Hellebores are the wonders of the winter garden. They are a combination of delicate and strong. They are elegant but can survive the most horrible weather; freezing rain, snow, hail and wind. Hellebores are easy to grow and are one of the few plants to bloom in winter. The flowers come in a gorgeous variety of muted colours including creamy white, pink, dark red and almost black. There are many varieties to choose from, some with frilly double and delicately freckled blooms. They are one of my favourite flowers, both for the garden and the vase! Wonders of the winter garden Hellebores are the ..read more

A dahlia show garden is a great way to discover new dahlia varieties. To promote dahlias, hundreds of different varieties are on show. Some are so new, they don’t even have a name yet. It’s an incredible sight, with so many beautiful varieties! Waltzing Mathilda In September my friend Superdahlia and I visited what we call the Flower Bulb region. I am sure everybody knows about the tulips and the Keukenhof. But in summer, when there are no tulips, you can still get your fill of colourful fields of flowers. We visited Kasteel Keukenhof and 3 dahlia show gardens and it was amazing. So many dahli ..read more

One thing I love about dahlias is that there are so many varieties. They come in a dazzling range of colours, sizes, and forms, with enough variety to satisfy everyone’s taste. I love to select a few new dahlia varieties each year to add to my garden. And maybe you do too! If so, read on. In this post, I share some of my favourites that look good in both your garden as well as the vase. I hope this helps you discover some new dahlia varieties. It’s spring here in the Netherlands, but it is still really cold. Last week I wrote a blog post about dahlia Sweet Nathalie and as I looked through ..read more

Dahlia Sweet Nathalie is one of the most beautiful varieties I have ever grown. The healthy plants were covered in pale blush blooms all last season. Long, strong stems make this a great cut flower. Perfect for flower arrangements, they pair beautifully with dahlias Peaches n’ Cream, Cafe au Lait and other pink varieties. If you are looking for a beautiful dahlia to add to your garden, Sweet Nathalie is the one for you! Planning your dahlia garden It has been icy cold with hail and snow in the Netherlands! Spring is here, but spring weather seems far away. I know we are all longing for warmer ..read more

Decorating eggs for Easter is one of my favourite traditions. This year, I made natural dye Easter eggs with pressed flowers and leaves. These natural dye Easter eggs are fun to make. It’s a process but you still have time before Easter Sunday! All you need are eggs, fruits and vegetables for the dye, and pressed flowers and pressed leaves to decorate the eggs. I used pressed wood anemones for my Easter eggs. And even though they are not perfect, I love how they turned out. This was my first experiment in making natural dyes. I remember doing this as a child but since then I have always used ..read more

Dahlias are one of the most versatile flowers and now they are more popular than ever! Do you want to know everything about these beautiful flowers? Then this new and inspirational book is for you: The Joy of Dahlias. Read on to learn more about this new book, or to just enjoy the colourful dahlias. Marlies, Katja and Linda, authors of The Joy of Dahlias.Dahlia fan It’s no secret I am a big dahlia fan. I have been growing dahlias for a few years now and was fortunate enough to visit the dahlia fields several times. There, in the middle of a flower field, I met Linda and Marlies, the driving fo ..read more

Dahlias are easy to grow but you have to be willing to put in the work. After a few years of growing dahlias in my dahlia garden, I am confident enough to say I know how to grow great dahlias. I have grown many different varieties and harvested hundreds of beautiful flowers. And I did this without ever using any pesticides, not even organic slug pellets. Pesticides are dangerous for bees and other beneficial insects. Pesticides get into the soil and groundwater. Because birds and hedgehogs eat insects they are affected too. To be truly hedgehog-friendly you need to stop using slug pellets or p ..read more

This year, Easter will be different. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, families will spend Easter at home, maybe even in isolation. It is still really important to stay at home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t decorate your home for Easter. I think we can all use a distraction during lockdown, so I’ve put together a list of easy Easter egg decorating ideas. Hope you find a way to be creative, even in these uncertain times. 1. DIY turquoise Easter eggs Haven’t dyed your Easter eggs yet and looking for an easy project? These pretty turquoise Easter eggs make an easy and inexpensive Easter decorat ..read more

At this time of year, there isn’t an abundance of flowers outside. But you can bring flowers into your home! A few tulips in a vase make life much more enjoyable when it’s grey outside. I am not a professional florist or floral designer but I love to play with flowers. If flowers make you happy too, join me in this blog post where I show you how to make the most of a bunch of tulips. At the flower market I usually buy my flowers at the flower market. And this time of year there are plenty of tulips to choose from. They come in almost every colour, pink and purple, yellow and orange. Who can re ..read more

I am a big fan of Erin Benzakein of Floret Flowers. I have been following Floret on Instagram for years and am constantly in awe of the beautiful images taken on the farm. Floret Farm grows hundreds of flower varieties and they all look amazing. I loved Erin’s first book, Cut Flower Garden, and now there is a new book. Cut Flower Garden was all about growing flowers. The new book, A Year in Flowers, is all about arranging flowers. Read on to learn more about this new book, or to just enjoy the gorgeous photos from the book. First book: Cut Flower Garden Floret Farm’s first book, Cut Flower Gar ..read more