This month has totally whizzed by. I had such good intentions to start this blog earlier, and it was going to have a completely different focus. But there was my son's birthday celebrations to organise, play days in my studio with Fran, from @FallforDIY, photography with Judith, from @PollenFloralJoy, not to mention all the school commitments, sports days, attending a market with my ceramics and an exhibition! This has all meant life has been a bit busier than usual.

All this activity has left me longing for our summer break and a holiday! So, my kitchen table has little nods to lazy mornings flicking through mags, gaining inspiration about interiors, travels and cooking. A friend had given me this lantern which has an exotic feel, housing a little succulent instead of a light which adds to the far-away atmosphere.

The flowers are extremely seasonal. I love the papery texture of these strantia, so pretty and delicate, and the whispy, whimisical strands of the Nigella, or love-in-a-mist; all sitting pretty in my hand-made porcelain vessels.

I've also included my favourite plant with its 'magical strings of green', as I was so proud of its home and the macramé hanger, that I knotted myself.

My other summer essentials are a raffia-style floppy sun-hat, bought last year in Ile-de-Re, France and my newest addition, a lovely Shibori hand-dyed tote bag. I think I may have got a little 'Indigo' obsessed after seeing the #Toastsisterhood shenanigans and all their lovely creations, organised by @littlegreenshed, and have even done a Pinterest board on it, as I think it is going to big trend this summer/autumn. I did want to have a go myself, and maybe incorporate this colour more into my ceramics - now that's July's challenge.

So, that was June! Phew. Hoping that July will be more 'restful' and that my knee will be better enough for me to enjoy our activity holiday!

Each month bloggers, Igor and Judith come up with a new challenge for the #urbanjunglebloggers to talk about their plants in a creative way. I love joining in as it challenges me to come up with new perspectives and ways of capturing the beauty of plants. I have to admit that I struggled a little with this month's task as the challenge is to make your plant 'pop' by placing it on a coloured background, and I thought that my favourite, white would be kind of cheating. So it's all about using what you've got, right?

I'd already chosen my subject, my beloved Senecio rowleyanus, commonly known as string-of-pearls or string of beads. (Incidentally the plant was named after a British botanist Gordon Douglas Rowely who specialised in succulents - I thought this was interesting as I see lots of them in America and less so in this country).

I'd found a new way to display my friend in this great macramé hanger that I did following Alison Sadler's brilliant tutorial . It  was really much easier than I thought it was going to be, so am desperate to make a few more of these to go with my planters /pots which are for sale.

And I'd already made a forever home out of porcelain so I just needed a 'popping' background. In the end I went for the muted shades of my wooden clad workshop to give the plant a very natural feel.

But, if I'm honest, I quite like it against good ol' off white, which I also featured in my last blog about my plant gang.

I'm a bit worried about my little plant. There are some small white patches on some of the pearls (maybe I'm overwatering), but I do have lots of new growth so I must be doing something right.

Below are the cute care instructions which came with the plant from Grace and Thorn which made me chuckle so thought I'd share them with you here...

So, thanks again Judith and Igor for helping me come up with a creative solution to display my plants. And now I'm making some other plant hangers due out of the kiln later today, ready for a local market at the weekend.

If you fancy getting involved with this supportive, friendly and fun green community then hop over to urbanjunglebloggers.com to join in.

Have a great summer everyone and look forward to having a nose at this month's colourful gallery.
Kt
xx