Collective
A Love Letter to May
The Garden Collective celebrates the loveliest of months with their favourite things about May
Seasonal
Essay
Beware the Ice Saints: May's Frosty Forecast
Could there be any truth behind the myth of Cold Sophia and her gang?
Edibles
Enchanting Potato Lore: From Devil's Apples to Lunar Planting
The traditional day for planting your potatoes is coming up: Good Friday. But how did this lore appear and what is behind it? And how does it tie very neatly into lunar gardening...?
Essay
A Parallel World
The nature outside our windows is the perfect antidote to the daily sequence of grim and depressing news stories from around the globe.
Essay
The Good of Small Things (With Apologies to Arundhati Roy!)
It is the unexpected, unplanned and unplanted treats that draw my eye in the month of April.
Essay
Enjoy the Seasons – While We Still Have Them
Climate change is seriously impacting the different seasons and the role of seasonality in the garden. So how can your garden help to heighten the essence of spring, summer, autumn and winter?
Essay
Embracing Spring's Promise: Signs of Renewal in the Orchard
As we all look forward to longer days and the satisfaction of earth covered hands, I offer a stroll around our orchard; a brief glimpse at what we've been doing and a sprinkling of what's to come as Spring unfurls its leaves.
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Essay
Micro-Seasons and Daffodil Diaries: A Climate Change Drama
Can a Japanese calendar and an online daffodil diary help us understand if spring arrives earlier than it used to? And does it matter if it does? How an afternoon at the theatre helped me answer these questions.
Essay
Snowdrops, Seeds, and Signs of Hope This January
Experience the gentle magic of January at Malus Farm. Winter’s quiet moments and first signs of life inspire hope that we have turned the corner.
Essay
Wasps in the Greengages. Bay Leaves in the Plums
Wellingtons full of lime leaves, dragonflies in the dusk, and a kitchen overrun with plums and purple beans. This is the week where the seasons shift and we all collapse into an August torpor and trays of squash.
Essay
Who Says Boundaries are a Good Thing?
Forget rigid boundaries between indoors and out. As autumn deepens, bring nature inside with preserved beech branches, paperwhite bulbs nestled in glass, and wild clematis wreaths. It's about softening edges and celebrating the season's golden beauty
Essay
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.