Buttonleaf Makes

Home
United Kingdom
Ash Vale
Buttonleaf Makes

🌱 Growing joy in small ways 🌱
♻️ Upcycled pots, unique gifts with love!

Based in the Surrey 🎁

Find me at The Packhouse 20 June & Guildford Antiques & Vintage Market 28 June Welcome to Buttonleaf Makes, where nature meets creativity 🌿
We handcraft small, joyful gifts including:
- Plant arrangements in quirky, upcycled pots
- Watercolour cards and bookmarks inspired by nature
With eco-friendly packaging and unique artisan touches ♻️
Based in Surrey, shipping locally

17/06/2026

🌿Plant Spotlight: Kalanchoe tomentosa

Soft, fuzzy and full of character, Kalanchoe tomentosa comes in many varieties, the most well-known being the Panda Plant and Chocolate Soldier. It is a popular succulent native to Madagascar, but be careful, all parts of the plant are considered toxic if ingested.

I love its velvety leaves, which can range from greyish-blue to golden-brown depending on the variety, all edged with chocolate-coloured markings. Not only is it beautiful, but it's also easy to care for, making it a great choice for beginners.

🌿Care Tips

☀️ Light: Bright light, with a few hours of direct sun
💧 Water: Allow the soil to dry completely between waterings
🪴 Soil: Use a free-draining succulent compost
❄️ Temperature: Doesn't like extreme temperatures. Not frost hardy and best protected from cold temperatures.
✂️ Propagation: Easily propagated from stem cuttings. Remove a few lower leaves and allow the cut end to callous over for a few days before planting into dry, well-draining soil. Leaf propagation is also possible, but it is a slower method.

🌿 Fun Facts

• In Japan, Panda Plants are often called "Rabbit Ears" because of their soft, furry leaves.
• Those soft hairs help reflect intense sunlight, reduce moisture loss, provide insulation and can even discourage certain pests.
• Flowering is uncommon indoors as plants usually need very bright conditions and maturity before they bloom.

I'm sharing both varieties today, which one is your favourite? 🤍

15/06/2026

Brighten up your space with live plants and let me take care of the rest. Perfect for pubs, cafés, salons, offices and other customer-facing spaces.

From choosing the right plants to regular maintenance and seasonal refreshes, I help keep them looking their best all year round.

Interested in adding plants to your business? Feel free to pop me a message.

Thank you, Colorstar Photography , for the beautiful pictures. You captured the warmth of the venue and the plants perfectly.

These pictures were taken at The Temple Inn Liss, where I provide plant displays and maintenance services. The images feature a selection of my arrangements styled throughout the venue.

12/06/2026

Latest finds that I couldn't wait to share 🤍 These beautiful glass vases can be styled with dried flowers or used for propagating plant cuttings, which would you choose?

10/06/2026

🌿 Plant Spotlight: Portulacaria afra (Spekboom / Elephant Bush)

This is one of the most fascinating plants I own and honestly, I could probably write a short novel about it. It's one of my favourite plants to use in arrangements because it adds lovely height, structure and colour contrast with its small bright green leaves and reddish stems. It looks beautiful as a standalone plant too, and with patience and regular pruning it can even be trained into a bonsai.

Despite often being mistaken for a Jade Plant, Portulacaria afra is a different species altogether. It shares a similar appearance but has smaller leaves, reddish stems and is considered non-toxic to cats and dogs, making it a great choice for pet-friendly homes 🐾🤍

It's a tough and forgiving succulent that's easy to care for and incredibly easy to propagate once you know a few simple tricks.

🌿 Care Tips:

☀️ Light: Loves bright light and can happily tolerate several hours of direct sunshine.

💧 Water: Allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings. Like most succulents, it dislikes sitting in wet soil.

🌱 Soil: Best grown in a free-draining cactus or succulent mix with excellent drainage.

🌡️ Temperature: Not frost hardy, so best protected indoors during colder UK winters.

✂️ Pruning: One of those plants that rewards regular pinching and trimming. Removing the growing tips encourages branching and helps create a fuller, bushier plant.

🌱 Propagation: Extremely easy from stem cuttings. Allow cuttings to callous over for a few days before planting into dry soil.

🌿 Fun Facts

• Spekboom is the Afrikaans name for the plant. "Spek" means fat or bacon and "boom" means tree, a reference to its thick, water-storing leaves and stems.

• It is native to South Africa, where it is an important food source for elephants and many other animals, earning it the common name Elephant Bush.

• Spekboom is used in large-scale restoration projects to help rehabilitate land damaged by overgrazing and erosion. As it grows, it helps improve soil quality, supports biodiversity and creates shelter for wildlife.

• It is often called a "carbon sponge" because it can absorb and store significant amounts of carbon dioxide, making it an important plant in environmental restoration projects.

• Although Spekboom flowers reliably in its native South Africa, it rarely blooms as a houseplant or in cultivation. Mature plants can produce masses of tiny pink flowers rich in nectar, attracting bees, insects and birds when conditions are just right.

Beautiful, resilient, easy to grow and surprisingly important for the environment, one of those plants that's much more than just a pretty succulent.

I'm sharing pictures of both the standard green form and the variegated variety. They may look quite different at first glance, but they're the same species, each with its own unique charm 🌿

08/06/2026

Following on from my recent charity shop treasure hunt, I thought I'd show you what became of some of the finds.

The ladies have been crowned with succulents and transformed into little princesses 👑🤍 The tiny boot found a new purpose, and the brass teapot has become a miniature garden of its own.

One detail I'm particularly pleased with is that I managed to find matching nursery pots for each piece, so the plants have proper drainage while the original items remain untouched.

I love finding unusual treasures and giving them a second life through plants.

Which one would you take home? The princesses, the boot, or the teapot?

06/06/2026

🌿 For a special little boy 🤍
A little planted gift in a cute mug, chosen with care and planted with room to grow. Wishing him lots of adventures, happy memories, and plenty of growing ahead 🌱

05/06/2026

After a busy day, I'm slowing down and enjoying the little things in my small garden… Have a lovely weekend everyone.
What's your favourite flower blooming in your garden at the moment? 🌸

03/06/2026

🌿 Plant Spotlight: Adromischus Cooperi var. Festivus

One I really enjoy using in arrangements because of its unusual plump leaves and beautiful speckled patterns 🤍

The rounded leaves look like tiny bird or quail eggs, each one decorated with its own unique markings. Their colour can range from silvery grey-green to almost white, while the spots vary from deep green to rich purple depending on the amount of sunlight the plant receives.

🌿 Care Tips
☀️ Light: Loves bright light and plenty of sunshine. A few hours of direct sun can help bring out the strongest colours and markings.
💧 Water: Water from spring to autumn, allowing the soil to dry out completely between waterings. Prefers dry air and good ventilation, as high humidity can increase the risk of fungal problems.
🌱 Soil: Best grown in a free-draining cactus or succulent mix with good drainage.
🌡️ Temperature: Not frost hardy, so best protected indoors during colder UK weather.
✂️ Propagation: Very easy from a single leaf by placing it on top of the soil.

🌿 Fun Facts
• Commonly known as Plover Eggs because the spotted leaves resemble small bird eggs.
• Native to the Eastern Cape region of South Africa.
• Each leaf is unique, with patterns and colours changing depending on light conditions.
• In spring or early summer it produces surprisingly tall flower stalks topped with small pale greenish-white to pale pink flowers.

It's a lovely sculptural plant on its own in a statement pot, but it also adds plenty of interest, texture, and contrast when combined with other succulents 🌿

🌿 Some examples currently growing in my collection 🤍

24/05/2026

Slowly growing Buttonleaf Makes into something real… now officially dressed for plant arranging duties 🤍

Address

Ash Vale
Ash Vale

Website

https://buttonleaf.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Buttonleaf Makes posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Buttonleaf Makes:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Shop in Ash Vale?