There are so many great options to spoil your mum this mothers day. Hopefully the following advice will point you in the right direction.
How about a trip out to one of your lovely local gardens? There are a vast amount of gardens to see ranging from small ‘open gardens’, to large organisations such as The National Trust and RHS gardens. RHS Rosemoor is a Greengage favourite. Their website recommends taking your mum to see their spring bulbs and Camellias. Make sure you take some photos, these can then be used for cards or canvases for next year.
Stourhead – a national trust property in Wiltshire. Extensive gardens and a perfect place for a spring visit with colourful Rhododendrons and Azaleas.
Our favourite local garden at the moment is the Newt. It has a mix of formal gardens and wild areas and uses sculptures and hard landscaping to create unique spaces. Visit now, or buy a voucher and see the colour gardens in full bloom. It is constantly evolving adding new areas and attractions.
https://thenewtinsomerset.com/garden
Garden centres
Trips don’t have to be to a garden or outdoor space. You could go to your local nursery or garden centre. Have a browse, a shop (always a winner) and then have a fabulous lunch. We are very lucky to have some lovely local garden centres with excellent food. The Apple tree farm shop at Brimsmore gardens is perfect for local produce after browsing their extensive plant collection.
http://www.thegardensgroup.co.uk/food/
Kelways in Langport is also a favourite haunt. Greengage landscapers love a quick lunch stop here and the food is as lovely as the plants. There is a cosy outside seating area surrounded by scented and colourful plants as well as a warm indoor dining option.
https://www.kelways.co.uk/page/the-garden-centre/7/
Gifts
Rather than cut flowers, you could choose an attractive planter and plant it up with your mums favourite plants. Or of course, you could ask Greengage gardeners to prepare one for you. In planters you have the freedom to be more exotic as you can plant things that need to overwinter such as Cordyline or even Bamboo plants or something that needs a different PH soil.
There are lots of books and magazines dedicated to gardening. Your mum may already have quite a few but a quick glance at her book shelf and you may be able to spot some gaps. We recommend the ‘Expert’ collection by Dr.D.G.Hessayon, ‘The Flower Expert’ and ‘Tree and Shrub Expert’ books are absolute must haves for any garden lover.
Plant and flower based artwork or sculpture is a lovely gift. You may have talents yourself and could have a go at producing artwork based on your mums favourite flowers. If it doesn’t turn out so well, it’s the thought that counts! Alternatively, have a look for local artists work as they are often inspired by nature and this is a good way of bringing nature inside, without all the watering!
You can’t go far wrong with a nice new pair of gloves. They are always well received by our staff at Greengage. Garden tools are also always a good gift at any time of the year. Don’t worry if you accidentally buy them something they already have, it’s a perfect excuse for you to muck in and help next time you visit their garden.
If you want to be a bit more luxurious there is a wide range of ‘smellies’ aimed at gardeners.
Cards
There’s loads of great card ideas you can make that are garden themed with handprints for stems and finger prints for flowers, plenty of ways to make your mum smile.
RSPB
Garden lovers tend to be bird lovers and the RSPB has a great range of gifts that would suit. Check out their brand new spring range for gift ideas.
Landscaping
If your budget stretches a little further than books or days out, you could explore landscaping your garden so you can host the perfect mother’s day next year. Or you could go for worlds best offspring and offer to arrange some landscaping for your mum.
Words: Jennie Eastick