It’s the weekend when the clocks go forward. The first tulips are out. In the nearly-three-years of this project, sketching plants has taught me a lot about time. But today, it shows me a parallel universe. This project started in the surreal stillness of lockdown, in an unseasonably-warm Spring. I … Read More
On a frozen day, I nip into the garden looking for flotsam and jetsam – stuff on the soil, leftovers, things blown in on the wind. Snails have left their shells, a chance to marvel at them. Each unique, all whirl and mark and ridge, drawing them I notice that they … Read More
While waiting for a glacially-slow backup to run – my other life is as a designer – I seek entertainment in the garden and there it is, in tulip form. The parrot tulips show their stripes early. I had drawn smart green buds a week ago, presenting themselves like two-tone ties. Now, … Read More
I’d never noticed before how triangular tulips are. But as I wandered out, there it was, seen from above, three-pronged stamen, trios of petals, neat, three-sided colour change at the petals’ base. Cue drawing tea break… Having got my eye in as I drew, I started seeing the particular shapes … Read More
Three-cornered leeks. I have no idea how they got into my urban garden but they’re hooligans, spreading their way around. Handy, then, that they do their partying in one space when there’s not much else going on. First, drifts of their triangular leaves, then chandeliers of green-streaked white flowers. They’re … Read More
Storm Eunice lashing London, my cold frame escaped its moorings. In its journey to the other end of the garden, it revealed a view I don’t normally have of Spring bulbs in pots that will, come Summer, house tomatoes. So I made the most of it and did a quick … Read More
Frost-chilled, wind-blown, wild weather forecast, the doughty little roses in my garden looked ready to jettison their petals. So as it was too chilly even for wrapped-up drawing, I snipped off a couple for a posy. Even the colours look cold. The full rose petals are bleached to the palest … Read More
“So how do holly trees have babies?” I had been telling a group of friends about a new generation that I was off to draw. Presents from the birds, we used to call them in my family – plants that arrive, neither sown, nor planted by us. It’s the wood pigeons … Read More
Fog. It’s the sort of bone cold grey day that never quite clears… But as I clip and shape the hebes, determined to have some time outdoors on a working Saturday, I get my eye in. Out from the murk shine shoots of iris, their surface-sitting roots like ginger. Undisturbed … Read More
Sometimes I go out into the garden with a story in mind. As often, I’ll draw what I’m given. And at the turn of the year, a flurry of toasts, hopes and fireworks, it’s soothing to see what nature’s up to on this unseasonably-mild day. The Forsythia is exuberantly in … Read More