There’s something about May.

The days stretch a little longer. The sun lingers in the garden just a few moments more. There’s a softness in the air, a sense of everything waking up — slowly, tenderly, fully. At Grove Farm, May is the month when everything comes to life.

Our borders swell with new colour, tulips and lilac opening wide to the morning sun. Bees hum with purpose. The kitchen garden offers up its first gifts of the season, and our studio shelves brim with boxes ready to be wrapped in tissue and sent across the country.

Here’s a glimpse into life behind the scenes this month.

Morning Rituals in the Garden

Mornings begin slowly and intentionally. A warm cup of tea, shearling clogs, and the cool hush of the garden before the world fully stirs.

I water seedlings, tidy the beds, and deadhead early bloomers. The chickens wander freely, bobbing between rows of tulips, scratching at the soil and clucking softly. There’s something grounding about this time of day — hands in the earth, surrounded by colour, stillness, and birdsong.

It’s not a task, but a ritual — one that starts the day not with urgency, but presence.

The First Harvest of the Season

May brings our first harvests. Rhubarb with its blushing stalks. Pea shoots, delicate and sweet. Fragrant sorrel leaves with their lemony zing.

These early gifts are always the most treasured — tender and full of promise. Lunches are simple and green: garden salads tossed with herbs, rhubarb compotes spooned over yoghurt, edible flowers scattered across everything. The garden moves from potential to provision, and it’s a joy to taste the season, freshly plucked and still sun-warmed.

Packing Orders in the Afternoon Light

Each afternoon, I retreat to the studio, where sunlight floods the table and the scent of blossom wafts through open windows.

Here, I pack each order by hand — folding scented tissue around our bottles and boxes, placing seals, wrapping with care. There’s music playing softly, the birdsong often louder, and always a vase of something nearby — lilac, tulips, or whatever we’ve brought in that day.

These moments of care — of slow, intentional beauty — are what I hope to send out with every parcel.

Bringing the Outdoors In

Throughout the house, the season comes indoors.

Jugs of tulips and peonies in the kitchen. A sprig of lilac on the bathroom sink. Wildflowers in a small bud vase beside the bed. Scent — both botanical and perfumed — fills each room, changing subtly as the day moves on.

Fragrance, I believe, should feel like nature — uplifting, grounding, quietly beautiful.

A Calming Evening Ritual

I’ve recently begun a small new ritual every evening.

Before bed, I mist my pillow with a little of our GROVE England Anemone Eau de Parfum. It’s a soft, clean scent that uses botanical oils that include neroli, which is known to help boost mood and reduce feelings of stress, chamomile which creates a sense of relaxation and tranquillity, and cedarwood, whose rich scent helps reduce stress and anxiety, promoting a sense of stability and inner peace. I have come to find this small act deeply calming.

There’s something indulgent and intimate about falling asleep to a fragrance you love. Like silk pyjamas or fresh sheets, it turns an ordinary moment into something quietly luxurious.

It’s a beautiful reminder that ritual doesn’t need to be grand. It just needs to be yours.

As May unfolds, I’m reminded again and again to slow down. To admire what’s growing. To notice the small things. The beauty in ritual. The stillness in routine. The joy that fragrance and nature, together, can bring.

Wherever you are, I hope this season brings you moments of calm, beauty, and scent.

With love,
Laura

MAY AT GROVE FARM:A Life in Full Bloom