Garden Ideas?  Want to refresh and take your living out into the garden ready for summer days?   We can’t wait to keep those patio doors open and blend the boundaries between indoors and out.  We have a whole host of ideas in store.   In our last blog we wrote about bringing the garden inside and now we are ready to get out and about!!  Here are quick, easy and cheap ideas to do with or without a family:

Make your garden ideas work for you, keep you fit (and save you money):

1. Grab some kids and plant some tomatoes – either as seeds or young plants, they are cheap and easy and summer living doesn’t get any better than a freshly picked tomato!  A quick google should get you going.  (SheKnows.com (gorgeous photo below!) has a lovely blog on what chidren learn from gardening – useful for homeschooling?)

Top Crop! Photo Credit: SheKnows.com

2.  Similarly, plant some salad leaves to cut and grow – get funky with your planter ideas or recycle plastic fruit containers

3. Grow herbs – they are so cheap and easy – every household should have a bucket of chives, mint and parsley – soooo good in salads, just pick, rinse and add!

4. Make your garden ideas pretty: a cheap packet of nasturtium seeds  they are very easy to grow, especially in poor soil.  Not only do they look brill mixed into borders, they are edible and make a salad sing!!    See our quick recipe below!

Miss MoneyPenny’s Thrifty Tip:  Carboot Sales can be a great place to get plants, furniture, up-cycled containers and shabby chic galore for the garden.

Garden Ideas for Recycled Chic

6. Recycling doesn’t have to be grungy.  Although a chair that looks a bit tatty in the house can live very comfortably in the corner of the garden – a secret place to escape to the last spot of sunshine at #wineoclock?

7. Plant your tomatoes in an old pair of wellies?

8. Fairyland trail?  Save some brown paper bags, throw in a handful or two of sand (raid the sand pit) and a tea light.  Distribute along the garden path and light at dusk.  Enchanting.

9.  We have seen the most amazingly beautiful green house made from plastic water bottles threaded onto canes, should you be inclined to give it a go…? Check out some fun upcycling ideas on Blogspot?

10.  Net and muslin curtains make a romantic bower when draped over the climbing frame, swing, a wall or a few canes.  Add cushions – and story CDs for a peaceful afternoon – and a string of battery or solar-powered fairy lights for an evening of passion!

Save our Planet!

11. Add a water butt or two – rainwater is best for watering.  Plants and the planet both love it!  Keep it safely covered.

12.  Plant a few floral freebies for the bees and butterflies.  They add romance to any garden but bees keep us alive – we need them!  Find out about easy to grow perennials (they’ll keep growing again every year) for these little workers!

13.  Solar lights take care of themselves, are pretty cheap now and add a magical quality to your garden at night!

Garden Ideas…. 14. Stick a Rock in it!

Stone has always made for a fascinating landscape.  Think about the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge or the Grand Canyon.   Small garden?  Just scale down!  The principle of plants and stone together always works – take a look at the groovy garden ideas on our ‘FamilyFossilFun’ Pinterest Page  or our blog Fossils: Newest thing on the planet? for inspiration.

This summer’s trends are all about the ‘summer of love’,  ethnic fabrics and ornaments set against blended neutral or earthy tones to remind us of our beautiful planet.   Ammonites, Mother of Pearl and gorgeous Fossilised Wood are garden ornaments of choice for the designers.    Browse our Rocks Al Fresco for garden ideas.

Get out of the kitchen – cook outside:

15.  There are now so many ways to cook in the garden, from luxurious outside BBQs to a fire in a metal bucket – keep it simple for a stress free supper, no washing up and cuddle up with a blanket by the light of the glowing embers.  What could be nicer?  Here’s some great garden ideas from woohome.com

16. Last, but not least ….  Sexy 5 minutes?  Titillate your taste buds with this senstional and sensuous salad:

• Use any salad or mixed leaves as your base.  Wash and put in a bowl.
• Add a handful of aromatic leaves – mint is our favourite, chives, coriander and any kind of parsley are also gorgeous. Gently mix in.
• Crunch time:  add a handful of eg chopped cucumber, pomegranate seeds, spring onions, celery or fresh peas – anything juicy to get your teeth into.
• Dazzle your diners with a scattering of nasturtium or pansy flowers – or a few rose petals (go easy on the insecticide!)

Fancy a change or something extra for the weekend….

• Add optional zing with oil and lemon juice at the table.  A good olive oil always works – have you tried walnut..?
• A few seeds, walnuts or pinenuts, gently toasted in a dry frying pan for a minute or two are a quick and tasty way to up your Omegas – great brain food!
• Too hungry – a tin of drained chick peas or a few cheeky fried potatoes work well 😉

We’d love to see pictures and hear about your garden ideas  on our Facebook Page: Family Fossil Fun!  Pop on round and join in the fun!

Main Photo credit:  Mylifelovefood.com Great bloggers – take a look!!!!