If you follow me on here, you’ll know that Flora has been trialling some fabulous monthly subscription boxes from Mud and Bloom since the beginning of this year. A perk of Mummy’s blog (!) the first three boxes were gifted but this is our first paid for box, so did it measure up to the previous high standards?
Mud and Bloom
Mud and Bloom offer a monthly gardening and craft subscription box for kids. Letterbox friendly, they come addressed to your child and contain at least two seasonal activities: one gardening and one nature craft – along with instructions, quizzes, and games. Everything you need is provided in every box – instructions, seeds and even compost – so it’s really easy to use and get children learning about the seasons, plants, insects, birds, soil and rainfall.
The boxes have been created by qualified teachers with influence from Forest School, Montessori and Steiner education. They’re aimed at 3-8 year-olds – although our experience is that older children love them too – and support the EYFS, KS1 and KS2 national curriculum. (Our January and February and March reviews are here if you’d like to catch up on the first three boxes).
April’s box
This is what was inside April’s box:
- instructions for growing peas (organic seeds and compost pellets provided)
- instructions for growing nasturtiums (organic seeds and compost pellets provided)
- some gift tags, card, tracing paper, suncatcher template, glue, plus instructions on how to make a suncatcher and decorative tags and card
- a fact sheet and what to look out for in the woods
- and a quiz.
Peas and nasturtiums
I’ve never grown peas or nasturtiums before so I had no idea about how easy / difficult they are to grow, or their germination rates. Last month’s sunflowers (three) and cucumbers (two) have been potted on so we could re-use our fromage frais pots again. As before, after the pellets had swelled up with water, we planted our seeds (two to each pot) and put them on the window sill.
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Two weeks later all four pea seeds are growing happily and since this photo was taken, they’ve been transplanted to our veg patch. Only one nasturtium germinated but it looks very healthy so it’s been potted on and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for when it’s finally transplanted outside. Note: both the nasturtium leaves and flowers are edible so we can look forward to some colourful summer salads. And the pot in the middle is one of our basil plants, sown from seed in February’s Mud and Bloom box!
The craft activity this month was to collect and press some flowers to make decorative gift tags and a suncatcher. We had a lot of fun choosing some colourful spring flowers (primroses, mini daffodils, chionodoxa, hyacinth buds) which we laid between two sheets of A3 paper and then put four heavy encyclopaedias on top for just over a week to press them flat.
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As you can see, they faded quite substantially after pressing but are no less pretty for that. Flora decided not to make a card, she just wanted create the gift tags and suncatcher. We had to be really careful with the flowers as once dried they were very fragile and tore easily with the glue application. Tip: lay out your designs first and take a photo so you have something to refer to as you glue individual flowers down.
We shared the cutting out of the suncatcher template, Flora cut round the outside and I cut out the trickier inner circle. After I’d taken a photo of the finished suncatcher, she ran upstairs to her bedroom to stick it up in pride of place on her window. Since it’s gone up, I’ve heard her telling friends all about how she made it too!
Facts, what to spot in the woods, and quiz
This month we learned that you can make soup and tea from nettles (just the top few leaves on newly grown plants) as they’re full of vitamins and minerals apparently. I wish I’d known that before I took weedkiller to our nettle jungle last year but I’m sure we’ll find some new plants… And Flora could tick off seeing all the what to spot in the woods signs from our garden, except the wild garlic which hasn’t started flowering yet (I only planted it last year).
Final thoughts
As previously mentioned, this month’s box was our first paid one (£7.95 including UK P&P) and Flora absolutely loved it. She couldn’t wait to get started when it arrived, and she’s taking great delight in seeing how the plants grow day by day. Fun and educational, we think the Mud and Bloom subscription boxes are brilliant value for money. And I’m so pleased to write about them on here as I don’t think I’d be able to share our love so widely in any other way!
Excellent! I wouldn’t mind one myself!!
Thank you, Mary, I think I get just as much pleasure out of these boxes as Flora does, haha! X
Glad both you and Flora loved this box. I love those gift tags – very cute and a lovely personal touch to whoever they go to.
Jenny
http://www.jennyinneverland.com
Thank you 🙂 We’ve been inspired by our recent flower pressing, I foresee a trip to our local stationery shop for some more blank tags…!
I love the gift tags and suncatcher! Sounds like another fabulous box ? love that Flora was so proud about her makes and she has been telling her friends it says just how great the boxes are
Melanie | http://www.frasersfunhouse.com
Oh, it was an excellent box! In fact they all are, we’ve been so lucky to have come across this company, they’re brilliant! X
First of all, I love that they’re addresses to the child – I used to get so excited when I received anything in the post when I was little! ? These sounds like something I would’ve loved when I was little, and it sounds like Flora loved them and learnt a lot as well! ✨
I know, it’s brilliant that I could get them addressed to her, she gets so excited when they arrive! And we both learn so much from them too, they’re great! X
What an interesting crafts box! I love how there is so many different things you could come up with!
That’s the beauty of them, you get some “how to” instructions but the designs are completely up to you, it’s so much fun! 🙂
I love finding out what’s in these monthly boxes Lisa! It’s always so fun and educational. Those flower gift tags are gorgeous, well done to you & Flora! You will be opening an Etsy shop together in no time selling your crafts <3 I never knew that fact about nettles either, they actually sound very healthy for you. Thanks for the fab post, looking forward to seeing what’s in next months box already xx
Oh, Etsy need have no worries, but thank you, haha, that’s so sweet of you! We’re going on a nettle hunt this weekend, I’m so intrigued now 🙂 xx
These look great and look like so much fun. I love the gift tags. Me and my little one love arts and crafts. This gives me an idea to make our own gift tags this Christmas x
They were so much fun, we’re definitely going to do some more 🙂 And that’s a brilliant idea for Christmas, only 7 months to go, haha! X
This is such a cool idea for a subscription box! And such a lovely thing for you guys to do together! This is definitely something I’d look into for when Dougie is a bit older. Those gift tags are beautiful!
Hels xx
Aw, thank you! We do love doing the activities together, some proper mum and daughter time that doesn’t involve an iPad! And we’ll definitely be doing some more tags 🙂 xx
This sounds like it’s great, especially with that price! I was expecting it to be so much more! Love the idea of the gift tags, they are so cute and it adds that personal touch when giving a gift to someone with it. No-one else will receive one like that one!
Amy,
https://creativenails.uk
They are so much fun and such amazingly good value too. I’m rather reluctant to give our first gift tags away ? we’ll have to make some more, haha! X
This Mud and Bloom Subscription Box is really great. I love all the activities you do with Flora. Planting peas sounds so interesting to me as I love eating peas but have not seen them planted. Your Basil plant is doing great. Flora made a beautiful sun catcher love it. Pressing flowers is so nostalgic as a school girl for me haha!
Via | http;//glossnglitters.com
It’s such a good subscription, isn’t it? I can’t believe how many activities there are inside one letterbox sized box! I never pressed flowers as a child so it’s something I loved doing with Flora recently 🙂 x
These look so much fun, it makes me wish my niece or nephews lived closer so I could do this with them. I’m so bad with gardening that I’d probably be on their level haha! I just love that you and Flora have such a creative and fun thing to do together each month, cause she will have those memories forever. Also that suncatcher is beautiful!
Beth x
Aw, Beth, what a lovely thing to say. It hadn’t occurred to me about the memories but I hope you’re right – at least I’ll have them and they’ll be documented on here. Can’t wait to see what we get next month now! x
I didn’t even know subscription boxes like this existed.. What an amazing idea! Those gift tags look gorgeous, love the variety of colours you both got too 🙂 I will definitely be checking out this box, as it looks like alot of fun. Great post as always 🙂
Kate
I’d never seen anything like these before either, we absolutely love them. Thank you so much for the kind words about the gift tags, I think we’ll be making a lot more in future, haha! x