We heard about No Mow May, whilst chatting to a wonderfully green fingered neighbour, we immediately agreed to take part

Even though it seemed a very simple idea (as in.. not mowing your garden for a month) we were interested to understand more about the origins of No Mow May and how not mowing our little outside space could make a positive impact to the environment and our lovely pollinator friends

Where and why did it start?

Launched by the British conservation charity, Plantlife, No Mow May was created as part of their Every Flower Counts campaign (see links at end of blog for more in depth information and details of how to take part)

..."Put quite simply, plants need pollinators and pollinators need plants"...

So, the more wild flowers that pop up thanks to not mowing, the more nectar can be produced. Fabulous! 

Right, we are totally doing this...

What did we find in our garden?

It only took 3 weeks for our little cottage garden to become a sea of daisies, dandelions, thistles and even surprise splash of bluebells.

It looked lovely, so natural, especially when the breeze blew through the longer tufts, I'd go as far to say it was, in fact, rather magical. (Pretty sure some magic was at play when this perfectly timed bee landed on the flower as I was filming) 

 

As far as our results went, we genuinely thought these, easy-to spot, lovely additions to our grass, were all we were getting. However, it was only when we got down to ground-level to make our little video (link below) that we noticed so many other, smaller plants and flowers, which, in truth, we wouldn't have known were there otherwise

Here is a selection of images to share what we found 

Primrose / Primula vulgaris

Speedwell / Anagallis-aquatica

And there were more, including different flowering clovers and the tiniest of white violets (which you will spot in our video).  

What a delightful surprise it was. It made what already felt great to take part in, even more special. Such a simple thing to do, that gave us not only the opportunity to do something good for our insect friends, but we also got something so very peaceful out of it too.

We will absolutely be taking part again next year

Rosie & Mark X

PS If you would like to experience our No Mow May garden, then here is a link to our little video on our Instagram page, set to soothing music.. we hope the magic lands with you through your screen, enjoy x

 

 

Links:
Press the following hyperlinks if you would like to read more about Plantlife and perhaps even take part in their 'Every Flower Counts' campaign

 

 

 

 

Welcome to our very first blog 

Firstly, thank you for coming to have a look and learn a little more about us, we are so happy you are here

To quickly introduce myself, I'm Rosie, I am one half of the team here at Little Cottage Loves, my husband and teamie, Mark, is currently out and about and I am sitting in our Little Cottage whilst Monty (one of our cats) is on the windowsill inspecting our plants

May.. be Crazy

Its May 2021, the UK weather has been cold and erratic, not very May-like at all! Jumpers and socks are still very much part of the daily wardrobe choices for many and hot soups are still being heated on the hob

Today, however, in the bid to feel a little more 'springy' the Nest Smart Thermostat has been set to eco and the front windows are wide open! The birds are singing and the spring air is wafting its damp earthy aroma inside the Cottage (truthfully its not quite warm enough to sit without a blanket on my knees as I type, but its totally worth the cold nose) 

So as I sit here thinking about weather and keeping warm, it feels a really good place to start sharing with you some of the little (but important) ways in which we, at Little Cottage Loves, do what we can for our beautiful planet

What Matters to us?

At the very very beginning, when Little Cottage Loves was just a list of ideas wishfully jotted on a page, it was clear from the words used, that our core desire was to create a business that connected with people, made people feel good, feel happy

You know that feeling you get when you find something for your home you love, the excitement of it arriving, unwrapping it, enjoying displaying or perhaps even gifting it. It really is such a wonderful little special set of positive feeling-related events 'falling in love' with treasures that make you get a warm glow inside

We really believe these little moments in life are important for us all, in many different ways.

…Happy moments, no matter how small, are essential

So, what does Little Cottage Loves do to help the planet?  

Whilst we were in the warm fuzzy space of how we could create happy moments for you and your experience.. we also took some time to consider how we could extend these feel good feelings into our planet friendly plans, into our Eco Pledges

We started off by thinking about our own shopping experiences and how good we felt whenever we had been offered planet friendly choices! Whether it was helping reduce our carbon footprint with selecting a slower delivery, or perhaps agreeing to receive our parcel in a recycled branded biscuit box, whatever it was, each time we made these commitments, we felt like we were doing our little (even potentially tiny) bit to help the bigger picture 

You might not think that a small independent can take many steps to make a difference, we certainly didn't! However, once we looked at our operational structure, we were pleasantly surprised how much we COULD actually do to implement planet positive steps AND still offer choice.

So below we are delighted to share with you our Eco Pledges

An Eco-pledge is one positive environmental action or behaviour you promise to do, that will make a contribution to helping protect the environment and reduce use of the world's finite resources. An Eco-pledge can be on any topic, whether it be relating to waste, energy, water or transport

Little Cottage Loves Eco Pledges

Sustainability

Packaging
“Little Cottage Loves pledge to use recycled packaging, boxes and tape whenever we can"

Suppliers
"Little Cottage Loves pledge to actively source not only high quality reliable suppliers, but wherever possible prioritise selecting suppliers who have a planet friendly ethos" 

Reducing our Carbon Footprint

Delivery Methods
"Little Cottage Loves pledge to select slower shipping methods for all incoming deliveries as well as provide our customers with a two tier shipping choice" (Eco and Speedy options now available)

June 2021: NEW! We pay for you to plant a tree for every purchase. Read more here about the company we work with https://tree-nation.com/about-us. More information to follow

It doesn't end there though, because as we grow and evolve as a business, we will revisit our pledges, and even look expand on them. For now, however, as an 8 month old business, we are really happy that its a great start

Our hope now is that when you make purchases with us, you will not only get that warm fuzzy feeling from the lovely treasure you just ordered, but you will also get a glow from knowing you have also played a part in doing something positive for our planet

Finally, (but its not really final).. we would love to hear from you.. if you have any suggestions or ideas how we can expand on our pledges, we are always open to feedback and we absolutely will consider all planet positive ideas. You can send us an email using our Contact Us page

Thank you so much for joining us for our first blog, we are delighted you chose to read all the way to the bottom - and for that.. here is a discount code to use on your next order just for you

Yayforme23! 

Rosie x