A quick recap…

In 2016, ‘The Plan’ was to sell our house, leave the city and get a place with a bigger garden and go for a slower pace of life.

I wanted more strawberries and fewer spreadsheets. Hoping for less time in the office and more in the garden. That was the plan.

So far, its a partial success, which I’ am more than happy with. I haven’t worked full time for three years now, and I’ve had time to indulge my hobbies of gardening, blogging, growing and picking flowers, making bouquets and sharing stories with gardeners all over the world through this blog.

I’ve set up a website, called FromeBlooms, which at first was an attempt to sell homegrown bouquets. It was unprofitable, but great fun. I started part time work, and took a class in willow weaving. I carried on with gardening and flower arranging in my spare time, and started volunteering with a ‘Forest School’ in Frome. I joined the Shared Earth Learning co op, and began helping them out with their admin and promotions, as well as planting flowers to accompany the vegetables growing on their allotment, and trees by the river Frome.

Frome Blooms gradually became a place to share my passion for homegrown, seasonal flowers and bang on about sustainability. It features the buyerachy of need, linking to eco-friendly activists and enterprises in Frome.

Frome has an independent council and a sustainability agenda. It has declared a climate emergency and aims to be carbon neutral by 2030.

FromeBlooms.com

I’m still posting loads of flower pictures from FromeBlooms onto Facebook, and through that got to go on the local radio.

I was contacted by a lovely researcher, and invited to chat about blogging on BBC radio Somerset.

It was great to invite along my friend Alex, from Shared Earth Learning, and she talked with real passion about the Forest School ethos and what Shared Earth Learning do.

The BBC Somerset studio is on the outskirts of Taunton, in an unglamourous location, but with a really warm welcome from Sandra the researcher, and Luke Knight, the DJ.

You can listen to the show here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p072zw0m

I am now almost certain that I’ve got a new part time contract, managing a very interesting website temporarily, and that we’ll be moving into a new house in Frome in about two weeks.

We’re moving for a bigger garden, and because this house has gone up in value quite a lot since we refreshed, redecorated and replanted. We’ve got enough of a boost to buy somewhere with a bigger garden. 🙂

Accidental property development seems to be me and my husband’s best earner in recent years. Moving house is a pain in the ass, but I’m excited about getting settled in our new place – which is only half a mile away in Frome, has a lovely view from the garden, and is closer to the Shared Earth Learning allotments, and our favourite fish and chip shop.

So this blog is may go a bit quiet for a while, as some lifestyle adjustments take place.

In the meanwhile, I hope your plans and plants are coming along very nicely.

Jen x