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!
At this time of year, the Earth’s energy has been shifting from active growth to ripening as the harvest season arrives. Fields are turning golden and nuts and berries are fattening in the hedgerows. We stand in late Summer as the smell of Autumn wafts in on the breeze.
Late Summer days on the land
I have come to really love these transitionary times of the year. As one season nears its completion, the next ebbs in. Both intertwine and overlap. Dancing they invite us to savour the process of transition and to embrace the ‘in-between‘.
We may naturally find ourselves feeling more aligned to different points along this process. Some of us may feel ready to embrace the magic of Autumn while others are basking in the late days of Summer. What is your experience this year?
Savouring the Moonrise
I find myself using the word ‘savouring’ a lot this month. Savouring the golden sunrises, savouring the peace at dusk, savouring the vivid colours of my garden, savouring the flavours of ripe blackberries and eating outdoors. I wonder, what are you savouring this month?
Juicy blackberriesGarden tea
Trees in transition
Trees are wonderful markers of change. I love to revisit trees that I watched burst back into life in early Spring and see them now as their fruit, berries, nuts and seeds are ripening.
Blackthorn blossom in late FebBlackthorn (sloe) berries in August
Are there any trees that you have enjoyed watching evolve throughout this year?
There are many trees to enjoy at this time of year; Rowan, heavy with their vibrant orange berries. Apple trees growing their delicious fruits. Hazel, Beech and Oak are all growing their nuts & acorns.
Elder
One of my very favourite tree guides for supporting us during times of transition in our own lives is the Elder tree. A wonderful symbol of the cycle of life and transformation. During those cold days of January, the Elder tree can been witnessed bursting into leaf, an early signal that change is near. The creamy mass of elderflowers are the perfume of long summer days. And once again, Elder announces that change is near as its green berries begin to fatten, turning the most deep hues of purple.
Elder leaves are one of the first to unfurl in JanuaryCreamy Summer elderflowersElderberries ripening
Just a few months ago, we were celebrating the hedgerows for their abundance of blossom and fresh leaves and now, the leaves are drying as the berries and nuts are ripening. Heralding our journey into the waning half of the year.
Wild Fen Offerings
As always, we have been deeply inspired by the trees of this season. Working with Elder to create some special, bark-on pieces that are in store now.
Trio of hedgerow moons
Find us next
We had a wonderful time at ‘Ye olde wytches market‘ in Newark on Trent this month. If you are local then do keep your eyes peeled for the next one to be announced!
In September we will be at:
Further reading
You may like to check out my ‘transitioning to Autumn’ post from a few years ago and if you are interested in foraging and haven’t yet gathered any nettle seeds, you may enjoy this article here.
As we move towards Lammas in the Northern Hemisphere, the countryside is turning golden as the season of harvest is upon us. This is a time of abundance, ripening, and of things coming to fruition. Gardens are blooming yet the active period of growth is waning. Most plants are now ripening the fruits and seeds that hold the wisdom of next years growth within them.
In today’s post I shall be introducing the plants I have felt pulled to connect with lately, sharing some of my favourite ways to connect with the season and revealing our brand new offerings too!
Sunflower Journal is an eco-friendly, independent print magazine that celebrates seasonal living and nature. Printed with vegetable inks on recycled paper, its pages are filled with a delicious mix of recipes, rituals, crafts and self care tips for each season.
It has become a seasonal self care ritual for me to sit and savour this beautiful publication, page by page.
You can imagine our excitement to have been asked to contribute an article for the most recent Lammas edition of the magazine about the ancient art of smoke cleansing, you can see a sneak peak below!
Lammas (also known as Lughnasadh) marks the height of Summer and falls between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) each year. The festival is typically celebrated at the start of August, but the energy of this period can be felt from mid-July to mid-August.
Traditionally Lammas marked the beginning of the harvest. Corn, Wheat and other grains have reached maturity and stand golden in the fields awaiting their harvest. Seeds and fruits are ripening. This is a time of abundance, gathering and taking stock of the year thus far.
We hope that you have been able to find some time and space to connect with the new season of Lammas – also thought of as high Summer or the birth of Autumn.
One of the ways I like to connect to a new season is by creating a tea blend that seems to hold the energy of the season in the plants that I blend.
Lammas (also known as Lughnassadh) falls on 1st August and is the midpoint between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox in the northern Hemisphere. By Lammas we are into the second half of the year and may refer to this time as ‘high summer.’ The days are still long and the sun’s energy is strong yet active growth is waning. The earth is abundant and many of our grain crops have ripened and await their gathering, full and golden.
The wheel of the year is an ancient way of marking the changing energy of the Earth throughout the yearly cycle. The wheel consists of 8 seasonal celebrations or marker points, that fall every 6 – 8 weeks.
In-between each solar festival is a seasonal festival (or cross quarter point) connected with seasonal and agricultural changes. Imbolc marks the height of Winter where the first signs of Spring begin to appear, Beltane the height of Spring and birth of Summer, Lammas the height of Summer and birth of Autumn and Samhain the height of Autumn and birth of Winter.
The celebrations can be thought of as natural points throughout the year where we can stop and observe what is going on in the outer world as well as our inner worlds. A moment to reflect on how things currently are, how they have been over the last season and how we would like to move ahead into the new one.
My most precious insight from observing the wheel of the year is the element of change within it. Light and dark, growth and decay, beginnings and endings. In the modern world we are often expected to be as productive and efficient no matter the season. A striving towards a fixed state of happiness, vibrancy and certainty that isn’t present in the natural world, certainly not all year round.
Connecting with the energy and changes in the natural world, can help us to reflect on our own energy throughout the seasons which may naturally rise and fall. It can help us appreciate the change and flow of nature and learn to welcome and embrace these qualities in our own lives.
We have created 2 prints to celebrate the Wheel of the Year and a Seasonal Reflection card set aimed to support you in connecting with the energy of each festival, available now in our Etsy store.
Wild Fen 