A new year's resolution of mine was to make a bee bath and plant some bee friendly plants in the garden. With the weather warming up I've been spending more and more time outside and I'd started to ponder how I was going to go about it.

I decided to start with a few small additions - the bee bath and a plant or two that bees are known to love.

I'd purchased and potted up a lavender, and was spending the afternoon pottering in the garden. It was then that I discovered an old bird bath languishing in our hedge. The base was hideous - adorned with squirrels and ivy - but the top was the perfect thing to create a bee bath.


I scrubbed it (almost) clean and placed it on an old pot to give it a little height. I'd already purchased some glass pebbles in readiness, and I had a pot full of stones (used in some of the table decorations at our wedding), so I popped a few of these into the dish and arranged it next to my newly potted lavender.


I wanted some more glass pebbles, and found a seller on ebay selling a selection in different sizes and colours, they were exactly what I was looking for and I was able to convert my Nectar points into ebay vouchers, so I got them with parting with a single penny!

I keep it topped up with rain water, and I'm really pleased with how it has turned out. And I love that I could re-purpose an ugly old bird bath and make into something new.

The first time I see a bee using it I'll be chuffed to bits - "build it and they will come".

Moving forward I'd like to plant some flowering thyme, I have some seedlings currently doing well in the greenhouse, and I'd like to plant some different lavender varieties, and cotton lavender, with it's pale foliage and bright yellow flowers, in other areas of the garden.

One day I'll plant a lavender hedge around one side of the greenhouse, but first I need to dig out an old gnarly rosebush that's claimed the ground as it's own.


I'm also planning to plant a Californian lilac with it's clusters of gorgeous blue flowers at the side of the house and in the front garden. And a common myrtle with it's delicate white flowers some where else, possibly on the other side of the house. They're ready and waiting in the greenhouse.


I've read that bees are particularly attracted to blue, yellow and white flowers, so with luck these will bring the bees humming and buzzing about, and in time I'll add other plants that will further entice them.

I wasn't going to write a resolutions post, especially as the start of the new year seems like ages ago. I hadn't planned to make any resolutions at all, but the dawning of a new year turned my thoughts to a whole year stretching out before me and all the possibilities it brings. There are so many thoughts and ideas that have popped into my mind that I wanted to get them down before they become a forgotten memory.

I've incorporated some of these into my winter list already, so apologies for the repetition, but adding them to seasonal lists might give me a greater chance of success. Maybe...

I want to grow strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and maybe build fruit cage, I love the idea of eating sun warmed berries straight from the plant. Perhaps this year I'll just try my luck with bushes planted in pots, and see how I get on...

As for the garden I want to plant a eucalyptus and a spindle somewhere, and a cherry tree, and an apple tree in pots.

Rather than using our greenhouse to just store my tools and the BBQ, I want to grow a few veg. Spring onions, leeks, potatoes, and salad leaves... for a start.

When it warms up I want to create a bee bath. I found a number of drowsy bees last year and revived them with sugar water. I'd love a beehive one day but have no idea where to begin. In addition I'd like to plant some bee friendly plants. They love the thyme I have in the front garden but I could do with some more.

I'd like to improve my flower arranging skills, either by going to a class or relying on online tutorials, I'd like to progress from dumping stems into a vase and hoping for the best.

Embrace natural cleaning, I decided that this would be the year I finally get round to swapping out my chemical cleaners for more gentle options, I've been thinking about it for too long.

I want to cook a veggie meal once a month, Andy really enjoys vegetarian food but I rarely make veggie meals.

We've got into a terrible habit of eating in front of the TV, mostly because our dining room was drafty thanks to an old wooden window and door frame, but now we have a sparkly new double glazed french doors, there's really no excuse not to eat at the table. I'll start with at least once a week.

I have so many ideas for home improvements I want to make, I drive Andy nuts with my constant musings. One thing I can do though is decorate, the more skilled stuff will have to be left to the professionals, but I can daub paint on the walls, hang pictures, change lampshades and generally make things look prettier.

Last year I realised the importance of looking after me, it's a shame that taking some time to focus on your own needs can be seen as selfish but it's so important. I now have a regular head neck and shoulder massage to prevent a re-occurring problem I have with my neck - thanks to sitting at a desk everyday - but I also need to make time for exercise, and time to just sit and be, and to do things just for me.

Some days can feel very ordinary, some days can feel like your just living the same day over and over again. I'd love to keep a detailed journal but it's beyond me, believe me I've tried, so I want to write at least one positive thing in my diary every day. So far, so good.

My word to sum up 2016 was Crystallise, this year I want it to be Change.