Since the start of June I’ve noticed in passing foxgloves waving their fairy fingers or witch’s gloves – some of their other common names – by the sides of roads, cottage front gardens or along banks across the Sussex countryside. But it was a wild orchid which lured me off a woodlands path into their midst. Foxgloves had […]
Wild Foxgloves in the Woods Read More »
Elderflowers, elderflowers everywhere! The perfumed scent of elderflowers has been following me in the early mornings signalling the start of the summer season. In the woods and along the hedgerows by our house the tiny clusters of flowers have finally been opening up. I watched and waited for them in May but they’re finally flowering
Hedgerow foraging – Elderflowers Read More »
In early spring when my usual route into the woodlands became too muddy, I headed to another part of the woods where there’s a pine plantation. The path leading up to it is lined with coppice trees whose branches bend over it so you feel like you’re in a tunnel heading to Narnia. Badger and deer trails crisscross
Yeah it’s bluebell time in the woods! When the ancient woodlands around the valley where we lived in southeast England turned blue, I used to take my twins Luce and Theo for walks to see the bluebells every year. Often they flower away for weeks non stop. Sometimes my kids were rather annoyed with them
10 fun facts about bluebells to tell kids Read More »
I live in a rural valley in the middle of ancient woodlands in West Sussex. Our garden and the fields in this valley are lined with hedgerows and a home to wildlife. But it wasn’t always so. When I was in London I noticed the signs of spring because I always had a garden. We
A countryside spring Read More »
When the daisies start opening up and appearing in the grass, a lovely rite of childhood is to make crowns, necklaces and bracelets with daisy chains. After watching girls making chains of wild flowers in the playground, my daughter told me she was going to show me how to make a simple daisy chain. Of
Make a simple daisy chain Read More »
