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Welcome to Lovely Greens. I'm Tanya and I share ideas on growing organic herbs, vegetables, and fruit and then creatively using them in the home, beauty, and kitchen. Learn more about Lovely Greens

As featured in

A Woman’s Garden, a new book from Tanya Anderson of Lovely Greens, covers eight categories of useful plants, over thirty-five plant-based projects and recipes, and features women gardeners from around the world

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We've gotten to the point in our new house purchas

We've gotten to the point in our new house purchase that we're ready to sign, and the buyer for ours is getting the first survey done. Now it's time to decide what stays, and what goes from the garden.

The greenhouse, raised beds and rose arbor are staying, but I'm undecided on the herb spiral. Should I deconstruct it to rebuild at the new house? What do you think?

PS It's looking pretty good for December isn't it? 💚

This time of the year feels always the same for me

This time of the year feels always the same for me. BUSY with @lovely.greens.handmade and almost zero time to spend in the garden. I know the routine though... The next few weeks will be manic, then a few days before Christmas I'll wrap things up, pour a glass of mulled wine, and crack open those seed catalogues 😁 How about you?

Photos are of a lovely little house in Laxey with the simplest little planters in front. Even in November they look great! Like mini versions of my DIY pallet planter, don't you think?

Today I hope to change your Black Friday to a GREE

Today I hope to change your Black Friday to a GREEN one 😊 My new paperback book, A Woman’s Garden, Grow Beautiful Plants and Make Useful Things, is out on February 9th. It seems ages away, but to thank you for pre-ordering it, I’m offering my new Guide to Natural Soapmaking to you for FREE.

I’ve literally created the product detail page for it today (link in bio)

The guide is available as a gift until December 31st, after which time it will be available via purchase only. Folks have been asking me for the guide for years, so I’m sure there will be some happy campers today! It includes sixty-eight pages of full-color photographs and guidance featuring:

• Detailed information on natural soap ingredients including oils, lye, and botanicals
• An introduction to soap making equipment including molds
• Step-by-step walk-through of cold-process soap making including a safety check-list
• Soapmaking oils chart
• Natural soap colorants chart
• Essential oils for soap recipes chart
• Six small-batch soap recipes that make 6-8 bars each
• Full description of soapmaking topics including temperatures and superfats
• Tips on where to get soap making ingredients and avoiding common mistakes

If you’re interested in taking me up on the free gift, email me (tanya@lovelygreens.com) a screenshot or photo of your preorder confirmation page/email. I’ll send the ebook to you after.

A Woman’s Garden features eight categories of useful plants and ways to use them in food, medicine, beauty, natural dyeing, and yes, even SOAP. The Soapmaking Guide expands on the soap recipes and ideas in the book and is far more detailed.

I hope you enjoy BOTH books and that it helps your 2021 become a green and creative year to remember ✌💚

After nearly twenty years of living abroad, Thanks

After nearly twenty years of living abroad, Thanksgiving seems almost like any other day. Except for the gratitude part 🙏

No matter what we eat and do on Turkey day, Josh and I tell each other what we're grateful for. Good health, a beautiful place to live and garden, family, a little mischievous kitten, and each other 🧡 Just counting the positive things, no matter how small, makes us feel incredibly blessed.

Sending hope and goodwill this Thanksgiving 💚 Tanya

At the bottom of my plot I grow a shrubby plant ca

At the bottom of my plot I grow a shrubby plant called marshmallow (Althea officinalis). In summer it grows tall, and you can use the leaves and pale-pink flowers to make a soothing and silky feeling tea. The mucilage is much higher in the roots though.

Now in autumn is the time that you dig some of them up and dry them to use through the rest of the year. They're most potent now after a summer in the sun, and before winter has zapped their reserves.

To use, reconstitute the roots in cool distilled water overnight, and use the silky liquid for throat-soothing tea or to make soothing skincare like this hydrating winter lotion. Recipe is on lovelygreens.com (link in bio)✌ 💚

There's not much growing, she says. A stroll aroun

There's not much growing, she says. A stroll around the garden proved me wrong! Asian greens, kale, herbs, and salad greens all looking perky despite the season ✌💚

What can we do to help our small garden ponds duri

What can we do to help our small garden ponds during winter? With mine, I cut the remaining foliage off the water plants and compost it. I also gently remove any leaves and pond weeds out by hand, but only from the top six inches. I don’t have fish in my pond, but there are plenty of frogs, tadpoles (yes! They can sometimes develop late), water snails, and countless insects and water creatures that overwinter at the bottom. I try not to disturb anything too deep.

It doesn’t freeze here often, but if we get a cold spell, I will break the pond ice in a few places. Air needs to touch fluid water to keep the oxygen level up in the pond and keep everything that lives in the water alive. Breaking the ice is probably more crucial for smaller ponds than for larger ones, but doing it regardless of pond size is kinder for animals that rely on it for water.

Around Valentine’s Day, I can also expect to see gelatinous clusters of frogspawn (eggs) on the pond. February is our coldest month, and sometimes the tops of the eggs will get touched by frost, and it does worry me. I usually leave them alone, though, since the eggs underneath will be protected by the ones sacrificed on top. I will put a bit of netting over the pond to protect the eggs from gulls and other animals.

All in all, I pretty much leave it alone and come very early spring, I’ll do another manual clean-out of the pond surface. A solar-powered fountain and occasional pond-weed intervention are all it needs to be a beautiful little wildlife haven in the middle of my vegetable patch.

Everyone uses soap, but especially us grubby garde

Everyone uses soap, but especially us grubby gardeners 😂 In today's new YouTube video I share a way to make it from scratch and have it ready to use in practically no time.

This simple hot process soap recipe is gentle and natural yet tough on dirty hands and germs. It makes a great DIY gift too!

See video on the Lovely Greens YouTube channel (link in bio) 🧼💚

A wet and windy day spent snug as a bug indoors ma

A wet and windy day spent snug as a bug indoors making hot process soap with mango butter, yoghurt, and grapefruit essential oil 😍🧼 New video on how to make it coming on Sunday morning. You can subscribe to Lovely Greens on YouTube via the link in my bio ✌ 💚

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