Slow Living in May: 31 Days of Seasonal Activities to Embrace Spring in the English Countryside

Ah, enchanted May! The colour, warmth and joy now live among us. The land offers the first produce of the season, while wildflowers appear in the gardens, meadows, woods, and even on the roadside verges. Lambs and calves frolic in the fields, hawthorn and cow parsley are blossoming, and the birds' chorus reaches its peak. With the world being so beautiful and two long weekends in one month, when is a better time to celebrate slow, seasonal life than in May? 

I thought it would be fun to write a list of slow-living activities for each day of the month. This list isn't exhaustive - it's my personal ways of romanticising this month, things I do every year, that make me feel uplifted and connected to the season. I welcome you to steal the whole list for yourself or pick and choose things that feel right for you and where you live.

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Slow Living in May: 31 Seasonal Activities to Embrace Late Spring

1. Celebrate Beltane on the 1st of May
2. Pause for the Flower Full Moon
3. Light a candle at dusk and set an intention for the month
4. Enjoy a slow day on the Early May Bank Holiday
5. Walk along a hedgerow and notice hawthorn blossoms, also called the “May tree”
6. Drink fresh mint tea (or any other fresh herb infusion!)
7. Listen to birdsong at sunrise on International Dawn Chorus Day (First Sunday in May)
8. Make a trip to a bluebell wood to admire these quintessentially British flowers
9. Notice farmers working in the fields and barns
10. Watch calves and lambs frolicking in the fields.
11. Listen for the cuckoo, a bird that is strongly associated with the arrival of Spring in English folklore.
12. Light a seasonal candle - check out our Spring and Summer collection ❤️
13. Practice yoga in your garden
14. Get creative in the kitchen - cook or bake something new.
15. Cook with locally grown asparagus

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Discover our hand-poured candles

made in our Somerset, inspired by the seasons and slow living in the English countryside

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16. Open wide windows to let the Spring air in
17. Play Celtic music to make your day feel more enchanted
18. Shop for a second-hand Spring-themed book
19. Decorate your home with fresh flowers and greenery - ivy, ferns, wild stems
20. Drink your morning coffee in the garden, without your phone
21. Wear something that feels like late Spring - floral, colourful, feminine.
22. Add a fresh salad with seasonal greens for lunch or dinner.
23. Take a more scenic route back home.
24. Visit a farm shop or a farmers' market
25. Work in your garden (or set up a windowsill/balcony herb garden)
26. Learn the names of wildflowers growing on your favourite walking paths
27. Notice the smell of rain on the soil after a spring shower
28. Eat the first fresh strawberries of the season
29. Gather elderflower (mindfully) for tea or cordial.
30. Linger outdoors in the golden May dusk as the evenings are getting longer and warmer
31. Write a list of thing your are grateful for this month.

May is the month of change and intense growth - the beginning still feels very much like Spring, but the end is on the edge of Summer. The transformation of the natural world is quite dramatic - the trees and hedges change in front of our eyes in the span of a couple of weeks, making the world lush and abundant once more. I can't tell you the joy I feel as I walk the woodland paths, completely covered by the canopy of deep green leaves in late May. Watch My Most recent Vlog - Seasonal slow living, cosy homemaking & baking from the English countryside

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Watch My Most recent Vlog - Seasonal slow living, cosy homemaking & baking from the English countryside

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This enchanted month inspires not only poets and artists, but everyone around, whether you are a nurse, a teacher, a shop assistant or a stay-at-home mum. I sense this rising, upwards energy deep in the core of my being, and I know you can feel it, too. Use it to feel closer to the natural world. Connect more deeply with the season and your own voice inside, so often muffled by the demands of everyday life. Be light, a little romantic, and choose to see the good and beauty every single day of this month.

Adriana x