How does my bathroom grow?

 Like a lot of people, we've been doing a bit more 'nesting' on lockdown. I've been feeling very fortunate to have a house with a reasonable amount of room and a garden (*head to the bottom for a small rant). We've been doing a bit more around the house, maybe not masses but certainly enough to make it a bit nicer than it was when we were both commuting daily. 

The bathroom is one of my favourite rooms. When we moved in, there was a hook in the ceiling, in the corner near the window. I've no idea whether it was there for a plant or some sort of dangling organiser full of cosmetics, but we never took it out. When the garden centres reopened we took a trip over to the big garden centre at Lacock and got this lovely plant. The hanger was from a garden centre in Trowbridge that didn't actually sell the sort of dangly plant I wanted. We also finally got round to hanging the mosaic I made on the wall. That was my favourite selfie space, but I'll just have to find somewhere else to indulge my vanity.

Pete also decided the cupboard under the sink was too crowded, and all my bottles of cleaning products spoiled the look of the room, and bought a flatpacked cabinet online. It's narrow, but holds the bottles, and all the medicines. We got a spider plant to go on top, and my old sponge-filled flannel animals (flannemals? They're unusued, I should point out) keep it company. All the bathroom furniture is white and very clean-lined, but with the multicoloured, vaguely Victorian tiles round the bath, the deep terracotta-orange walls and dark brown wooden floor, they somehow work. Because the room is south-facing, it can take strong, deep colours, and the plants love the sun.

Things are growing well outside the house too. Some previous years I confess I've been unable to cope with the garden and we've both given up and hidden inside from August onwards, but this year we've put in a lot more effort. Inspired by the beautiful planters we've seen in various parts of Spain, Mr Robot has claimed a wall alongside the patio to turn into his own little piece of Andalucia, putting up pots of bright red geraniums and blue-purple petunias. When we got the bathroom plant I also bought an agapanthus. When I went to Ickworth a couple of years back, one of the things that struck me there were the really huge agapanthus in tall pots. The big ones are so dramatic. I bought one for myself, and it looks really good below the geraniums.

In case you're wondering, the hanging basket is full of cherry tomatoes, and below that is a trough of tiny cucumber plants. We don't have a greenhouse but the patio is a suntrap, so I have herbs and a few edibles there.

Finally, when we got married many years ago I carried a bouquet of 'mango' calla lilies. I tried planting some and nothing ever came of it. I'd actually forgotten there even were any in this pot, but this summer they have grown and flowered! I'm taking it as an omen; persevere and things will be beautiful

I hope all your flowers are blooming, and all your edibles fruiting! Stay safe.




*I've been feeling increasingly angry about the state of housing in this country – young people gouged for rent, people living in tiny, dingy homes and still in places with unsafe cladding, years after the Grenfell disaster. We really need more social housing.