We’re leading a day in the as yet undiscovered craft of making a ball from nothing but willow, on Sunday 22 March, here in Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire. We will be using willow grown on the farm to create something that’s eye catching, beautiful and unusual, but otherwise has no practical value at all. These are purely […]
Great to be back at farmers’ markets for the spring!Yesterday Woburn and for the hour it didn’t rain we did well. After that there was a little dampness in the air and by about 12.30, all but the most die-hard shoppers had retired, either home or to the many warm, snug and dry hostelries in the […]
I woke up early this morning, thinking to get some paper work done before getting out to use all the light the day can muster. Of course I forgot the weather. It’s raining hard and the forecast suggests that it could continue through to the end of Christmas Eve. I did know this but had […]
In September I was asked to visit a very beautiful garden near St Albans to talk about a couple of jobs. Here was a gardener with great taste and some clear ambitions to create something lovely. I was flattered to be asked to make a contribution; flattered and a little nervous. A large square sand pit needed a […]
I was invited to talk to the Biddenham Gardeners’ Association on Tuesday evening and it was lovely. Actually, because it was dark I didn’t see much of the village itself, but what I could make out in the street-lightless gloom, seemed very attrtactive. What I can be certain of is the attentiveness and friendliness of […]
I’m talking to Biddenham Gardeners’ Association on Tuesday evening and thought I should have something willowy to take with me so I’ve been out cutting a bit of willow and used it to finish a couple of balls I started a while ago. It’s too early for this really – I’ve spent quite a while pulling leaves […]
Sometimes things go wrong and when I’m working on my own it’s doubly difficult to cope with. After nearly three hours making a huge willow ball recently, it just didn’t feel right and whatever I did seemed to make things worse rather than better. In the end it burst open like a horrible balloon accident, creating something that looked […]