Cotton Lily

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Cotton Lily

🪴Plant supports, accessories & macrame hangers
🪴Handmade onboard our plant-filled narrowboat
⭐ RHS Malvern 4 Star Trade Stand Award

29/07/2026

Come for a cruise with us on our narrowboat

Today marks 5 years of living onboard, which still feels a little surreal to say.

When we first moved onto the boat, I don’t think I fully understood how much this way of life would shape us — slower mornings, changing views, muddy towpaths, tiny-space living, and a home that moves with the seasons.

It isn’t always easy, but it has given us a life that feels more ours than anything else ever has.

So here’s a little cruise from our floating home, five years in.

Would you ever live on a narrowboat?

24/07/2026

People often ask what they’re doing wrong when their houseplants aren’t thriving — and one of the first things I ask is, “What potting mix are you using?” 🌿

For a long time, I’ve mixed my own simple chunky blend using peat-free compost, orchid bark and perlite. It’s airy, free-draining and the same mix I use for the houseplants growing onboard our narrowboat.

Now I’m blending and packing it myself in small batches for Cotton Lily too.

Nothing complicated. Just the potting mix I know, use and trust for my own plants.

Which houseplant is next on your repotting list? 🪴

01/07/2026

People often ask how I run a handmade business from a narrowboat.

The short answer: very carefully. 😅

Every plant support, trellis and macramé hanger is made, packed and prepared from our floating home before heading off in the post, or to craft markets across the South West.

It’s not the most conventional workshop, but it works for me.

Have you ever worked somewhere unusual?

21/06/2026

People often assume we moved onto a narrowboat because we loved boats.

The truth is, we were searching for a different way of living.

We looked at lots of options and kept coming back to the same things: living closer to nature, being more self-sufficient, slowing down, reducing financial pressure, and having the freedom to build a life around the things that mattered most to us.

The narrowboat wasn’t the goal.

It was the path that gave us all of those things.

A few years later, I still wake up grateful for the changing views outside the window, the quiet towpath walks with Lily, and the fact that I get to run my business from a home that feels completely our own.

I’m curious...

What’s the biggest reason you would (or wouldn’t) choose to live on a narrowboat?

11/06/2026

This Monstera had reached the stage where it needed a little extra support 🌿

So I made it a pole of its own.

A wooden pole, cotton cord, and a bit of time spent making it by hand on our narrowboat, before putting it straight to work helping this young Monstera climb.

It’s always satisfying seeing a plant settle into its new setup.

Do your Monstera’s climb, or are they currently doing their own thing?

08/06/2026

Market mornings always start the same way...

An empty gazebo, boxes everywhere, and a brief moment of wondering how it’s all going to come together.

A couple of hours later, the plants are in place, the supports are displayed, and it’s ready to welcome visitors 🌿

I love seeing a stall transform from an empty space into a little botanical corner for the day.

If you’d like to see it in person, I’ll be at summer market.

📍Monks yard, Illminster.
📅Saturday 27th June.
⏰10-4

Will I see you there? 🌿

05/06/2026

Some mornings are slower than others.

A cup of tea, a boat full of plants, little Lily walking the plank and the canal just outside the window.

It’s become so normal that I sometimes forget how unusual this little life really is.

What does your ideal slow morning look like?

04/06/2026

This orchid had completely ignored the concept of personal boundaries and was slowly moving into its neighbour’s space.

To make life easier every time I watered them without an argument and to give its smaller orchid neighbour some space, I added one of my wire supports to gently guide it back where it belongs.

A much more peaceful arrangement for everyone involved. 🌿

28/05/2026

Somewhere between the houseplants, craft supplies and canal views, this narrowboat became home 🌿
Still can’t quite believe this is real life some days.

27/05/2026

Market days always teach me something .

RHS Malvern’s, Cotton Lily bestseller 2026 was…… drumroll please, my macrame plant hangers! It’s always a given my wire plant supports will do well but these, who knew 💁🏻‍♀️

I mean, I love them but I often hear comments like “where would I hang it” however my Malvern visitors loved them, which means I gotta make me a hell of lot more in time for next weekend.

Address

Bath

Website

http://www.cottonlily.co.uk/

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