For as long as I can remember and as soon as I could walk, being out in the garden or in the fields close to our house was my favourite place to be.
Looking at how a fern uncoils, or the way the petals in a rose wrap themselves around the stamens and ovary, or lying on a bed of moss has always given me a great deal of wonder. I’m very grateful that my late parents gave me time and space to do what must’ve seemed to them like very little activity. In this photo you can see I have a spoon in my hand as I liked to dig the garden with it, it must have been frustratingly slow for them to watch. I was given a small bed to grow seeds and was most excited to create a string fence around it, thinking it would keep the weeds off; no chance of course. I remember the joy this red amaryllis given as a Christmas present brought the whole family. It’s amazing isn’t it! What power of growth this flower bulb has.
Nowadays I use beautiful copper tools to work in the garden and they are an absolute joy, plus the powerful philosophy behind these inspirational tools provides food for thought when weeding. They are called Implementations https://www.implementations.co.uk and are one of the most wonderful gifts I have been given by multiple family members. I particularly find the Polux Hoe on the right brilliant for getting straight to the heart of a weed without lifting too much soil around. We acquired them from my friend Simon Saggers who has the inspirational Guilden Gate Smallholding https://www.guildengate.co.uk in our village.