Bits + Pieces [FREE]

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! HAVE A PRESENT!

Hooray! I’m turning 38 (!) and to celebrate you can get a subscription to Horticulturalish for 12 months, for 50% OFF! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONTH TO ME AND TO ALL LEOS WHO CELEBRATE! RAWR!

I wish I could say that my birthday trauma is limited to childhood but no it has spilled over and every year I feel the same sad pang of resentment that my parents chose to have me in August. Then, now, always, August is a lonely month for a birthday. London is empty, everyone is away. Previously I have taken myself off on holiday to celebrate but there’s no money for that this year, alas.

I often take the piss out of my friend Katy (hi, Katy) for still caring so much about her birthday at our age but it is really coming from a place of pain.

Still, I can do THIS nice thing on my birthday: give you all, my beloved readers, a 50% off discount to receive all that I (and this silly Substack) have to offer. The offer ends on 1 September, so do have a think about whether you’d like even more rabbiting on than you’re getting already, and consider investing in this highly questionable venture.

ANYWAY. Here are some bits and pieces I need to tell you about:

• These joy-coloured desk shelves from The Masie in this size and this size would be a great little accessory for a dull WFH space.

• Also from The Masie this wildly dramatic dining table that I wish I had space for, alas.

• If you need to give your pup a pill, these pill treats are a GAME CHANGER. I bought mine from the vet, so I bet they’re available all over the place.

• There’s still time to buy your dahlia and chrysanthemum plants to fill your garden with late summer/autumn joy and colour - The Tetbury Flower Company has fabulous dahlia plants for sale and Hardy’s Plants and Farmyard Nuseries have some Chrysanths still in stock. As always, PaidPals have access to my full list of suppliers to browse if these sell out.

  

• London’s first Ballerette is now open on the Kings Road! Look no further for shoes! I am 100% gifting myself a pair for my bday.

• I recently bought a couple of these very large pillows (67x67) from Dunelm for the back of a daybed and they are genuinely luxurious. If you like having square pillows to prop you up when you read in bed, look no further. I can’t see the covers I bought with them online, but they are excellent.

  [ Footage from Walkies at Wisley, August 2023 - always a genuine highlight of my year ]

• There are only three Walkies at Wisley left this year! I will probably attend all three. I cannot recommend them enough. Dogs are not usually allowed in the gardens (though they can always go in the nusery which is one of the best places ever to shop for plants). Of all the events I’ve ever been to, Walkies at Wisley must be the most jolly, everyone and their dog is in a good mood, plus the gardens on a summer evening are mind blowing. Do come.

• The unexpected bonus fourth season of Ted Lasso starts on 14 August. It might go a small way towards easing my continuing grief at the World Cup ending. Also a great excuse for a re-watch of seasons 1-3.

• Don’t steal my idea but I will be collect seeds in the coming weeks, decanting them into these little envelopes, finding a cute stamp on Etsy (probably this one or this one or this one) and gifting seeds to everyone for (shhhh the C-word) Christmas. Cheap, but valuable.

  

• I am obsessed with these pens. I have most of the colours now. I love them.

• At this time of year I like bulk buying little vases from Søstrene Grene (like these and these) to give away bunches of flowers from the garden. So much easier to be able to give someone a vase to take home. This year’s selection not as good as previous years, I’ll admit.

  

• When I tell people that to save their fruit from the birds they must put little baggies around them they think I’m mad but this sensible grape vine owner in Chelsea knows what’s up.

  

• This t-shirt from JW Anderson sums up my whole summer 2026

• I also saw this jug in the window of the store on Pimlico Road and oh mama! But really no one needs to spend £650 on a jug.

• You might think a brown paper lampshade undesirable but they cast such a gentle, cosy light - these from Howe are fabulous and are getting me excited for long autumn nights. The ultimate thought, remains the Robert Kime papyrus shades which, I promise, are worth the exorbitant price tag.

• I know I always say don’t spend proper money on a tablecloth but LOOK at this one! I love it! I would not, however, dine on it. I would buy the right sized Instant Table with (crucially) glass top, and I would make it a permanent fixture.

• In case, like me, you didn’t move fast enough when India Knight posted about the Katherine Pole x Zara Home collab, GOOD NEWS. They have restocked some of the bits, including the amazing ruffled pillowcases which I adore.

  

• I have been struggling to find shorts that feel age appropriate, aren’t hideous, and are comfy, and today (just as summer draws to a close) I found them. PERFECT for garden pottering, not so precious that you’d worry if they got mucky. Ideal.