Many of us are appreciating nature in a new way at the moment and not just enjoying the green we might see on our daily exercise but wanting to grow more plants in our homes and gardens. We might not be able to pop to a garden centre for supplies but there are lots of inventive and fun ideas out there to reuse what we have around the house.

On a purely practical note you can make little planters for your seeds with newspaper or loo rolls, and you can pot them on into tin cans or containers made from milk bottles (these also make great watering cans). I’ve found tin cans a good option as they can sit or hang, inside or out, and if you have time and would enjoy it there are lots of possibilities for decoration! I also love to find more quirky items to use as planters – shoes are a classic but old furniture, kid’s toys, or any number of kitchen items can all work really well too!

If you do have a place to plant straight into the ground (and if like me you’re still learning which plant is which!) you can also make yourself plant markers from all sorts including corks, wooden spoons, metal spoons, stones, and, my favourite… sticks – I made these for the allotment a couple of years ago and they’re still going strong.