I’m Tanya Anderson, organic gardener, soap maker, beekeeper, and green living enthusiast on the Isle of Man.
Here on Lovely Greens you’ll find fresh ideas for growing useful plants and creatively using them in the home. It could be growing flowers for handmade soap, vegetables for homemade meals, or herbs for health. I also share how you can connect with others, whether it’s by growing in an allotment garden, sharing the harvest, or organizing a seed swap.
I believe that our natural human habitat is equal parts nature, home, and community and that an edible garden can bring it all together. We really can improve our lives and the environment through growing and making our own.
Kitchen gardening, plant based beauty, & natural soap making
Ten years ago I was an ordinary professional, commuting to work, doing the 9-5 and buying everything I used in the home. I wasn’t happy though and I realized that I had a major disconnect between the life I wanted to live and the path I was on. Fast forward to now and I’ve happily found a way to live a simpler and more fulfilling life.
Lovely Greens is about sharing with you what I’ve learned. How to grow herbs, vegetables, and fruit, and how to use them to make soap and natural beauty products. At the heart of Lovely Greens is the philosophy that gardening and traditional crafts bring us back to our roots as people. We were made to make!
Getting started
First of all, I’ve just written a book! A Woman’s Garden is now available for preorder on Amazon and many other booksellers worldwide. It’s a piece that features seven categories of useful plants and ways to use them for home, health, skincare, and creativity. I also introduce you to seven women gardeners around the world who grow plants for purpose — an edible flower farmer, a home herbalist, natural textile dyer, and many more. I’ve very excited for the book to be released and for you to see all of the plant-based inspiration!
If you like what you see so far, I’d like to invite you to get my weekly email. I update you on what’s new on Lovely Greens, share seasonal ideas, and links to the newest videos. It’s the best way that I can share ideas with you. Best of all, it just arrives in your inbox and you can read it at your leisure.
On YouTube I publish a new video every week. This is my time to show you my personal garden and to share tips and creative ideas. You can subscribe here and make sure to click the little bell icon on my channel to get notifications for new videos.
Garden Making & Living
The two most popular topics on Lovely Greens are Organic Gardening and how to make Natural Soap. There’s a strong connect between the two because many of the edibles you grow can be used to make plant based beauty products. Other topics I introduce include garden recipes, foraging, and beekeeping. Every piece is intended to show how to create a stronger bond with nature, the food we eat, and the products we use.
There’s a lot of material covered on my site and you can use the top navigation to move around different topics. Here’s a selection of popular pieces:
The Isle of Man
I live in a place that you’ve probably never heard of before — the Isle of Man. It’s an island made up of rolling green hills, forested glens, and only about 83K people. It’s in the middle of the Irish Sea and a few hours ferry ride from England or Ireland.
Born in the United States, I’ve lived all over the world — in fact, I’ve spent the same time living abroad than I have in the States now. The Isle of Man is my forever home now though and I love the peacefulness and small community on the Island. If you’re curious about the Isle of Man I have many pieces sharing fun things to do here, local green initiatives, and some of the beautiful and ancient places you can visit.
When I’m not writing or making videos I’m giving soap making lessons, visiting my honeybees, and tending the home and allotment gardens. I also make a range of natural soap and beauty products at lovelygreens.co.uk
Thanks for visiting
I hope you enjoy exploring all that Lovely Greens has to offer and invite you to connect with me on social media too. You can also sign up for the Lovely Greens newsletter to get my weekly update. I always share fresh new ideas, what’s happening in the garden, and what’s trending on my YouTube channel and website. It goes straight to your inbox every week.
All the very best, Tanya
PS — You can find me over here too:
Featured in
- HGTV
- Grow Your Own Magazine
- The Bob Vila Academy
- Flybe’s Flight Time Magazine
- Yogalife
- Country Homes & Interiors
- Willow & Sage Magazine
- Vegetarian Living Magazine
- The Sunday Telegraph
- MTTV — Isle of Man TV
- Manx Radio’s Women Today
- Manx Radio’s Late Lunch Show
- The Manx Independent
- The Isle of Man Examiner
- Manx Plants & Gardens Journal — January 2019
- Kiki Magazine
- The Southern Chronicle (Isle of Man)
- The Northwest Chronicle (Isle of Man)
Awards
- 2017 YouTube Next Up Winner — London
- Finalist for the 2018 UK Blog Awards — Green & Eco category
