Workshops, a Trailer & Notes on Spring
Firstly, I’m so excited to announce two workshops in May 2022 to celebrate the launch of From Seed to Bloom - you’ll have a chance to get your hands on an early special edition copy of From Seed to Bloom at them too! One workshop is on May 5th in at Cowdray in West Sussex, and the second is on May 19th at Daylesford in Gloucestershire. They both promise to be two, quite different workshops but equally beautiful, fun, and informative. I really hope you can join me at one of them!
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WORKSHOPS
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Cowdray
Midhurst, West Sussex
May 5th
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
A Trailer For The Book
Notes From The Field
Spring is here, prising open petals and stretching up the grasses. During a time of so much uncertainty and devastating news, there’s solace to be found in Spring and all the change and growth it brings. The first tulips have opened, the fritillaries too, and the whole landscape seems awash with hope and narcissus. The scent in the air is warmer, sweeter, yet the nights are still crisp and cold, the birds are singing loudly and new flowers are opening every hour- this is turning out to be one of our more beautiful Springs.
The first few events of the season have already been flowered- including a beautiful International Women’s Day dinner hosted by Matches for Claire de Rouen & Jet Swan (image above by Amelia Allen). The first couple of weddings are just over a week away and the flowers are beginning to flush productively in the field. Today has been a day of plot work and we’ve been seeing to the coppiced chestnut fences and gates. My friends Tom and Matt have been here to help, and have designed up the best gate yet! I talk a little about how to create these structures in the book- so if you want to know more, do go and pre-order, if you haven’t already. The last lot of gates and fences have been in for two years and only the most-used, most-worn parts are being replaced this year- I’m hoping for another year at least from the rest.
This is a return to writing blogs and regular newsletters after a pause. Last year I wrote over 80,000 words down in a manuscript, and between the busy flower season that saw nationwide bouquet deliveries, the seed shop, commissions, events, and weddings, so many weddings- I found I had little time and very few words left to send out. Now the book is coming out soon and I have so much to share with you again! It had originally been scheduled for a mid-April release, but some unforeseen delays in production that were out of everyone’s control, has seen it be pushed to May 26th. I can’t wait for it to be out there in people’s hands, in your hands, and I know it will be worth the wait. I loved the process of writing it- pouring so much love and as much useful and practical information into it as I could. It’s packed, not just with words, but images too, taken by the talented photographer Éva Németh. I love the way Éva sees the garden, it’s like seeing the plot through a new set of eyes and from a different, more beautiful angle.
Working with Eva was one of the best parts of the book-making process. The shoot days were long and often challenging, and the shot lists were ambitious: we needed to capture so much each time to make the book we wanted, and some of the step-by-step projects were HUGE, like the sustainable ceremony archway, that they took so long to get right. The days began before dawn and ended well after dark. With very little time to rest, pause, or slow, we got through them by playing Dolly Parton loudly and on repeat, eating a lot of cake between shots, and collapsing into laughter at very important moments…. like trying to capture the front cover! It was a lot of fun and seeing how it all comes together now, I can’t believe how many beautiful and helpful shots we got. If you want a taster, there is a free From Seed To Bloom booklet available. Simply send a screenshot of your pre-order purchase to fromseedtobloom@quadrille.co.uk to receive yours. The book itself is a far more generous thing, but I hope this gives a little feel for what is to come.
Here’s one of our favourite shots of the narcissus and Jimmy taken by Éva that didn’t make it into the book or the booklet!
The even bigger news is that this new publication date in May falls near the due date for our new family member here, I’m well and truly in my third trimester now- something I’ve wanted for a long, long time. The plot and Autumn sown seedlings suffered with neglect over winter after a diagnosis of hyperemesis left me completely incapacitated. The illness is now being well managed and I’m up and about and have tentatively begun seed sowing again now that the weather has warmed up and the light is lingering longer into the evenings. Juggling the physical side of the plot and the work I do has been a lot harder, and I imagine it will only continue to get more challenging too! My wonderful publishing team at Quadrille have organised for a really small, special edition print-run of the book to get sent ahead of time in order to fulfil the orders directly placed from my shop before the due date arrives- I couldn’t ask for a more lovely, and supportive team to be working with, and I’ve got a production line set up and ready to get those orders out of the door next month!
Thank you for all your pre-orders, they really mean a lot and make a huge difference to where the book will end up. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Here’s to a beautiful spring.
