Articles

The grey of the slate and of the mountains in the haze

The grey of the slate and of the mountains in the haze and of the stratocumulus filled sky is a far cry from the grey of the roads and of the walls and dusty windows of abandoned buildings. Three...

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...

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 first rose – Primrose

It isn’t a rose at all, not even in the same family but wow does this beauty deserve the title. Here’s a shout out to the humble, dainty primrose.

Gorse flower cordial

When gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season. When gorse is in bloom, make refreshing gorse flower cordial and floral ice.

On Flowers by Amy Merrick

I heard Amy say in a podcast that she had waited nearly a decade to write this book. What she has created is testament to doing something at the right time for the most perfect result.

The connections plants make

I don’t think it’s any accident that when we make connections with plants, we make connections with each other. Plants and flowers soften us in a way that’s quite unique.

Petal printed top

Of anything I’ve ever created using flowers and plants, this is one of my all time favourites. It has the perfect combination of simplicity, satisfaction and a beautiful outcome.

For a happier winter

Never in a million years would I have thought I’d enjoy winter but here it is, a happier time than those before.

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I'm sometimes asked for ideas on how to use flowers in food and drinks, so I thought it would be useful to share a few great books about choosing and cooking with edible flowers. Cooking with Flowers by Miche Bacher This is a proper cook book, with stunning...

Edible flower ice lollies

I'm not saying we're desperately clinging on to summer but.... These edible flowers and fruit ice lollies are making these late summer days feel very sunny indeed. They're a good one to make with children because they're super easy, very colourful and there's no...

Summery, flowery drinks

Summer isn't summer without edible flower drinks, right? Here are a few pretty and tasty ways to add our blooms to your booze. Float small, delicate edible flowers like Phlox, Dianthus and Violas in cocktails. Clip Snapdragons to the lip of champagne flutes, they look...

A cordial affair…

A few weeks ago Lucy from The Adbication Micropub kindly invited me to run an edible flower workshop with her, making elderflower cordial and champagne and edible flower lollipops. Of course I jumped at the chance! The workshop booked up pretty quickly so I was really...

Edible flower lollipops

A handful of ingredients and half an hour et voilà! The best edible flowers to use in these lollipops are ones with stronger colours so you can still see them once they are encased in the candy mixture. I used violas and primulas for these but other colourful edible...

Edible flower ice cream sprinkles

Its National Ice Cream Day! As if we need an excuse. These edible flower sprinkles are so pretty and if you want to enjoy your ice cream the healthy way (ahem) what's more perfect? The edible flower petals I've used here are calendula and cornflowers. I like the way...

Forget-Me-Nots on the rocks

Even though we're still in April you could be forgiven for thinking it was summer some of these warm spring days. I'm not complaining, I'm totally going with it - sunglasses, short sleeves, iced drinks and all. Forget-me-nots are in abundance in my garden and...

Pink primula and pea shoot salad

Pea shoots has to be one of the best flavours you can pick straight from the garden and that's saying something. With a primula partner, together they look so pretty and taste so sweet. This pretty much has to be a bowl full of some of my favourite things. Salty...

Liquorice ice cream with primroses

Not everyone digs on eating grey food. It's okay, I get it. But they obviously haven't tried this glorious home made liquorice ice cream with pretty primroses. I have two food obsessions at the moment. One is watercress and the other is liquorice. I'm constantly...

The first rule of eating flowers

You can't just go round grabbing any old flower and eating it willy-nilly. No. Just because something looks pretty doesn't mean its good for you... and that's a valuable life lesson right there. The first rule of eating flowers is.... Know what the heck it is you're...