still some more that aren't ready just yet. xx" Gail "The news about this year's Green Shoots project isn't as great as last year's. Main problem: my first attempt at "in door gardening" (except house plants, which are a success). Therefore it's been more like tried - failed - try again... Sunflowers and spring onions were big disappointment. Herbs were better - we're in our third herb harvest. Actually, if we learn from our mistakes, this year's "gardening" was very educational ." Honza and Anna "All flowers from the flower bombs and a beautiful sunflower." Ceri and Amy Rose "A few photos of Olivia enjoying her green shoots achievements thank you so much for allowing us to be part of this wonderful project xx" Cath Not sure what's going on with our Heritage tomatoes 🍅 but they don't look very happy... Could it be tomato blight? Sara x "The runner beans are prolific! I must admit my in laws brought them on in their greenhouse first for us and Izzie talks to them and helps water! she loves being in the garden! xx" Annie "Esme and her dad enjoying The Daisy Garland Green Shoots Project 🌱 Can you spot the little ladybird 🐞 on Esme's t-shirt (pic 7 below)?" Mary "Cleaning out the garden shed and trying to organise it, spotted this on my fig tree. I doubt it will make it to full fruit this far north but it's very impressive that it's trying x" Kay Wow Theo! Just look at your carrots!!! 🥕🥕🥕 Well done! 👏 "A little Green Shoots 🌱 update from us. The runner beans are coming along, and we picked some berries and tomatoes from Nanna's garden. Poppy and Rex are also posing with our first two cucumbers!" Hannah Not Sure What to Sow at this Time of Year? Click HERE to enlarge the chart below from our friends at Thompson and Morgan. Keep your eyes on this patch - updates coming soon! 🌱🌱🌱 Manage Cookie Preferences