In my previous post, I let you know that we have been working with Lavender wood from a shrub that I planted and have tended to for almost 3 decades. If you missed it, you can catch up with that post here:
Today I wanted to show you the pieces we have created and let you know when they will be in store…
Lavender is a soothing herb that has been called upon for thousands of years to soothe, cleanse and relax. It helps calm and restore tired minds and overworked nervous systems.
It can be deeply restorative, and after long periods of worry and tension, helps us to return to our centre, to come home to ourselves.
Our Lavender Collection will be in store on Sunday 2nd August at 6pm
Wild Fen Updates
Alongside our Lavender collection, we have working on a new selection of Moon and Slice pendants AND they are currently included in our little sale for Lammas with 10% off until Sunday!
As July comes to a close, we reach the festival of Lammas, celebrated at the beginning of August. This is the time of the year when the seeds are ripening and the first harvests of grain take place.
It is now high Summer, the golden time of the year, where combine harvesters work late into the evening gathering in the year’s bounty.
The light still stretches out long into the evenings, but this is no longer a time of active green growth, it is one of ripening, of gathering in the harvest and sensing the edges of Autumn on the horizon. Can you feel its call?
Last week over on Instagram we shared a photo of some wood that we have been working with over the past couple of weeks.
We had some very good guesses as to what it might be, from Heather to Rosemary to Buddleia.
I will be telling you all about it in today’s post. Let’s dive in…
What is home?
Since leaving the land last month, I have been thinking about what ‘home’ means to me. How it varies from person to person but also how it has varied in the different phases of my own life too.
Our van home
I have had chapters of rooting down in a physical place, interspersed with chapters of exploring, of expanding outwards again. I have noticed how quickly I can feel ‘at home’ these days too. Most often in the wild places, with trees, plants and wildlife that feel so familiar to me.
At home with my old Maple friend
‘Home’ for me, has been less about a physical place, and more about connection to the things that hold memory, story and meaning. (And yes, this is bringing me on to what that wood is, I promise!)
At home walking the hedgerowsAt home, growing Lavender
Lavender, a legacy
Many years, ago, I planted a Lavender in the front garden of my parents home. I was around 6 or 7 at the time. I remember talking to my Dad about all of the insects that it would attract. We watched it grow and enjoyed seeing all the butterflies that visited.
In those early Summers, I would make ‘perfume’ by picking some fresh Lavender heads and mixing them with water.
Over the years, the Lavender plant grew and grew. Some years it was well tended. Others it was left to fend for itself, missing its annual pruning and becoming a little more woody. It was always a constant in my life.
On the mornings before sitting my GCSEs, I would pick some Lavender and smell it all the way to school. I gathered little bunches for friends, and learned about different ways to dry it, adding it to my baths or hanging it beside my bed when I struggled to sleep.
For almost 3 decades, that same Lavender plant grew in my parents front garden and it undoubtably shaped my life and journey.
Whenever I would return ‘home’ from wherever I had been, it was still there. Drawing in insects from far and wide.
Over the years, I found new ways to enjoy the harvest. One year, I combined it with other herbs from the garden to make smoulder sticks that I gifted to family for Christmas.
With a few left over, I decided to list them on Etsy to see if anyone would like one. They sold quickly, and became the beginnings of our Wild Fen shop!
The plant has travelled with me too, from cuttings grown and nurtured in my own gardens and shared with loved ones, to plant in theirs.
Last year, after almost 3 decades, the now very woody stems of the Lavender that I had planted as a kid split.
I knew then and there that we would gather and dry the wood, to see if we could turn them into pendants.
And so, this week we have been on a journey, experimenting with a plant so well known to us and yet a wood unfamiliar to many and I can’t wait to share the results with you very soon!
It has been 2 weeks since we left the land that we had been living on these past 4 years, so I thought I would write a bit of an update as to how we are getting on so far…
Transporting trees to temporary homes with familySaying goodbye to this glorious rose
We were pretty exhausted, after a month of clearing out and uprooting our lives in the middle of a heatwave.
We spent the first couple of days letting ourselves recover with some gentle walks and plenty of rest in our favourite local nature reserves.
It felt restorative to move unhurried for the first time in weeks, to sit and watch wildlife, soak in the shade of the trees and find some quite spots in the countryside where we spent our first few nights.
We are enjoying seeing so many butterflies, including this lovely Comma
We had the weekend off from any markets last week so we headed to the South coast to visit my sister. We swam in the sea and ate ice cream with family.
We travelled onwards to Glastonbury, to one of our favourite resting places; the Chalice Well gardens where we spent a peaceful day soaking achey feet in the magical waters, and dozing beneath a beautiful Birch tree.
We explored a bit more of Somerset, visiting Burrow Mump, an interesting natural hill that falls along the St Michael’s ley line that is also thought to run beneath Glastonbury Tor.
We returned to a weekend of events in Northamptonshire, where we had lots of inspiring conversations which always seems to fuel us.
Wild Fen Updates & Events
This week, we are putting Chris’ work shed up in a temporary home which is exciting as he can’t wait to get back to making after a 2 week break.
We were gifted a beautiful piece of Blackthorn from the hedgerow this week so will be drying it ready to work with at Samhain hopefully…
We do hope to find a more permanent space for ourselves in the future, but in the meantime will be enjoying a little more of a nomadic life until we find a place that resonates.
We have some exciting events coming up too. We will be in Upwell this Sunday and then on to Sherwood Forest at the end of the month before returning to the Suffolk Witchcraft Market for Lammas.
We will be working on a very special Wild Jewellery collection over the coming weeks, and you will be the first to find out more soon…
I just wanted to tell you a little more about our collection of Oak pendants that will be in store a little later today, Saturday 20th June at 10am.
Do you see the ‘star’ in the centre of this piece?
As I mentioned in our previous post, we have felt so drawn to the stable and grounding energy of the iconic Oak tree in the run up to the Summer Solstice. It feels like the perfect tree ally to work with at a time that can often be filled with intensity, heat and movement.
We have created 5 pieces smoothed from an ancient piece of bone Oak, and I wanted to share a little more with you about what exactly bone Oak is. Let’s dive in…
What is bone Oak?
Oak is known to be one of the strongest and most durable woods in the world, and sometimes they go through processes which make them even stronger.
There is a natural survival strategy that ancient Oak trees will sometimes adopt called ‘retrenchment’. This is where a tree will withdraw their energy from their higher branches, drawing it back down to ensure they nourish the branches closest to their core.
This is the opposite process to when a younger tree is prioritising the growth of its higher branches, expanding out into the world.
You may cross paths with one of these wise old trees and notice old, bare branches that protrude from the top of their canopies. They are sometimes described as ‘stag heads’.
Notice the ‘stag head’ branches on the tree on the right
These special trees remind me that we cannot always pour our energy into everything all at once, and that sometimes, to preserve our energy and maintain our strength, we may need to shed parts of ourselves.
But what has this got to do with bone Oak, I hear you ask? Well, when the outer sapwood of these higher branches dry out through weathering, you are left with the inner heartwood of the tree, which has become ‘as hard as bone’ earning it the name ‘bone Oak’.
We felt very lucky to come across a recently fallen branch of bone Oak and have worked with it to create these pieces. You will notice the deep colour and stunning grains and markings that have evolved in the wood over many years.
We have worked with the wood in different ways for these pieces. We felt called to shape two of them to nestle perfectly into the palm…
We also wanted to celebrate the natural form of the bone Oak, highlighting the indents where the sapwood has worn away and left the inner heartwood. It reminds me that the processes of weathering and change can ignite inner strength…
We hope you love them as much as we have crafting them (we of course made two for ourselves and haven’t taken them off since!)
I hope you all find an Oak to greet this midsummer,
A lot has been shifting for us since I sent my last newsletter. We are currently getting ready to leave the land which we have been tending to over the past 4 years.
Whilst this wasn’t part of our immediate life plan, the universe seemed to have other ideas and gave us a pretty big nudge to reconsider our life.
At this time of the year especially, it is a hive of activity here, with Swallows, Robins, Dunnocks and Pied Wagtails all raising their young. Goldfinches visit daily to feed on all the seedheads that we leave in their honour, and bees are busy foraging in the clover rich meadow area.
It feels extremely sad to say goodbye to them, but it does bring us some comfort knowing that the land here will remain wild, and that the plants and trees we have nurtured will continue to grow and support the wildlife here.
As for us, we will be moving back into the unknown, for a while at least, but we are excited to see where where we land next. I will keep you updated…
Oak, the tree of Strength and Stability
Whenever life feels unsettled or uncertain such as this, Oak is the tree that I reach to. Often called the king of the forest, Oaks have one of the strongest woods in the world. It is easy to see why they have become a symbol of strength and stability the world over.
Oak trees can live for around 900 – 1000 years and during that time bring stability to the surrounding environment. They provide habitats that support over 2000 different species that nest, shelter and feed within their branches.
It is said, that over the typical lifespan of an Oak tree they spend around 300 years growing, 300 years living/thriving and 300 years dying. And even once an Oak tree has died, their dead wood continues to support life, sometimes even more biodiversity than when they were alive!
Oak and the Summer Solstice
As the heat intensifies at this time of the year, the shade of an Oak tree becomes a very welcomed sight. Sitting beneath an Oak at Midsummer is an enriching experience. You can feel them in their element, buzzing with life, vivid green and growing their acorns, a symbol of fertility and abundance.
Oak Wild Jewellery Collection
As the tree most closely associated with the Summer Solstice, it may come as no surprise, that we have felt called to work with Oak this past couple of weeks.
Here is a sneak peak of some of the stunning patterns to be found in bone Oak, the hard as bone inner heartwood of a windfallen Oak branch we were lucky to discover.
This piece is yet to have its final sand and be oiled so expect the colours to really pop in the finished piece…
We will have 5 bone Oak pendants in store on Saturday 20th June at 10am. I will send out a reminder on Saturday morning, with a first glimpse the finished pieces too….
Solstice Shop Updates
To celebrate the Solstice, we have had our BIGGEST shop update of the year. You will find a seasonal selection of moon pendants and woodland slices that are now in store!
As subscribers, you will receive20% off any of these pieces now in store. Click on the link below to add the discount to your basket or apply the discount code LITHA20 at the checkout.
Wishing you all a little Solstice magic this week, Nic x
As we move through May, I can’t help but marvel at how fast the wild world seems to expand and change on an almost daily basis.
The Hawthorn blossoms that just a few days ago felt in their prime, are now shedding their petals all over the track below. Meanwhile the Elderflowers are opening daily providing pollinators with a new flavour to enjoy.
Frothy Hawthorns Magical Elder
I love the fullness at this time of the year. It feels like an invitation that asks me to pause regularly and notice the land around me. Medicine, at what can so often feel like a busy time of the year for us too.
The longer days, provide more opportunities to get out. Early morning walks, or evening visits to favourite spots to enjoy this abundant time of the year.
An evening walk to the Birches
Noticing Nature
A tree that always grabs my attention at this time of the year is the Horse Chestnut. Covered in tall, upright clusters of flowers known as ‘candles’ they can be spotted at great distances.
This expansive tree has developed a fascinating way of communicating with insects. Each individual flower starts off with a yellow patch on them that turns red once the flower has been pollinated, letting pollinators know, which flowers are worth visiting.
Fascinating Horse Chestnut flowers communicating with insects
A tree that is often overlooked at this time of the year is the Holly tree which is often associated with Winter. Its glossy green leaves and bright red berries bring colour and life at a time of the year when most of the colour has retreated. And yet, if you happen to see them in the Spring time, their delicate, 4 petalled flowers are a joy to see.
Typically a Holly tree will produce either male or female flowers. The male flowers have 4 long stamens that are coated with yellow pollen. The female flowers have a raised green centre, which is actually the ovary, and if pollinated grows into the red berries we shall be celebrating later on in the year.
Female flowers of the Holly tree
And as the bluebells have now faded in the woodland here, other woodland plants like Bugle and Yellow Archangel are providing new colours to enjoy.
Upcoming Events
This Saturday we return to Newark for Ye Olde Wytches Market, a magical event that includes talks, workshops and artisan craft stalls too.
We will be returning to the Witch & Fairy festival over the late May bank holiday. This magical event held in Northamptonshire has discounted tickets currently available too.
I have created a discount code for you too, as a little Beltane treat, so don’t forget to scroll on down to receive it.
As April gives way to May, the hedgerows come alive with the creamy blossoms of the Hawthorn tree. It is estimated that Hawthorn makes up around 70% of our hedgerows in the UK, spreading across the land, nourishing the wild world from the ground up.
This is a tree steeped in folklore and ancient tradition, particularly at this time of the year where it is a symbol of Summer’s arrival and the fertility of the land.
Wearing Hawthorn, is to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors, who wore Hawthorn as a way of pledging their allegiance to the earth. Talismans of luck and protection, of wisdom and connection.
These pieces will be in store at 7pm this evening, and as a thank you for being here with us and supporting our work we have created a 20% discount code that can be used on any of our Wild Jewellery pieces until Tuesday.
Simply enter the code NEWSLETTER20 at the checkout orfollow the link here to add the discount to your basket.
How are you as we reach Spring’s peak? The wind has been wild here the past few days and I am finding myself invigorated and seeking shelter in equal measure!
I am writing today’s newsletter, under the watchful eye of this little Hawthorn tree that has been growing from a seed we planted the Autumn before last.
This year’s seedlings are continuing to break through the surface! We have Apple, Hornbeam, Oak and Walnut treelets all doing well so far.
As we reach Beltane, the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice, the land feels a buzz with life. I have felt a strong urge to really ‘sink in’ to the land around me in the simplest of ways.
Sometimes that has looked like lying in the garden and feeling the support of the ground against my body. Other times it has been walking up to the woods and sitting with my back against a tree, noticing the sounds, colours and textures of the world around me.
Simple, connected and deeply nurturing, I will be doing more of the same in the coming days.
If you would like to read more about this time of the year, associated plants and trees and other simple rituals, you may enjoy our Guide to Beltane.
May’s arrival is synonymous with the blooming of the Hawthorn blossom throughout the hedgerows. Just like the flowering of the Bluebells, it is another important marker of the Wild Year, and I can’t resist spending a few moments in the company of this magical tree.
Hawthorns have long been associated with magic, healing and protection. Once a custom to plant a tree outside every house for good luck, they are still found marking many sacred sites around the country.
Hawthorn is believed to aid connection to our intuition and the wisdom of the natural world. A medicine for the heart and the nervous system, they can guide us to reconnect to ourselves and our magic, dispel fear and live from the heart.
You can explore more about this mighty little tree here:
We have, of course been inspired to work with the wild energy of Hawthorn this week and have a few special pieces that will be in store this Sunday at 7pm.
I will introduce you to all the pieces in my next newsletter, on Sunday.
We will be in Ely for the Food, Drink and Craft Fair on Sunday 3rd and Monday 4th May.
Full Moon in Scorpio
And before I go, don’t forget to keep an eye out for the Full Moon rising tomorrow evening, May 1st, from around 8.45pm onwards (although do check the timing for your location). It will be rising around an hour earlier tonight and will look fabulous too!
Whatever you do this weekend, I hope you find a moment to sink in to the grounding energy of the land.
In my previous post, I introduced you to two very closely related woody shrubs that we have found ourselves drawn to lately; Gorse and Broom.
I tend to connect Gorse most closely with coastal landscapes. This is where I find myself gasping with delight, as their vivid yellow flowers contrast beautifully against the sea and sky. It can also be found growing in under-grazed grasslands, heathland and the edge of woodlands with Broom found in similar habitats.
Pioneer species
Gorse and Broom both thrive where there is plenty of light and poor soil conditions, making them natural pioneer species, similar to Birch trees. This means that they will be the first plants to move into land that has been abandoned, cleared or degraded in some way.
They establish themselves quickly, stabilising and improving the soil around them as they grow. It is now understood that Gorse in particular, offers protection to young trees from wind and grazing animals.
As those trees grow, they will eventually shade out the Gorse, which weakens and dies without direct light, returning its nourishment into the soil. It has played its role in facilitating the transition of open land back into woodland.
I think of these plants having a strong mission to return depleted land back into woodland. They can however be extremely challenging to manage, when this mission is in conflict with the desire to manage or maintain habitats in a different way.
This can be most evident in delicate heathland habitats and areas of farmland where Gorse will try to reclaim it and puts up a strong fight against any attempt to remove it.
Energy & Symbolism
Gorse and Broom are both wonderful guides in helping us to find ways to nourish ourselves and honour our needs. Their energy is wild and untamed as they fight to bring nourishment back to depleted land. Gorse in particular can teach us where we too may need a little fierceness in the name of protection.
They have developed clever mechanisms that allow them to nourish themselves in the most depleted environments, allowing them to flower abundantly. If you missed me talking about this in my previous post, you can find that here.
Like it’s name suggests, Broom was once prized for crafting brooms from. Its long whips made an excellent broom with which to clear away the old, both physically and metaphorically.
It is a wonderful plant to guide us when we are stepping out in new directions and may require a little extra self belief to support our tentative steps forward.
Did you know that the word for April is thought to come from the Latin verb Aperiremeaning ‘to open’?
As I wander the land just now, I notice flowers and leaves opening on an almost daily basis. From brand new Oak leaves, to the delicate petals of the Stitchwort flowers. There is so much to enjoy meeting in April.
The Apple trees are beginning to bloom and the woodlands are thick with bluebells. I am trying to visit as often as I can, just to soak it all in.
Last week, we had a few days away in our van, visiting the Kent coast, an area new to us both. We loved walking along the chalky white cliffs, spotting kestrels and soaking in the vivid yellow of the Gorse flowers against the blue sky.
Last Spring, we worked on one of my favourite Wild Jewellery collections to date, celebrating the wild and untamed beauty of Gorse wood and since our recent trip, it has been calling to both of us once again…
Gorse, a member of the pea family
Gorse is a woody shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae) which includes lots of edible legumes such as beans, peas, lentils and peanuts, and plants like clover, wisteria and lupines.
Most members of this family have a bit of a superpower. By forming a relationship with a bacteria that lives in their root nodes, they are able to transform nitrogen from the air, into a useable form that nourishes the plant. This is why legumes are typically high in protein.
When the plant sheds material or dies and decomposes, it nourishes the soil around them, making it richer for other plants and trees that require more nutrients.
Gorse is very closely related to another woody shrub called Broom, both of which can be found growing in similar habitats throughout the UK.
The key ways to tell them apart is that Gorse has sharp spikes (pictured above) and its flowers have a strong coconut like scent, whereas Broom (pictured below) has neither of these characteristics.
We saw plenty of these two plants during our trip to the coast, and felt called to share a little more about both of them this week.
As you may well have guessed by now, Chris has begun working with their wood which is delightfully wild, just like the plants themselves!
In my next post, I will be sharing a little more about the wisdom and energy of these two, fascinating plants. You can also find us over on Instagram where Chris will be crafting some beautiful pendants from these wild woods.
Wild Fen 