Articles
Handfuls of sweet peas for Great Uncle Bill
July brought handful after handful of sweet peas. A handful is the number of times I ever met my Great Uncle Bill. A handful is the number of garden tools of his that I now own. Even though in...
GCJ Book Club – The Garden Cure
The Grow Create Joy book club is back and I'm picking up from where I left off with The Garden Cure by Jan Cameron. The Garden Cure is a guide to cultivating wellness, for ones self or for others,...
Chamomile, before the tea
Once you invite chamomile in, it becomes a faithful friend. Returning year after year, at first almost undetected as their tiny seeds nestle between the soil particles and the little plants...
GCJ Book Club – Unearthed by Claire Ratinon
The timing of reading Unearthed by Claire Ratinon was significant for me and I will explain why later. It strongly articulates why representation in nature writing is so important. Claire did this...
The chameleon and the crown
Goodbye to October, the chameleon and the crown of the season. A month when we can nostalgically forget the dark, rainy days and delight in the life-giving glow of decay. It’s no coincidence that...
How my garden holds me
The motif of this summer was intense heat and more intense work schedules. A garden participant said to me in one session “how lucky you are to work in this calming garden”. I agree, I am. When I am...
The gentle flow of flower pressing
Sometimes, when our heads are full of thoughts and concerns, we need more than a passive activity to distract us. But worries are tiring and can leave us too exhausted to do anything energetic in...
GJC Book Club – The Hidden Life of Trees
Our third GJC Book Club read, The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, was recommended by Emily at Garden to Wellbeing and what a fascinating book it is. I also took Emily's lead and listened to...
Edible flowers for ease, flavour and beauty
I’ve had a few conversations lately with people looking to grow edible flowers for the first time or intentionally wanting to add flowers they grow into dishes. Since edible flowers was my previous...
More articles
GJC Book Club – Plot 29
Our second GJC Book Club read, Plot 29 by Allan Jenkins was highly recommended to us by Eleanor from Hope Springs Gardening and what a wonderful...
Winter light project
In the northern hemisphere winter has a lot of dark hours, more so the further north you go. For many people that's what makes it the toughest time...
GCJ Book Club – Grow Easy
This is a very exciting post because we have just finished our first ever GCJ Book Club read, Grow Easy by Anna Greenland. What a great book to get...
Meaningful winter activities
Winter can be a hard time for many people. The shorter, colder days might make it more difficult for us to get outside and enjoy nature in the ways...
Book club!
Like many other people I have appreciated books more than ever in the past two years. I have wishlists on paper and saved in social media, purchases...
Great books about wellbeing and nature
Here are some great books I have on my bookshelf. Some are specifically related to health, wellbeing and nature and some a little more loosely so....
What is social and therapeutic horticulture?
I write about Social and Therapeutic Horticulture (STH) a lot on this website, so I thought it would be useful to explain a little more about what...
Gardening and the 5 ways to wellbeing
The knowledge that gardening and caring for nature has positive effects on our wellbeing is quite widespread now. Furthermore, solid evidence as to...
Providing support with growing kits
Can you help me provide growing kits and / or creative plant based activities to a charity that supports people who are homeless or at risk of...
My journey to Social and Therapeutic Horticulture
I distinctly remember the first time I noticed the significant positive effect that gardening has on my body and mind. I even spoke it out loud at...