The May Edition
My Favourite Month
Welcome to the May edition!
Happy May Day (for Friday) and Bank Holiday! I hope you are having a beautiful long weekend.
May is my absolute favourite month of the year. There is something magical in the air - the windows are open, the sun is out, smiles emerge from hibernation; and with the arrival of spring blossom also drifts the anticipation of summer and happy times ahead. May is magnificent here in England - cow parsley lines the hedgerows with light, frothy abundance, blossom and lilac hang heavy from the boughs of trees, Solomon’s seal (my all-time favourite flower) emerges, and bank holidays beckon. There’s Chelsea Flower Show, light lingering evenings, the sound of bird song and tennis balls, cucumber sandwiches and cricket overs, elderflower, strawberries, linen aplenty, and raffia returns. I could go on…
I hope you enjoy this free monthly edition full of my loves, beauty besties, raffia edit, my last supper, flowery and garden tips and more…
Wishing you all a very happy month of May!
With Love,
Willow
*This is my Monthly Free Edition, but every week, I send out emails to my paid subscribers with flowery, fashion, food and wellness content - ideas to inspire, create and nurture. I hope you will join our growing community, we have so much planned this year!
PS. this is a long read so might be best to read in web browser (just in case it cuts off in your email).
Willow Loves
What I’m loving this month - gold hearts, ditsy floral ceramics, 70s groovy prints, red raffia, navy linen and going analogue at home…
Willow Loves… (6 more!)
(scroll to the end for our paid subscribers)
May Flowers
I don’t think there is a better month for flowers than May. I look forward to this moment all year; the moment when all my favourites are out on the town together. The blousy blossoms, the peonies, the lilacs; my beloved Solomon’s seal and her delicate, lily-of-the-valley-shaped sister; the first of the roses, the dancing corncockle and self-seeded aquilegia. The hedgerows are wild! overflowing with clouds of hawthorn and frothy cowparsley. Back in the garden, there are papery poppies, towering alliums and clematis scrambling up the walls. They were early this year but the last jolt of colour from the tulips bring so much joy.
Things in the greenhouse are gathering pace, and I’m so pleased to see my seeds finally beginning to show signs of life. It’s been a busy week, mostly spent in my car, so I haven’t been able to tend to them as much as usual. Charlie, however, has very happily taken on his new role as mother and father of both his and my seedlings…
Rejoice! Raffia Returns!
One of the highlights of the summer season is the return of raffia, rattan and other braided, textured, earthy summer delights. This season, the madder the better. Watering can handbag, anyone?
1. Gerard Darel Paloma raffia belt, 2. Zara tomato cross-body bag, 3. COS sculpted straw bucket hat, 4. Wolf & Badger cherry raffia key ring, 5. Gerald Darel Rosie raffia phone holder, 6. Bonpoint Laney cherry raffia bag, 7. Me+Em summer raffia & leather belt, 8. Loewe bird bag in palm & calfskin, 9. Zimmerman carousel raffia espadrille slides, 10. Loewe Paula’s Ibiza watering can raffia bag, 11. Sézane Coeur coin case, 12. Anya Hindmarch Maud raffia shell bag, 13. Me+Em summer carry all raffia & leather bag
My Last Supper
With Eleanor Steafel
For our May edition, we asked my favourite ‘last supper’ question to the lady of the moment, Ellie Steafel, whose wonderful new cook book, But First, Dinner is out early this month. Ellie is also the Lifestyle Director of House & Garden and writes about pasta (yay!) on Substack.
In But First, Dinner, Ellie weaves together recipes, memories, essays and strong feelings about supermarket cheddar, female friendship and food we eat when we're alone.
What would you have for your last meal on earth? A drink, a starter, a main course and pudding? You never get full and you can be wherever you want in the world…
“Firstly, this is my favourite question. At this point my friends are sick of me asking them to tell me their desert island meal, and I often ask it on dates as the answers can be so revealing.
I’d be in the south of France on a warm spring afternoon with all my favourite people. We’d start with martinis - gin, dirty, ideally three olives. Ideally there’d be some cheese to nibble on at this point, maybe some radishes and good butter, little olives and some salt and vinegar ridge crisps.
The starter would be spaghetti with my mum’s pasta sauce. It’s just a slow-cooked tomato sauce; it’s nothing fancy, but it’s deeply nostalgic to me. It’s onions, garlic, bay leaves, tinned toms and passata, a little red wine, plenty of salt and pepper and a smidge of sugar - then at least four hours of low and slow cooking. It’s heaven.
To follow we’d have a proper seafood feast. Oysters, prawns, langoustines, crab, plus plenty of aioli, lemon and good bread and salty butter. As this is my last meal on earth I’d probably get us some chips too (chunky homemade ones), because why not. Very cold rosé is essential.
For pud, I’d like an ice cream sundae. I’m torn between a scoop of apricot sorbet, another of good vanilla and plenty of chantilly cream, and a café liegeois with coffee ice cream, chilled slightly sweet coffee, whipped cream and some sort of silly biscuit. On balance, that sounds more frivolous and therefore appropriate for a last meal on earth, so café liegeois it is.”
Order But First, Dinner which is published on 7 May
Follow @elliesteafel on Instagram and Ellie Steafel on Substack
My Spring Beauty Besties
This Spring, I’ve streamlined my beauty shelf and make-up bag to only the essentials. I want to take the overwhelm out and keep the daily routine simple, light and carefree (but effective, of course!) and for my make-up to ‘look’ barely there, luminous and natural.
Here are 12 faves I am swearing by at the moment (including the fail safe besties I’ve used for ever, like the Mac foundation and Jones Road mascara):
What products or supplements are you loving at the moment? I’d love to know!
Garden Tips for May 🌱
Planting & Sowing -
Flowers: sow annuals like cosmos, calendula, and nigella for summer colour
Vegetables: after the last frost (which I hope is over!?), plant out courgettes, pumpkins, sweetcorn, and beans
Herbs: basil, parsley, coriander and dill can go outside once it’s warm enough
Pruning & Support -
Tie in climbing plants like roses and clematis
Pinch out tips of young plants to encourage bushier growth
Deadhead spring flowers (like tulips and daffodils) but leave foliage to die back naturally
Maintenance -
Weeding: stay on top of weeds as they grow very quickly now!
Mulching: add a layer of compost or bark around plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds
Watering: water in the early morning or evening, especially for new seeds, bulbs and in containers
A Spring Brunch with Donna & Clodagh
What a treat this week to have a Monday brunch in London with three culinary greats (Donna, Clodagh, Thomasina!) and the very best salmon I’ve ever tasted! A very happy visit the London home of Clodagh McKenna Herbert and to meet one of my long term girl crushes, Donna Hay, who was visiting from Australia with her new book. I think I have every book Donna’s ever written and so am very happy to add her latest, Sunshine, Lemons & Sea Salt to the stack (the chilli-home glazed salmon she cooked with Clodagh is from this new book - it’s the best, most delicious dish to prepare for friends at home).
May Arts & Culture
What to see, visit & plan this month…
It’s Chelsea Flower Show! Don’t miss it (starting 19 May) and if you can’t get tickets there is always something going on in and around Chelsea, including some wonderful store window displays to celebrate spring at Chelsea in Bloom participating retailers. This year’s theme is ‘out of this world’ and starts on 18 May
Don’t miss the Stella McCartney for H&M collaboration, launching 7th May
Get tickets for 1536 at the Ambassador’s Theatre (nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards and runs until 1st August)
From 18th-31st May, Claridges X The Next will see the unveiling of a sculptural installation, ‘A Farm in Mayfair’, that brings the life and theatre of The Newt’s rural idyll to Claridge’s famous art-deco lobby
Go and see Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A
Don’t miss Tracey Emin: A Second Life exhibition at the Tate Modern until August
Take the family to Giffords Circus this summer when it’s nearby
Visit the David Hockney exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery (until August)
Don’t miss Romeo & Juliet at The Harold Pinter Theatre (until 22 June)
Plan ahead to see Marilyn Monroe - A Portrait at The National Portrait Gallery starting 4 June
Book ahead with tickets for To Kill A Mockingbird at the Wyndham Theatre (starts 25 June)
PS. Willow Loves (6 more!)
