Creating a (Destination) Workshop for Flower Lovers
I’ve just given a short presentation to the Slow Flowers Conference. It was a real honour to be asked to participate because I’ve long been obsessed by the Slow Flowers movement, which was started by Debra Prinzing in the USA just as I began my own flowery escapades. The idea of using locally grown flowers, […]
Wreath Moments (Just) In Time
It’s November 20th 2024. Snow is fairly thick on the ground and temperatures are well below freezing. I’m under two blankets and the dog for extra warmth. Unusually for me, wreath classes are done and a few important wreaths have even been delivered. My hands are punctured by the juniper spikes and I need a […]
A Month in Another Country
Right at the end of summer, in that last week of August, when talk turns to new school terms and folk start to go on about Autumn; you know, that time when the garden is just about to burst with colour and dance its last tango, we left the country. For a month. It’s OK. […]
Summer and Time…
Where does time go? I feel as though the year has barely got going, yet today is August 1st – Yorkshire Day. I’d celebrate with a Fat Rascal if we had any but it’s scorching, so guess what? We can have a scoop of raspberry ripple instead. With poached peaches, drizzled with Mr Simply’s raspberry […]
May…the month of hope?
It took me by surprise to find out it was the 1st of May. Spring had barely begun, this being one of those years where it happens all at once, after the incessant cold and the rain. But there it was, a gloriously sunny day up at Linnels Farm being watched by sheep as some […]
The (un)enchanted April
As I write this on the last bitterly cold weekend in April 2024 I’m inevitably drawing comparisons with Aprils in years gone by. April (and September) are my favourite months. I say it every year. April signifies the start of the year here, with the growth of the flowers, the mood-enhancing early morning light and […]
Spring Fling
March is most definitely the cruelest month; I don’t care what that TS Eliot bloke said. And let’s face it, these days taking climate change into account, March really is April, and April is the new May. I love April….and May. June can be a bit hot. This March was no exception. In like a […]
Winter turns to Spring
The Winter of 2023/24 has been grim and full of gloom according to a lady I spoke to yesterday. I’m sure many would agree. I daresay statistics will show it to be one of the wettest on record but certainly not one of the coldest and there has (so far) been a scarcity of snow. […]
As the Night Darkens
The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow;But a tyrant spell has bound me,And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees are bending,Their bare boughs weighed with snow;The storm is fast descending, And yet I cannot go. Clouds beyond clouds above me,Wastes beyond wastes below;But nothing drear can move me; I will not, cannot go. […]
A Summer of Urns and Other Stuff
As summer fades into autumn and the hues change, I want somehow to document the colours from this one – Summer 2023; the year of brightness, and urns. I’ve recently been rewatching Stephen Poliakoff’s Summer of Rockets. Mainly because I love the colours. It’s one of those films that’s like viewing a moving painting. Who […]
