Written by
Chrystèle
Stuck with what to do when February 14th rolls around? We have some excellent ideas for Valentine’s activities around the UK. With beautiful weekend spots to explore together, ideas for after-work drinks and green-fingered plant workshops, you'll find something here that will get sparks flying. Read on and feel inspired.
Date night
True to its name, Manchester’s Allotment Bar and Restaurant serves botanical cocktails all night long. Petersham Nurseries in Richmond is an excellent place for a dinner à deux, under twinkling fairylights and surrounded by stylish plants. Over in Liverpool, The Florist is decorated with fragrant flowers, with a tree that rises majestically from the middle of one room, creating a canopy over guests’ heads.
Get creative
A hands-on project, tackled together, sets the scene for sparks to fly. Terrariums in particular are a perfect idea, the act of creating tiny little houses for plants may inspire you to think about creating your own small nest together. In London, there are just a few places left on the Valentine’s terrarium workshop at Mercato Metropolitano on Tuesday evening. Norwich has one on Valentine’s Day itself, run by Kim from Romeo and Succulent. Over in Brentford, the Watermill is holding a special Valentine’s Day edition of their terrarium workshop series on February 25th with Glass Gardens London.
Botanical gardens
Depending on where you are in the country, take your pick of the UK’s two Royal Botanical Gardens. One is glorious Kew Gardens in West London, the other is stately Inverleith in Edinburgh.
There’s nothing like venturing inside the wrought-iron Victorian glasshouses and marvelling at the majestic palms on display. It’s the next best thing to a weekend in the sun.
Outdoors inspiration
This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday, so why not extend celebrations into the weekend and visit one of the UK’s beautiful gardens. In Kent, Sissinghurst Castle Garden is famous for its wildflower meadows, the white garden, vegetable patch and surrounding lakes. The National Trust property is beautifully maintained by teams of volunteer gardeners throughout winter, meaning it’s just as interesting to visit in February, when they’re prepping hard for spring. Further west in Somerset, contemporary art gallery Hauser and Wirth is set in a beautiful landscape designed by Piet Oudolf. Loosely inspired by classical gardens, it’s filled with perennials, for a magnificent spectacle in winter as well as summer. Have a wander, and make plans together for redesigning your own back garden.
Masterclass movie night
Of course, you can also stay at home and watch Netflix or a movie. Another idea is our Plant Design Masterclass series full of ideas for how to bring plants into your interior. There’s nothing like designing a living space together with your partner to get you feeling all loved up.
