the blog

The tastiest hot cross buns
There's nothing more delicious at this time of year than a hot cross bun.  While you can always pop to your local supermarket and pick up a pack, they're surprisingly easy to make if you fancied giving it a go. ...
Dye eggs for Easter
Egg dyeing is a fun Spring activity and perfect for the whole family to get involved.  What's even better is that you probably have everything you need to make them in your kitchen already; just some eggs, food colouring, white vinegar...
Write the perfect Mother's Day card
Whether you're celebrating your birth-mum, step-mum, grandma, auntie or someone else, it's important to let them know why they're important to you.  Read on to discover our handy guide for writing your Mother's Day card.     a message for...
This season's top picks from our team
Women really do make the cg world go round.  From our store team to head office, we love celebrating the women behind our brand. This International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting just a few of our special ladies; read on to...
Grow your own tomatoes this spring
There are many benefits to growing your own tomatoes.  Packed with more antioxidants and flavour than shop-bought tomatoes, these delicious fruits are also fairly easy to grow at home.  Read on to learn how...   choose and sow your seeds...
Tomato-based recipes for this season
There might be a veggie production crisis, but we're not letting that stop us from celebrating the humble tomato.  You can fry them, sauté them, roast them or eat them fresh, and they can be easily grown in the garden...
The History of the Heart
The cg heart has become an icon for the brand ever since Caroline started hand making cards back in 1993.  The first card range featured icons made from wire; specifically a house, a baby pram and a heart.  The heart cards were...
Meet Caroline's Dogs, Frank & Miller
At Caroline Gardner, we're an office full of dog lovers.  Caroline herself loves dogs, and many of our card and wrap collections over the years have been inspired by Caroline's two dogs, Frank and Miller.  We asked Caroline some questions...
Our teams' favourite books this month
Here at Caroline Gardner, we're a team full of readers.  We often pass around books we've enjoyed on our commutes, and even have a little lending library in head office!  Read on to discover some of the title's we've enjoyed recently...  ...
January recipes
The month of January always makes us want to try new, warming recipes that are packed with goodness.  At Caroline Gardner HQ, we love sharing new dishes we've discovered with each other, and thought we'd share some of our favourites with you...
Christmas Decorations ·
3 Tips for reusing your Gift Wrap
Did you know, the amount of waste generated at Christmas is over 15 times more than any other celebration here in the UK.  To help minimise this, we wanted to give you a few quick and fun ways to give your...
We're proud to be a London Living Wage employer
It's London Living Wage Week! And we're celebrating what this means for us as a business.  The London Living Wage is the only wage rate that is voluntarily paid by over 11,000 businesses across the UK, and we are one...
Recipes ·
Warming winter recipes
The nights are drawing in and we're craving homemade comfort food. From quick and easy midweek meals to dishes you'd love to serve to guests; read on to see what we'll be cooking up this winter.   Jamie Oliver's Minestrone Soup...
We’re 29!
It's our 29th Birthday, and we can't think of anyone we'd rather celebrate with. To mark the occasion here's a little more about the wonderful world Caroline Gardner created. Come on in! Our journey so far.... . . 1993 ....
Styling ·
Care for your Cashmere
There are so many reasons to love cashmere. It's super soft, wonderfully cosy and if cared for, it can last for many years to come. From how to store, clean and mend, read on for our tips on how to care...
Culture ·
Thinking of you week
 Launching in 2014 by the Greeting Card Association (GSA), 'Thinking of you' week encourages everyone to send handwritten cards to different people; harnessing the joy and love found in sending and receiving snail mail.
5 Ways to Prepare your Garden for Winter
We asked Garden Designer Jane Porter to give us some tips for what to do with our gardens at this time of year. Read on to discover more...   Jane uses the list pad and pen      1. Don’t tidy up too...
In Conversation with Jane Porter
We'd love to introduce you Garden Designer and Consultant, Jane Porter. Based in Bristol, Jane gave up her office job to become a gardener, and has never looked back! Winning two Gold Medals at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, Jane has...
Early Autumn Recipes
It's that time of year where we're starting to think about moving away from Summer salads and embracing warming Autumnal dishes. From stews and soups to pies, read on to discover some of the recipes we'll be trying this September.  ...
Get back into a Routine
The start of September signals a time of change. Kids go back to school and the weather starts to get crisper. There's a real sense of the desire to get into a rhythm and plan how to spend the colder months. Read...
Giving ·
Meningitis Now: Team CG run the London Marathon
As a business, we've supported the work of Meningitis Now for over 20 years. Our Founders Caroline and Angus almost lost their youngest son to meningitis when he was 18 months old, so this cause holds a deeply personal meaning for us. This...