Hello my flower loving friends, this pic above was the sight I was greeted with early this morning. The light was diffused and the dew still heavy, the fresh smell of an early morning before the day gets hot. Walking around this part of the garden which is still so new made me think about the start of this project, I couldn’t remember the exact date we started but a quick scroll through my photo album and I was amazed to discover it was only this May!
It was a bold move to create this design slap bang in the middle of our garden but actually the design was born from practicality. I’d spent a year in our new garden watching the light move around and watching where it landed through the seasons. We’re flanked by woods and woodland gardens so it was only the middle of the garden where I could of designed a space that my flowers and veg would love.
There were many things that made it difficult, the rain, the turf lifter that broke one row in and the greenhouse that only came with very unclear picture only instructions. There were times when Mr C threw his hands up in disbelief at the project I’d insisted we didn’t need help with.
But each weekend we persevered, family came to help and bbqs were lit. And eventually we got there.
Three months later…
Obviously it still feels very new and there are lots of things I plan to do. I’m on the hunt for some old sideboards for the greenhouse as it’s quite empty at the moment. Flowers and veg have all been thrown together which I do like - however my growing of flowers was limited this year due to time and not having this space till now, next year it will be a different story. I’m already making my lists of what to grow, some things I’ll start in Autumn but I think I’ll also make one or two of the beds for perennials.
This space is where I will be doing my workshops and flower mornings when it’s nice, we can head into the greenhouse when it rains and in the winter I have the main studio and open sided barn where we can be comfortable. This all feels like a long time coming, I started A Bunch Of Wild in 2016 selling at farmers markets, opening our first shop in 2019 only to close it soon after. It was at this time I had the idea of moving somewhere where I could run the business from home. I wasn’t looking to make a full scale flower farm - I have friends locally for that, what I have created is a place where small groups and individuals can come to pick flowers, learn skills, relax and do creative crafts inspired by botanicals. A sort of retreat but without the yoga, cold water swimming and ridiculous price tag. A place where like-minded souls can come and spend time in and feel restored, calmed and inspired. I like to think I’ve achieved the right space and now it’s nearly time to open my garden gate and let people in.
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Enjoy summer this week.
Emma x