Essays
Gardens, Novels, Woods and Parents
We live in a world where we gasp for freedom from control - and if we can’t find it in a garden, what hope is there for us?
Latest
Essays
Preserving the Bounty: The Practical Gardener in the Winter Kitchen
Where do jars of home-preserved tomatoes or strawberry jam fit in the socially loaded world of preppers, trad-wives, homesteaders, and influencers? Why, cultural connotations aside, preserving can be an important complement to gardening practices.
Essays
It Is Time to Let Some Vegetables Go
In a year marked by concern for pollinators, this article explores the resilience of nature, why you should let some vegetable go, the role of umbellifers, and how making a garden a sanctuary for wildlife won't hinder yield or aesthetic.
Essays
The Beginning of the Darker months, and Help is Offered in the Garden
An essay on October. This instalment of my journal documents the chill that has started to creep over the flowers. Join me in my garden at Malus Farm as we start to slow down and reflect on the exquisite balance of nourishment.
Wildlife
Bonfires and Vanity
Or how not to cook a hedgehog!
Essays
Silk Roads - Plants On The Move
A ramble through the trade routes ending on the streets of London.
Essays
Taking the Divisive Out of Diversity
Have you ever stopped to think of all the different labels there are to describe our world? And can adding a prefix or changing a few letters to a word really take us forward or flinch when it comes to saving nature?
Essays
Porcupines and Curses - The November Changeover
The shorter days and cooler temperatures of Autumn heralds the annual Migration of Exotics
Essays
The Healing Power of Gardens: Designing it in
What’s the best type of garden to be in, when you're needing some quiet time and reflection? Probably not the one you live in every day...
Conversation
How Gardening Heals the Mind
We often hear about the benefits of fresh air, exercise, or mindfulness – but gardening brings all of those together in one place.
Essays
Ancient Rituals in Modern Gardens: The Magic of Wassailing
It is wassailing time in the winter garden and orchard, so mull your cider and pay your respects to the apples in this beautiful echo from times past
Essays
The Garden as a Reservoir of Memories
Each year the reappearance of certain plants in our gardens rekindles memories of people and places that have touched our lives in one way or another.