Budding photographers, final shout-out for this year’s Thames Festival Trust’s ‘Thames Lens’ competition. Open to all, with a new category for the under 30s, closing date is this Friday 9th Jan at 11.59pm. Link here for more info thamesfestivaltrust.org/artistic-pro... 📸

How cold is London you may ask… well it’s frozen ornamental waterfall cold 🥶 🌱 #Gardening #UKGardening

Plastic grass is one of the worst things you can put in your garden. Instead, let patches of grass grow long, and give wildflowers a chance – boosting biodiversity, benefitting pollinators, and filling your patch with colour and life. More: bit.ly/3liIFWv

People who know about cameras - Finding settings on my new (Lumix TZ99) cumbersome and unintuitive. It thinks I want light to be evened out over everything and everything to be clear. But I want photos to be accurate with invisible patches remaining invisible and light dull if the evening is dull.

#poetry friends - I'm looking for recommendations for some handsome and recent pamphlet publications. Particularly anything handmade, beautiful, minimalist, letterpress etc #PromptCombo #PoemsAbout

Let 2026 be the year that people stop copying the text from their posts & putting that in alt text. It's rude, as you are asking disabled people to read the same thing twice, which you wouldn't do to an abled person. Plus, a lot of people won't share your post when you copy text. #AltText

So full marks and a herogram to those companies who pay attention to this stuff and do it right. The wonderful Real Seeds www.realseeds.co.uk packages in paper *and* grows its own seed here in the UK giving it a low carbon footprint and allowing me to buy seed sustainably 💚 #gardening 🌱 3/3

So it's worth tracking down suppliers who package in plain paper instead. Even then though, you can catch a cold if the seeds inside have been given their own little plastic envelope (this is a particular irritation as you try to do the right thing then turns out you haven't 🙄)... 2/3

Buying #sustainable #seed can be a minefield. Most commercial seed is bred and collected overseas, with a high carbon footprint to match. Then there's packaging. If it's shiny like this one, the paper has been plasticised to make it waterproof - better than pure #plastic, but still not great... 1/3

Vision impairment shouldn’t prevent a child from developing a love of books and reading 💙 It's #WorldBrailleDay, and we're sharing useful tips and book recommendations from @rnib.bsky.social#WorldBrailleDayto help you support blind or partially sighted children to engage with stories 👇 https://bit.ly/3LgHP9S

2026 is going to be another busy and exciting year for us 🌳 Keep up to date with the latest upcoming events taking place in the parks, here ▶️ https://bit.ly/3SCl8NU. We look forward to seeing at some point during the next 12 months 🙌

💛 www.charlottestrawbridge.co.uk/products 💛

The blog is published and the Witch is waiting with tea, art, poetry, and a story told by her ancestors about St Mungo. Join her for a warm cup of tea! #WritingCommunity #Folklore #Scotland #StMungo #Birds #Poetry #WitchSky ko-fi.com/post/The-Sma...

Today's Flighty's plot blog post is It was even... - flightplot.wordpress.com/2026/01/04/i... 🌱 #UKGardening

🌄 Morning group chat 🦌 If you're heading into Bushy Park or Richmond Park, remember to help us Keep Wildlife Wild by staying 50m away from our resident deer 📍 Richmond Park 📸 James Kliffen

“Caring for myself is not self indulgence, it is self preservation.” Audre Lorde. Looking after ourselves can be one small choice. Sometimes it’s choosing ourselves a little sooner. 🧡 #SelfCare #kindness #wellbeing Image by positively present

Seed packet dates: they're flexible. "Sow by" dates are 2-3 years from packing - stick to this for carrots & parsnips, but brassicas can go to 4-5 years and tomatoes up to 8 years without much loss of viability if stored well. Home saved #seeds last an extra year on top #gardening #growyourown

Happy New Year! We're excited about everything to come in 2026, as we continue to put our Reading For a Brighter Future strategy into action. Together we're working towards a world where every child experiences the benefits of reading💙 Explore our plans: https://bit.ly/3LtTDpr

I spent an hour this afternoon catching up with Hercules The Bear: A Love Story. It really is a heartwarming love story. If you didn’t see it, it’s on the BBC IPlayer. 🐻❤️

Happy New Year ❤️✨ ‘I hope people will see my artwork and remember to care for nature.' Hi friends, it’s Benji and Nish here, we’re so grateful for your friendship 🥹 It hasn’t been an easy year🙏but every kind comment and share means a lot to us both. Hope that 2026 treats you kindly🥰🍃x

Happy New Year! Over the last few mornings, we had a lovely little stretch where conditions were suitable for hair ice (frost flowers) to grow. That doesn't mean "lovely" for tromping around in the woods, since it has to be slightly below freezing, but these beauties are worth some discomfort! (1/

Looking for someone new to follow in the New Year? Jane @clothofnature.bsky.social's feed is full to the brim with nature, art, beauty, joy, and hope. Worth a look... #art #nature #NatureArt #wildflowers #butterflies

Another beautiful account to follow... @lizaadamczewski.bsky.social paints birds, and other wildlife, in the most glorious way, often adding gold leaf... elevating everyday garden visitors to the level of importance they deserve. Worth a look 💛 #art #wildlife #birds #birdart

Garden Visits Hello Bluesky friends! It's a pleasure to visit gardens on their Open Days. This was Gresgarth Hall near #Lancaster in August 2024, and it was very nice indeed. As this year of 2025 ebbs away, let's look forward to 2026! 🌿☕🏵️🌸🌳🍰📷🥾🥾🎒⚽🧵🧶 #AlphabetChallenge #ThemesWeek #WeekGforGardens

The Iceberg rose still in flower today outside the living room window. #RoseWednesday

Good day all. Lovely to see this daffodil in flower yesterday. The last to bloom in the old year and the first to bloom going into the new year.

Any recommendations for a good film to watch on New Year’s Eve? Husband has seen nearly everything; I’ve seen almost nothing. Please and thank you! 🙏🏻🎉🥂💅🏻

I buy myself one of these blue Hyacinths every year. This is the first time that the scent hasn’t filled the room. I’m not sure what’s happened. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Did u know? In '26 make a decision not to buy peat - it needs to stay in the ground, where it belongs. Instead, buy peat-free plants, or employ the services of these decomposing dudes & make your own compost. Just collect your organic & brown cardboard waste & watch the worms make new soil.🌿🌱🇬🇧🌱🌍🪱

Monday

Good morning! How are you holding up? What are you up to today? We had our first hard frost last night -- much later than usual! -- and with it, the first frost flowers/hair ice of the season. (1/

I mostly shoot wildlife but am visiting the Cairngorms at the end of January. I have focal lengths from 24-600mm covered. Which would you recommend as an addition (Sony) 14mm f1.8 or 16-35mm f2.8? #landscape #photography

Today's Flighty's plot blog post is It's been cold - flightplot.wordpress.com/2025/12/28/i... 🌱 #UKGardening

Back by popular demand, join Go Jauntly's FREE Walk 2026km challenge. 2026km is about 3.4 miles a day but every step counts so it all adds up. 🌟🚶‍♀️ 📲 Join the challenge on Go Jauntly and make 2026 your year of movement! 💚 https://walks.gojauntly.com/challenges/walk-2026-challenge-1550

#Garden friends, we have a short New England growing season on the Cape. Our gang loves peppers of all types. If I start seeds earlier, for example, in January, & grow plants to a larger size before they go into the ground in spring, do you think I can push the peppers to produce sooner? #gardening

We've had so much fun with our bear buddies around the country this year, thanks to our friends at Build-A-Bear! Thank you for teaming up with us to help children experience the joy of shared reading - it makes such a difference 💙 Find out more about the partnership here: https://bit.ly/4saf5Ap

Or you can watch a video I made on how to prune them here: youtu.be/Y1rErx2RJpU?...

You can read more about how I grow my espalier trees here: bournetogarden.substack.com/p/espalier-f...

It's all kicking off here

Happy #BoxingDay everyone! So I have a question, when does everyone take down their Christmas tree 🎄and decorations? Are you more traditional and leave them up for the 12 days, or do they come down whenever you feel like taking them down?

25% off 1,000 of the postcards in our store! Ends midnight 28 December so act fast! If you buy more than one card, make sure you check out all of the items together so you get a postage discount! www.ebay.co.uk/str/oldpostc...

What a delightful book this was. I could hear Miranda's voice reading it too. I absolutely loved Joan and Jessie and this happy tale of tree heroes.

Happy Boxing Day! The bottom 2 were Christmas presents and the others recent purchases- I really need to get my book buying under control again

Crapitalism fails again. Broke a rail on my bicycle saddle yesterday so I am looking for another model. I need at least 215cm wide, and would prefer to try wider because of a suspected nerve issue. I would like no plastic parts and no padding. My options are... the same model, or one very like it.

Oh my. People are *actually* using AI to check tide times… 😬 Planning a festive swim? Warning not to rely on AI for advice on tides www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#BoxingDay 2007 Box Moth Caterpillar 🐛 vs #Box 🇬🇧🌲 2024 We’ve lost planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/assets/facts...

I looked out the kitchen window earlier and was surprised to see a Grey Wagtail bobbing about on the back service road. I don't think that I've ever seen one before here in Harrow. @btobirds.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

Did you get any brilliant books for Christmas? Would you like to share that joy with children and families who need it? It's not too late to donate to our #MagicOfBooks appeal ❤️ https://bit.ly/4pfYDMt

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating 🎁 Whatever you're doing, we hope you're having a wonderful time - and maybe found a book or two under the tree! If you'd like to do something lovely & spread some festive cheer, it's not too late to donate to our #MagicOfBooks appeal: https://bit.ly/3MAqkSs

Wishing each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas - thank you to everyone who has followed and supported me, and shared a few words along the way. #birds #FestiveDailyRobin