Journal
Looped Cordage: Netted Bags
After a day of making cordage from foraged plant fibres, my grubby fingernails show evidence of all the separating and scraping. Once you're committed to the steady, repetitive nature of prepping and twining cordage, it's a deeply satisfying process. So much so that...
Wakehurst: Space Between
Space Between is a recently commissioned, site-specific woodland sculpture at Wakehurst, (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). It's situated in Pearcelands Wood, their newly-opened ancient woodland. It was commissioned as part of Wakehurst's Wild Wood Festival, 2017. ...
Making an Ash Pack Basket
For ages I've been wanting to make a pack, or back, basket from wood splints. They're best made in the spring when the sap's rising, so earlier this year I took a trip to the woods near Bath for a few days to make one. There's a long tradition of black ash splint...
Foraging Plants for Wild Basketry; weaving a connection between land and self
‘Plants are integral to reweaving the connection between land and people. A place becomes a home when it sustains you, when it feeds you in body as well as spirit.’ (Robin Wall Kimmerer) There’s an arable field margin under two ancient oaks that is species-rich with...
Wild Pottery: Clay- digging your own
One of the things that makes my Wild Pottery courses ‘wild’ is that we dig our own clay from the land What is Clay? Ask this of anyone and they’ll most likely reply ‘mud’. But there’s a bit more to it than that. It’s made up of one or more clay minerals with traces of...
Nests in Nets
I've returned to Wakehurst on a bright autumn day to see if the rumours are true. One of my areas of research for this project was looking at nests. And that's why I'm back today. I've heard birds have nested in the work I made. My godson showed me a blurry photo on...
Forage of the Month
Forage of the Month- July/August
Nettle Seeds Nettle seeds ready to harvest Nettles are a truly amazing plant. I recently found out about the 'super food' that is nettle seeds, and have been making the most of the nettle patch at the end of the garden ever since. Full of fantastic nutritional and...
Forage of the Month- June
Elderflower Cake The fragrant, frothy elder flowers are out now, a lovely sign of summer. Elderflower cordial recipes abound, so here's a favourite recipe of mine for elderflower cake. I've adapted a vegan cake recipe for this too, which you'll find further down. Pick...
Forage of the Month – May
Nettle Soup This is my favourite nettle soup recipe of all time. The green peas are the game changer: their creamy sweetness balances perfectly with the robust flavour of the nettles. Nettles are plentiful, easy to forage and packed full of nutrition. Pick the leaves...