Chelsea Flower Show || Colin Dale Interview

Roger Compton Notcutt

Both of my parents are very into gardening and as a result I feel as though this has influenced me massively. I love flowers and making trips to garden centres (I'm not a total loser I swear) and I also love the idea of growing your own vegetables and fruit; growing your own food and taking pride in what you have grown / are eating.

My parents are currently doing up our garden and as the Chelsea Flower Show has been on at the same time, they have been avidly watching the BBC's screening of it to get inspiration for their own garden. As I too have been watching some of the BBC's Chelsea Flower Show with them, I was very excited to receive the opportunity to interview Colin Dale, head gardener at Notcutts. 

Notcutts, for those of you who are unknown to them, are a large garden centre company founded way back in 1897 when Roger Crompton Notcutt bought a nursery in Woodridge. Roger later went on to win a gold medal at Chelsea for his Azalea Garden - one of Chelsea's first gold winners. The company has continued to flourish and have excelled in winning various awards at Chelsea, and becoming one of the biggest garden centres, supplying plants for gardens all across the country for over a century.

Below is my interview with Colin Dale:

Colin Dale

How would you describe your role as Head Gardener of Notcutts?

As the Plant Buyer for the group I ensure we purchase the vast majority of plants from UK growers, (over 90%). I choose to buy from UK growers, simply because I believe that they produce a better grown plant, with longer lasting feed in the compost, and tend to be more winter hardy. I would say that my main responsibilities are to provide a good range of garden plants, ensure inspirational displays are created and well maintained and make sure that all the plants we bring into our garden centres should perform well in our customer’s gardens.

Have there been any significant changes to the Notcutts business over the years?

The main changes have to be the development and expansion of the company. We have grown our brand not only by our online presence but have recently opened a new garden centre in Tunbridge Wells, which looks incredible. If you are in the area, I would certainly recommend visiting this garden centre.  It is a garden centre that places gardening and plants at the heart of the shopping experience, reflecting our rich horticultural heritage and expertise.

In regards to changes involving Chelsea; since 2008 Notcutts stopped exhibiting at The Chelsea Flower Show after gaining an impressive 50 gold medals, and I have to confess I’m missing being involved in the planning; build and manning of the exhibitions. You never know what the future holds, but I do continue to visit the Chelsea Flower Show to pick up on trends that our customers might be influenced by.

What got you into horticulture – does is remain to be your favourite part of your job?

I used to work for an independent family owned garden centre in Hertfordshire, which enticed me to attended Pershore Horticultural College for three years. Since then I have worked for Notcutts and within the 30 years I have been there, I’ve had the chance to work on seven different sites. I have worked many different roles, learning many different aspects of horticulture; I’ve managed planterias, managed a garden centre manager and now I’m a plant buyer. I’m very lucky to have worked and continue to work in an industry that I love.

How does your personal garden reflect your work within the business?

It doesn’t. My opinions and tastes can be extremely out of touch with some trends that come through, which is perfectly fine for my personal garden, but not so much when it comes to buying plants to sell in the garden centres. I very much try to keep personal and professional separate, but when you are that passionate about horticulture sometimes, every now and again my personal opinion seeps through. I take note of trends that I personally like and will try to incorporate it into the garden and take note of the trends coming through that I believe would influence the Notcutts customer – to me they are two different things.

The 100th anniversary of Victory Gardens is coming up; do you think this will ignite even more interest in growing your own?

Most certainly, it is a part of our history. It is something our families have done to help make sure rationings could go further and I think a lot of people want to reconnect with that. There is a great pleasure to have when you see your family eating and enjoying the food you have grown with your bear hands; it’s quite romantic if you think about it.

What vegetables could we all be growing now if we were to create some raised beds?

The world is your oyster when it comes to growing vegetables in raised beds and containers. You can grow anything from beetroot, carrot, cauliflower, dwarf french beans and garlic to lettuce, onions, parsnip, radish, spring onion and swede.

Are there any other gardening trends we should know about?

There are three off the top of my head that I think are really important. The first one is high impact planting. It seems as though a lot of people are looking for plants that are visually stunning, yet are easy to care for and are of good value.

Edible flowers such as thyme and pineapple mint are continuing to grow in popularity. People want to create meals in their garden, and seasoning them with herbs is an aspect that has gained a lot of attention. They can also be aesthetically pleasing and give off a wonderful perfume.

The biggest one though, that has made quite an impact is planting with wildlife in mind. Growing meadows and wild flowers, and then taking enjoyment from seeing nature interact with your garden. Ponds and water features are also a great way to entice nature into your garden.

What plants have you seen to be popular this season, particularly in relation to Chelsea Flower Show? 

One plant that I’m very pleased to see has experienced a great revival is the Japanese Maple. They are small trees that offer beautiful autumn foliage; they are known as graceful plants and I couldn’t agree more.

In your opinion what would be in the easiest way to incorporate this into our gardens?

Many varieties are dwarf so these can be grown in a container, decorating a patio with its beauty. When they are young, ensure they enjoy afternoon shade, are protected from strong winds, are kept in consistently moist soil and are also protected from late spring frosts.

Visit their website here.

Laura Ralph Designs - Two-Piece || Outfit Post

I don't really know where to start. I'll start with saying how sorry I am for not writing since February… I've just been so so busy with exams at the moment and as much as I have wanted to blog, and believe me I have, I've been trying to make myself focus on revision. And that hasn't gone as well as I hoped. Anyway, I have lots lined up and I'm excited to get back into blogging, so don't worry there is lots to come!

Over the past couple of months I've noticed a large interest in hand-made two pieces throughout the country and I personally fell in love with them from the beginning. I was introduced to Laura Ralph through a friend and in my opinion she is definitely one of the best. Her prints and fabrics are all unique and each one of them is so beautiful interesting, and she recently ordered some fabrics from Uganda which are stunning. There's something so fascinating and unique about Laura's fabrics and prints which makes her clothing and company really stand out, and she also creates trouser-sets as well as the short-sets. Also the fact that they are handmade just makes my heart melt, there's nothing better that wearing something and knowing that hard-work has gone into it, and for about £25 I think you would be mad to not want one! 

You can visit Laura on her Facebook page and she also has her clothing at The Little Deer. I would thoroughly recommend checking out Laura's two-pieces. 

I've also realised that this is my first outfit post so that's pretty exciting. I might start doing more of them (thoughts?!) Also I apologise for my awkwardness in front of the camera - I'm new!

|| London Fashion Week || My Favourites from the Week ||

With Fashion Week having been and gone, it seems the fashion world is still obsessing over the biggest fashion event of the year.

I, unfortunately, did not go, however my plan is to try and go next year. Fingers crossed. Anyway, over the past week I have been scrolling through the various pictures and videos of the past Fashion Week from numerous sources; from Fashion Week’s website, Vogue.com to Cara Delevigne and Kate Grand’s Instagram. Every picture and video I have seen has made me so jealous and I just wish more than anything to be there, admiring all the collections (anything is better than A Levels) from the sophisticated and classy to the weird and wonderful.

London Fashion Week has now ended and I thought it would be acceptable to do a post dedicated to my favourites throughout the week, and give a little insight into why I like the collections.

All the images I have used on this post are taken from Fashion Weeks website.

No copyright intended.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label Spring/Summer 2014

Vivienne Westwood has been one of my favourite designers for as long as I've been involved with fashion. There's something so fascinating about and intriguing about her work, her collections reflect her and h er chose style. For me her collections reflect more of art than fashion, they represent freedom, femininity, fashion and art. I am particularly in favour of this collection, there's something about the combination of colours, patterns and various textures that is so mesmerizing.

Tata-Naka Autumn/Winter 2014

How utterly fabulous is this collection?! I think I'm obsessed. Admittedly, I had not heard of Tata-Naka but after a bit of research I discovered that these two Georgian sisters are now one of my favourite labels. When I was scrolling through London Fashion Week's website, I  instantly saw this collection and it is safe to say that it was love at first sight. I'm not sure why I am so completely in love with it, but I am. The clothing has a similar appeal to that of my grandmother's curtains, the sort of appeal that makes you question yourself: why do I like this? What is it that is so intriguing? But there you are, still doting over this bazaar yet beautiful combination. 

Erdem Spring/Summer 2014

I think monochrome is a trend that will always be around. It will circulate the fashion world for eternity, constantly making reoccurrence's on our catwalks and in our magazines. It is just so effortlessly chic and sophisticated, and it cannot go wrong. It is faultless. Erdem's S/S collection for 2014 is the epitome of all that. With a combination of just black, just white, and the two mixed together, Erdem Moralioğlu has created a collection that not only is simplistic in colour, but is profound in the details, the fabrics and the designs. Monochrome at its finest.

Emilia Wickstead Spring/Summer 2014

And moving on from the simplistic colours, we encounter the bold colours. Emilia Wickstead has pulled out all the stops in creating a beautiful and stimulating collection. The structured cuts and shapes contrast with the bold, yet soft pastel colours creating a collection to suit everyone. There is something about Wicksteads S/S 14 collection that just has me falling head over heels. I love everything about it. The angular shaping to the clothing against the pastel colours is just beautiful. I just love it...

Whistles Autumn/Winter 2014

Lilac. The marmite of the fashion world. It has the potential to be fabulous and eye-catching, or the potential to drown all colour out of your face and make you look severely ill. (Personally I am a fan of lilac.) Whistles' A/W 14 collection is wonderful. The colours are, I must admit, some of my favourites and the combination of them just works. The clothes look comfortable and easy to wear, yet still having an effortlessly chic look to them.



So here you have it, just a couple of my favourites from London Fashion Week. Hopefully next year  you will be reading a post dedicated to when I actually went to Fashion Week. We can hope. Please let me know your favourites from Fashion Week.

|| Rome Trip - January 2014 ||

A thousand apologies for the lack of posting, I’m very ashamed.

Nice wet morning in Rome

I know I always say this, but I have been incredibly busy – A Levels are not fun. And that is a fact. I’ve been very bogged down with coursework, homework and a week of work experience at the Wilts & Glos Standard (more to come on that later.) I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, and have been putting it off for ages. I’m sorry.

Anyway…

At the end of January I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Rome with my Classical Civilisation class. We stayed in the beautiful city of Rome for four nights, and just around four days and I have to say it was one of the most wonderful cities I have ever been to (it may even top Paris…)

Admittedly the weather was appalling. It rained the whole time we were there, with the exception of the sun making an appearance on our last day in the city – typical. The rain unfortunately caused a few problems to our schedule, for example we were not able to visit Ostia Antica because the rain had left some “puddles” which meant we couldn’t look around. It’s safe to say my lecturer was extremely irritated. However, we didn’t let the weather affect our spirits as we traipsed around the city of Rome with our troop of umbrellas and soaked shoes.

Initially we couldn’t get into the Forum, again because of puddles. The Romans must not be as well adjusted to the rain as we Brits are. However we did eventually get a chance to take a tour around the political centre for the Roman Empire and it was absolutely mind-boggling. 

Me and a bust.

It was absolutely fascinating to see where Cicero would have performed his speeches, where the Caesar was cremated, where the Vestal Virgins lived and prayed, and all the other bits of history that I got far too over-excited about. Along with the Forum, we also visited the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum, which were all valid for our knowledge on Roman History.

Amongst all the Roman historical sites, we all visited all the ‘typical tourist’ sites of Rome including; the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. We also went to many other churches and fountains but unfortunately I can’t remember all their names. 

One of my favourite places was definitely the Vatican and the Vatican Museum. It was so unbelievably mesmerising and everything was so beautiful. The Vatican Museum in particular was astounding. There was so much to see and there was art and history everywhere; on the walls, floors and ceilings. I would be walking down a corridor and my eyes would be automatically drawn to a painting on the ceiling, and then to the main features on the walls, and then to some more art dotted around the whole area. Just incredible.

(L-R) Me, Zeus, Georgia

We were lucky enough to get a guided tour around Cinecitto Film Studios (kind of the Hollywood of Rome.) We went into the studio’s mini-museum which had props and costumes from various films filmed on the location, along with information about the films and a short documentary about the studio’s prime set designer Dante Ferretti. Cinecitto also happens to be the location where HBO’s series ‘Rome’ is filmed and the set is still currently up. This proved to be very interesting as it gave us an insight into what Rome would have looked like ‘back in the day.’

Other than all the touristy and historical sites, we also got the “real Italian experience” when we went out for pizza and pasta for every meal. I’m pretty sure I doubled my weight out there with the amount of pizza, pasta, ice cream and wine I had. It was so worth it though. 

|| Liebster Award 2014 ||

Liebster award time! This is so exciting for me, I've never been nominated before so this is my first time. I feel all gushy and just want to tell everyone (I'm obviously easy to please…) Anyway, I was nominated by the lovely Sophy at Lashes & Splashes whose blog is truly fabulous and, if you haven't already, you should check it out.

The Rules

1. You must link back to the person who nominated you.  

2. You must answer the 11 questions given by the nominee before you. 

3. You pick 11 nominees with under 200 (or there about) followers to answer your questions. 

4. You cannot nominate the person who nominated you.

5. You must tell the nominees that they have been nominated by you.

Sophy's Questions 

Best high end makeup purchase?

Oh golly this is tricky! I'm quite impressed with most of my make-up to be honest as I've spent so long trying to find the right one (see my make-up here) But it's got to be said that my MAC concealer has been a favourite for some time now - it's fabulous.

If you could only use one item of makeup for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I don't think I can pick one - is that bad?! However it is definitely between mascara (hide those pesky blonde lashes), my eyebrow pencil (my real-life lifesaver) or my concealer because I am prone to acne.

Have you stuck to your new year resolutions?

I actually have! I've actually done really well for me considering what I'm normally like. I give up on things very easily and have terrible commitment issues...

Favourite item of clothing that you own and why?

Oh my word I have no idea… I just have so many clothes and all for different moods etc. I can't pick!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Sadly I don't have that much of 'spare time' because A Levels literally swamp my life. It's so sad. But when I do get some time to myself I do really enjoy reading, books and magazines. I also have a ukelele and guitar (which I really cannot play - as much as I like to tell myself..) that I like to have a little play on when I have time. I also really enjoy just being with my friends and family (cheeeeesy) and talking etc. And I'm going to honest with you all, I really love just lazing about watching the telly….

What is a beauty item you have bought and wished you hadn't?

I bought this Witch bb cream moisturiser thing ages ago, and thought it was the bees knees. I didn't realise it was about two shades to dark for me… Not a good look and seaming as that was the palest one I probably shouldn't have stayed with it so long. Oh well.

What is your next blogging goal (if you have one)?

Ooh I'm not too sure really, maybe do an interview with someone interesting? Or perhaps get to a stage with my blog that I can get paid for blogging? -Getting paid for a hobby just sounds marvellous.

What is your perfect nail polish shade?

Black. Always. Occasionally a sparkly one if I'm feeling a bit adventurous.

Are you a lipstick or lipgloss kinda girl?

Lipstick always. I've never been a fan of lipgloss to be honest, I don't like how it's sticky?

What are you looking forward to this year?

Getting my AS exams over with and the summer - lots of festivals lined up!

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy?

Oh golly this is hard. There is so much I'd love to buy, but I would really love to get some Dr.Marten's Vegan Shoes, they're lovely.

My Nominations

(Went via Bloglovin' followers.)

• Emmie at Topknot Fringe and Whatnot
• Tashaa at Ooohlalaa Fashion
• Yorkshire Pud at Yorkshire Pud
• Laurene at Hi It's Elle D
• Cara at British Mermaid
• Remi at One Sequin At A Time
• Nora Lilly at Hello You
• Alexandra at Pons Nation
• Khensani at Glitter Daiquiri
• Anna at The Life Of A Fashion Nerd
• Mischelle at I'm A Quiet Dreamer

My Questions

1. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
2. If you could only have one make-up item, what would it be?
3. What is your favourite makeup brand?
4. Where is your favourite store/place to buy clothes?
5. Where is your most favourite place you have visited and why?
6. Who is your fashion icon?
7. What are you hobbies? (outside of blogging)
8. Do you have a favourite perfume?
9. Who is your ultimate dinner party guest? (dead or alive.)
10. What is your biggest clothing regret - and why?
11. What is the most expensive fashion item you've ever bought?

|| Review || iMerchandise: The Fashion Buyers Hero ||

To all you fashion buyers out there, have you ever wanted a device or app that makes the wholesale clothing buying process simpler and more efficient? Well look no further: iMerchandise does just this. 

There's nothing quite like it out there and best of all it's free (who doesn't like a freebie?) Its aim is to help stores and line owners that attend fashion shows get rid of those pesky handwritten line sheets and order forms. No more hours spent cutting and pasting your favourite pictures and designs onto "vision boards." iMerchandise does all this for you!

"The new fashion app that simplifies the wholesale 

clothing buying process for retailers."

CEO and Founder of the app, David Secul is a retailer himself and said of the app: "I've created this app with my own funds initially for my personal use." He soon realised how wonderful his app was and how much the rest of the buying world and retail world would benefit from experiencing it themselves.

The idea of iMerchandise is to keep all your info and ideas in one place and, in a sense, act as your own virtual personal assistant.

Personally as I am not a fashion buyer or retailer, I have no need for the app. I do however know that if I was a buyer/retailer I would love this app with every bone in my body and there would be no turning back. I honestly recommend every buyer and retailer out there to download, and get their mitts on this wonderful app - so do it. 

GET THE APP HERE

(All images are property of iMerchandise)

|| Happy (late) New Year || Resolutions ||

I've realised I never did my 'New Year' post last week, poor form Libby. However, here it is for all you lovely readers, admittedly 6 days late but better late than never right? I hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and new year and that you were all blessed with many gifts and that you well and truly stuffed yourself. Also, Happy New Year!

Now with 2014 gracing our guilty and spoilt bodies I felt it was time to really crack down on some certain things I had been saying I would do, but never got round to. I suppose by making them my New Years Resolutions or Things to Achieve in 2014 gives it a nice ring and that extra push I need - let's hope. 

1. TO BE HEALTHIER

Being healthy is something that I've always had an on-and-off relationship with. There are times when the idea of being healthy and looking sophisticticated with a cup of green tea and a goats-cheese salad and then doing some yoga and just being wonderful really appeals to me, however on the other side of the spectrum I am very fond of sitting in bed, stuffing my face with a pizza whilst watching Sex and the City. 

I've decided I want to break out of this rut - at least for a while. I want to start eating healthier and to be fit. I want that "glow" we are so frequently told about. I want that. My action plan to be healthier is: 1. cut out junk food ie. no snacking on crisps and chocolate, drink lots of water throughout the day and carry a waterbottle with me (my skin really needs it), eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Also, practically live off herbal teas.

2. GET FIT (KIND OF)

Over the years I've had problems with joints which has resulted in not being able to participate in sport (which in all honesty has definitely not been a bad thing - I hate sport.) I, for a while, did yoga and I absolutely loved it, however when I finished school I never got back into it. I recently got a new yoga app which is absolutely wonderful! So therefore my plan is to do a yoga programme twice a week, three if I can manage it, and to at least try and get fit - oh dear.

3. TRY NOT TO STRESS

What with starting A Levels I can already feel the stress mounting and I have never been good at dealing with stress. However I plan on cracking down on this early to prevent me stressing and having a breakdown: early nights, sleep well, trying to get all my work done the night I get it and in my free-periods in college so not to have it piled up at the weekend, lots of little pampering ie. baths, cups of tea, reading etc.

4. READ LOTS OF BOOKS

Pretty self explanatory really...

5. BE HAPPY

Just generally be happy (cheesey I know.)  Have less negative comments about myself, and try not to put myself down so much. Compliment people when I apprieciate them, tell my family and friends more often that I love them, try not to get in arguments - apologise instead of furthering the argument.

What are all your resolutions for the new year?

I hope you all have a wonderful new year. Love and blessings to you all.

|| The Fight Against Fur ||

As many of you will know, I am very much against the use of animals and their skins, furs and products in fashion. It is a controversial  topic amongst many people with various different views, but a topic that I feel very strongly about. I have been a vegetarian for many years now and have, I have said in previous posts, dabbled in veganism, therefore, for me, the idea of eating meat and parts of an animal really disturbs me and I really dislike the idea of it very much.

The use of animals is fashion however is a whole other matter to me. Rather than making me feel nauseous and uncomfortable, I've found that it makes me angry and irritated. There is something so uncomfortable and unsettling about the idea of wearing an animal’s skin or fur, and then there is the horror that animals endure just purely so we humans having something to wear.

“Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.”

PETA

Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and has been around since the days of cave-men, I suppose for the humans of the past it was an ideal piece of clothing and relatively easy to get hold of; it kept them warm in the coldest of days and due to the primitive time it would have been incredibly easy to get hold of and would have been part of their hunting any way: eat the meat, wear the skin.

“The decision not to use leather or fur is not just because I don’t eat animals or that I think that millions of animals each year shouldn’t be killed for the sake of fashion. It’s because I also believe in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There’s a huge connection.”

Stella McCartney

As we are now knee-deep in the cold winter climate, fur coats have started appearing everywhere, making a return to fashion. Thankfully, most of the high street stores sell mainly faux-fur coats, however many stores and designers are selling real-fur coats and jackets and accessories ranging in a variety of different furs: fox, rabbit, grey wolf, raccoon and many, many others. All these animals used for the pleasure of people endure a tremendous amount of suffering and pain and lose inevitably their lives.

Fur Farms are generally the most popular source of fur, with PETA estimating 85% of the fur used in industry coming form these fur farms. Animals in these so-called ‘farms’ are kept in conditions that are too horrific to even imagine, they are confined to small wire cages, which are cramped and filthy. These animals will spend most of their lives trapped in conditions such as these. These ‘fur farms’ are very similar to the factory farms used to rear animals for food: their aim being to increase their profits, exploiting and without a care for the animals.

Images from PETA

[[For more information of Fur Farms visit the PETAwebsite.]]

There are so many alternatives to fur, most of them are just as soft and look almost identical to the real fur. There is also a huge price difference, faux-fur coats are generally immensely cheaper – if that doesn’t sway you toward faux-fur I don’t know what will. Personally I am also against faux-fur, only because I feel it is promoting the suffering.

One of the issues I find that is often associated with the wearing of fur is the frequent contradiction. Many people find themselves hating fur and the use of animals within fashion, however on the other hand they are frequent meat eaters. However we realise that, even though I don't eat meat and haven't for some time, our bodies do (as I shiver at the thought) need proteins, often in the form of meat (however for me thats pulses and tofu.) However we as humans do not need fur, it is not a vital part of our lives.

This is when the "well if you're going to eat the meat why not use the fur as well etc etc" debate, and yes I hear you. But most of the furs used in out clothing are not animals that are consumed as food. When was the last time you ate a bear? Or a fox? Or a raccoon? Yeah, I thought so.

As you can tell I have a very strong opinion on this matter and it is something I feel incredibly passionate about. I read on Independent Fashion Bloggers that talking about a controversial topic, and one that is important to you is an interesting thing for your blog, and a way for readers to connect and understand you as a blogger.