Craft - Insects can be cute. - trulymadlykids.co.uk

Insects can be cute.

Yes it’s April, don’t be fooled. Even though it feels like the middle of winter and I am extremely tempted to put the heating back on, it is indeed Springtime in England. I know this because for the past couple of weekends we have been back and forth to the tip, emptying the house of all things broken that we’ll never get around to fixing. The humans are busy scurrying around, birds are building nests, insects are doing there thing. Spring fever has definitely sprung.

Our attention has now turned to the garden and from the jungle that it was, my other half has completely transformed it with some backbreaking work. Grass seed has been planted, the local birds have spread the word around and they’ve all come for dinner and the borders are ready to be planted. Choosing plants hasn’t really been difficult as Violet has decided that we should have plants that attract Butterflies. After a wee bit of research the best plants to attract butterflies are:

Buddleia. Very easy to grow in almost any soil. Different varieties will flower in pink, red, purple, and white. Usually in bloom through July and August. These shrubs need pruning well in Spring as they can grow 5′ to 8′ from the ground in a single season. This is also known as The Butterfly Bush.
Verbena Bonariensis. Stems up to a metre tall support heads of lavender flowers from August to October. Easy to grow from seed, plant March-April in well-drained soil. Can provide useful height at the back of a border. Only half hardy so can be a short lived perennial.
Lavender. Flowers are lilac-blue in colour and grow on spikes through the summer. Plants can be used for edging beds or grown to form an attractive, low-growing hedge. It will thrive in a sunny, sheltered position in well-drained soil. Lavender should be planted in April or May and pruned back to encourage bushy growth.
Perennial Wallflower (Bowles Mauve). Produces a profusion of sweet-scented purple flowers from April all through the summer. Wallflowers make great bedding plants and will grow well in full sun or light shade. Plant in well drained soil.
Oregano. A perennial herb, growing from 20 to 80 cm tall. White, pink or purple flowers grow on spikes from June to September. A good edging plant and useful ground cover, requiring little maintenance. The smaller varieties also do well in rock and alpine gardens.

So that’s the garden taken care of, now onto the very important task of making a sign for the girl’s bedroom. The hardest part of this project was for them trying to decide whether to have a hanging door sign or one in a photo frame. The frame won and Violet got to work with all of our crafting supplies and based on the theme of ‘Insects’, I think she’s nailed it. Using Bostik PVA and Glu Dots the house went quiet for an hour or so while she created her masterpiece. Glu dots, by the way, have now become my favourite sticking product. No mess and re-usable, big snogs Bostik people, big snogs. I helped her put the glass back in the frame and that’s as far as my help went. I love it and she does too. Of course she does, it includes butterflies and ladybirds!