Spring is in the Air

With Spring just around the corner and gardeners already planting their first seeds for the new growing season I thought it was time to offer more of a range of products in the NUGs shop. This was our first forray into scouting new products for the website and I took myself along to the Spring Fair at the NEC in Birmingham. I was looking specifically for products and brands to compliment our own sustainability range and inline with our customers needs.

NUGs is all about encouraging kids to get involved in gardening and from a young age.

Therefore we had our eye out for some quality kids gardening tools. I hate to see these bright plastic 'sandpit' tools, kids want tools like the grown ups.

I was rather taken by Briers Kids range in a unisex and very apt for gardening - green. The tool bag is great as the little ones like to carry a bag around and take their tools in and out.

Every child needs a watering ran too to get stuck in with nurturing those plants.

We are also keen to get more people into growing their own fruit and veg, no matter how much space they have got. We love Burgon & Balls mini beds made from willow which are so easy to set up and start using straight away.

Being a female gardener I also loved the Sophie Conran female specific tools, the trowel in a particular looks very handy.

The striking prints designed by Orla Kiely are a particular favourite and brighten up any window sill, potting shed and garden activity. Perfect gifts for gardeners or treating yourself to something special to make your hobby even more enjoyable. I particular like the set of three herb pots for indoors and the grow your own herb range.

One of the reasons I started NUGs was to get closer to nature in my own urban garden, with a little girl on the way I wanted to encourage wildlife into our garden and do something for the planet. The Urban Feeder by Wildlife World really caught my eye at the show. It's design stands out and is so different from the usual (also beautiful) feeders you see. We think these are a must for the NUGs website.

As you know sustainability is a key ingredient for NUGs and when we found A Short Walk's stand at the show we knew they would make perfect partners. With their products actually made from recycled plant pots - what could be more ideal? We are concerned about the over use of plastic in the gardening industry. After all gardening really should be the greenest activity by its very nature.

That's why we use coir pots in our gardening pursuits and sell them. These plant pot holders look like an ideal companion for our coir pots and will instantaneously decorate the garden fence, creating your very own growing wall.

Finally we were taken aback by the

William Morris collection Briers have

launched.

We are fans of the prints, especially the Strawberry Theif, which is very on-trend at the moment. Even Uggs have created a boot with it! Well, we prefer wellies to Uggs, not to mention the tools, gloves, bags, tins and pots. It's all on our wishlist.

Now I just have some number crunching and logistics to sort and we should have some lovely new products to share with you fellow NUGs soon.

Love

Rachel xx