Joyful Garden

Joyful Garden I help mums create beautiful gardens that bring them joy. Gardens that they and their families love.

I decorated the front door. It’s not something I’ve done before. Not in this way.Our front door isn’t able to hold a wre...
04/12/2025

I decorated the front door. It’s not something I’ve done before. Not in this way.

Our front door isn’t able to hold a wreath (it’s a double door which means each side is too small for all but the tiniest of wreaths). With it not holding a wreath I kind of forgot about it.

I didn’t think too much about decorating the outside until a few months ago. I was listening to a podcast and on it a lady was talking about how much joy beautiful front gardens give to everyone that walks past them.

That podcast (I wish I’d made a note of the persons name but it I didn’t realise until later how deeply it resonated with me) is part of the reason I started working on my front garden. And now the reason I’m decorating my front door.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot, beauty. I used to think beauty was frivolous. Now I think beauty is gratitude.

Beauty is gratitude.

It is my way of expressing my gratitude. My way of welcoming my children home after a long day at school. My way of making friends feel welcome when they stop by for a coffee. My way of, hopefully, making one persons walk home in the dark December evenings a little bit nicer.

Beauty as gratitude to those who matter to me and those I haven’t met yet.

Cup of tea in the garden before school pick up
17/09/2025

Cup of tea in the garden before school pick up

03/09/2025

During my garden opening for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme, one question kept coming up:

✨ “How is your garden still so full of flowers at the end of summer?”

There’s no quick trick.

Honestly? It’s a mix of luck, trial and error, and a lot of learning (I did so much research I would put Hermione Granger to shame 📚✨).

But mostly it’s about focus. My guiding principle is:

👉 Choose plants that look good for as long as possible, for the least fuss.

I’m a busy mum — I want beauty, but I don’t want endless work. I want a garden that inspires my kids and invites wildlife WITHOUT me having to baby every plant.

So the plants that make it into my garden earn their place:

🌿 Nepeta — flowering since May and still going.
🌸 Desdemona roses — my favourite, blooming on and off for months.
🌼 Dahlias — the one “high-maintenance” diva I allow, because their late-season flower power is simply unbeatable.
🌿 Geranium Dreamland — lovely foliage, soft pink flowers produced continuously throughout summer.

✨ A garden full of flowers at the end of summer isn’t magic — and you can achieve it too!

Tell me, what’s still looking great in your garden?

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01/09/2025

✨ Garden Open Day ✨

What a day! I was so nervous about opening my garden for the first time, but the kind visitors, thoughtful chats, and shared love of plants made it all worthwhile. 💚

The weather was… let’s just say typically Scottish 🌦 — but it didn’t dampen the atmosphere one bit. Seeing people enjoy the garden, even in the drizzle, reminded me why I love sharing it.

Thank you to everyone who came, for the encouragement, the questions, and the cake-eating! 🍰

I’ve learned that a garden doesn’t have to be perfect — it just has to be shared. 🌿


✨ Garden Open This Saturday 2–5! ✨And yes… we are working hard (aka DIYing like mad).I’ve been on a full-on sanding & pa...
27/08/2025

✨ Garden Open This Saturday 2–5! ✨
And yes… we are working hard (aka DIYing like mad).

I’ve been on a full-on sanding & painting spree (with some very lovely garden gnomes helping me 🧚‍♀️). Who knew opening your garden involved this much sanding? Maybe that’s just me…

This week’s makeover list so far:
🪵 Gave the pergola table a glow-up – sanded the top + legs now painted in F&B Treron.
🌿 Front garden bench – also freshly dressed in Treron.
🪣 Disguised the agricultural trough with panelling + painted in F&B Oxford Stone.
☕️ Gumtree coffee table find – sanded + Oxford Stone legs (my daughter did the whole tabletop, she’s now officially chief sander!).

There’s still plenty to do (mainly weeding… and resisting the urge to add more projects 🙈).

Friends keep asking: “Are you ready for Saturday?”
Answer: absolutely not. My personality is clearly fill the time with as many projects as humanly possible.

But ready or not, the gates open Saturday 2–5. Hope to see you there! 🌸✨

Just over a week until I open my garden to the public — and we’re in full front-garden hustle mode!This week:🪻 Bought be...
21/08/2025

Just over a week until I open my garden to the public — and we’re in full front-garden hustle mode!

This week:
🪻 Bought beautiful new plants (hello, Verbena bonariensis, Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’, Pittosporum ‘Wrinkled Blue’ + Salvia Caradonna 👋)

🎨 Finally got around to painting the bench (Farrow & Ball Treron, in case you’re wondering)

🧹 Started the “bit where I pretend the weeds were always meant to be there” phase of things 😅

✨ The garden will be open on Saturday 30th August, 2–5pm as part of the Scotland’s Gardens Scheme. It’s a chance to see how I’ve turned this once patchy plot into a space full of beauty, flexibility, and family life.

💬 There’s a lovely little write-up on deadline news that made me pause and smile — swipe to read!

🧁 Homemade cake + tea on the day
🌱 Kids welcome
📩 DM me if you’d like the address or want to join the waiting list for future garden coaching slots (I’m currently full, but happy to chat!)


Planning my garden opening!Any top tips?Or anything you really want to see when you go visit a garden?
14/08/2025

Planning my garden opening!

Any top tips?
Or anything you really want to see when you go visit a garden?

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