Alder is often described as the tree of the Spring Equinox and according to the Celtic Tree Calendar is assigned to the period of time between March 18th and April 14th. It is a fascinating tree that thrives in damp places and can often be found growing beside rivers, lakes and ponds where its roots will be submerged beneath the water.
It is a relatively short lived tree, with a lifespan of around 60 years but within that time, it can transform its surroundings, much like close family member, the Birch tree. Alders form an association with a nitrogen fixing bacteria, which allows the tree to grow in nutritionally poor soils, and improves the soil around them so that other trees such as Oaks can grow there. This earns them the title of a ‘nurse’ tree.
The wood of the Alder tree is relatively soft, but when submerged beneath the water, it becomes as hard as stone. For this reason, it is a wood favoured for building bridges. In fact, Venice is built on top of millions of Alder timbers that were submerged into the clay for structure as early as the 5th century. Quite impressive for such a short lived tree!
Along with its obvious connection to the water element, it is also believed to embody the energy of fire. In early Spring, the Alder tree can be seen ‘glowing’ red with catkins and if the tree is cut down, its pale wood reacts quickly with oxygen, turning the wood a rich, deep orange colour. This association with both fire and water is one of reasons that the Alder tree is believed to represent ‘balance.’
Alder is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree. Male catkins, measure up to 6cm, and turn from red to yellow as they open. Female catkins are much small, starting out as red, oval-shaped cones before growing and turning green and eventually brown after pollination. They can be seen growing on the tree all at the same time.
We have loved working with the energy of this beautiful tree and if you would like to see Chris crafting these pieces, you can head over to our Instagram page where we shared some videos this week.
As we move towards Ostara; the Spring Equinox this Friday, we look set for a beautiful couple of days here in the East. I hope they will be reaching you too! As I walked into the workshop this morning, I was greeted by a newly opened Crocus. I had planted them in pots outside the door back at the Winter Solstice.
Last week, we took a trip to Stowe Gardens and met so many beautiful Alder trees, and as a tree associated with the Spring Equinox, I wanted to share more about them in today’s post.
Walking with Alder
Ostara and the New Moon
Ostara, is the celebration of the Spring Equinox, the midpoint between the shortest day of the year (Yule, the Winter Solstice) and the longest day of the year (Litha, the Summer Solstice). This year, Ostara falls on Friday 20th March here in the UK. As the land around us is unfurling, this time of the year is associated with renewal and new beginnings and feels to me like a big stretch after Winter’s slumber.
This year, Ostara coincides with a New Moon that falls the day before and this beginning of a new lunar cycle makes it an especially potent time for sowing seeds, both literally and metaphorically!
Whilst on the topic of the New Moon, we wanted to send out an apology for an error that we made on this year’s Lunar Calendar. We were upset to discover that we had marked the upcoming New Moon (Thursday 19th March) to be in Aries, instead of Pisces, while April’s New Moon on the 17th is marked in Pisces rather than Aries.
We have been creating our Lunar Calendars for 6 years now, and spend days of work putting them together so we were shocked to discover our mistake. We really hope that this doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of your calendar but please do reach out if you would like to discuss this further.
Wild Fen Updates
In celebration of Ostara, there is 20% off everything in store from now until Sunday 22nd March! Here are just a few things available.
We will be celebrating the Alder tree all this week over on Instagram and we are working on a couple of very special pieces of Wild Jewellery. You can follow along there for daily updates. These unique Alder pieces will be in store at 7pm on Sunday 22nd March.
For more on Ostara, the Spring Equinox, do check out the posts below,
It has been a few months since my last newsletter, so I wanted to fill you in on what we have been getting up to, in and amongst a good dose of Wintering!
We also have a small collection of tree pendants to share with you, inspired by the magic of early spring, so let’s dive in!
For those of you who don’t know, we moved to a small patch of land in the Northamptonshire countryside a few years ago where we have slowly been converting an old stables into a useable workshop space.
When we first arrived, the wooden building had no floor, windows or anything in the way of insulation and was very damp. So with a tiny budget, we have slowly been gathering materials and working on it whenever we get the opportunity.
Our patch on a Winter’s day
Over the past couple of months we have been busy insulating the space and fitting windows for more light. We have built a functional packing space, with plenty of storage and a mini kitchen too!
After what has felt like very slow progress at times, it brings me joy to report that I am sat writing today’s post from a dry room at my new (well, repurposed) desk that looks out of a window, to the hedgerow beyond.
It is amazing, how this little space, has become so sacred to me already. After 6 years of living life predominantly from our van, I have relished the chance to arrange treasure long packed away and display some beautiful artwork that I have been collecting. ‘Earth Mother’ in the bottom right corner is by Rosalie Kohler of Spiral Shores, whose work I am deeply drawn to. This particular print inspires me to reconnect to my purpose whenever I find myself lost in doubt or worry. Above this, is a beautiful piece of artwork by Emmalene Maguire that I couldn’t help but bring home with me from the most recent Suffolk Witchcraft Market.
It is safe to say that I can’t wait to sit and write from here as I watch the seasons change outside my window.
A few spring days
Amidst the very wet days of February, came a gem of a day, which just so happened to be my 39th birthday! It was clear, mild and bright and offered us the chance to venture outdoors for the day. We headed to some of our favourite local spots for a wander and to soak in some much welcomed spring energy…
We spotted our first Brimstone butterfly of the year and plenty of bees enjoying the fragrant Cherry Plum blossoms. Daffodils, Snowdrops and Crocus’ were growing with vigour in the grounds of an old hall that we passed by so we couldn’t help but stop and enjoy the view.
I have found myself beginning to venture back out onto the land this past week too. Little bursts of energy focused on some long awaited jobs, interspersed with plenty of distraction over visiting bumble bees and very vocal dunnocks!
Land Updates – growing Willow & baby trees
At the end of last Winter, we planted 150 Willow cuttings here on the land and almost all of them grew, some reaching 8 feet tall by the end of the year!
Willow cuttings ready to go into the groundA couple of months of growth
Willow has some wonderful benefits for the land; sequestering carbon, improving soil structure and composition and acting as a windbreak. It provides a great habitat for wildlife and is an important early food source for many pollinators. It also provides us with a renewable resource that can be used for building, crafting and of course planting even more trees!
We are learning lots as we go along. This year, we decided to leave a few of the trees to continue growing and flowering for the insects, whilst coppicing others, so they produce even more stems this Summer. The stems that we cut, are now being planted in a different space and will hopefully grow into another few hundred Willow trees, so watch this space!
The Elder trees that grew from seeds we planted a few Autumns back are already filled with new leaves. The Oaks, Rowans and Ash trees remain dormant however, their leaf buds still tucked up tight for a while longer yet. I wonder whether are you feeling more Elder or Oak this year?
Tree Guides of Early Spring
As Spring arrives, we have found ourselves drawn to the beautiful blossoms that have begun bursting forth in hedgerows and verges. Blackthorn, Cherry and Plum all cheering up any journey with their abundance.
We have loved working with Cherry wood again. These pieces have the most beautiful pink/red hues that catch the light beautifully. In fact you can see a video of them in all their glory in the listing by clicking on the photo above.
The beautiful silvery catkins of the Willow trees have also being calling for attention and felt especially potent beneath the recent Full Moon. As one of the first trees to grow in the springtime, Willows grow with speed and ease. They are a wonderful guide when we are struggling to ‘get going’ or move in the direction of our dreams.
The pale Willow wood is almost pearlescent in the light, embodying a lightness and brightness reminiscent of the Moon.
I love seeing newly opened Hawthorn leaves, unfurling like a rosette. They bring vivid green back to the landscape once again. Their vital energy is so inspiring after a long winter and reminds us of possibility and life force stirring beneath the surface.
As we move ever closer to the Spring Equinox on the 20th of March, we have been enjoying celebrating the beauty and diversity of these woods with simple yet strong and tactile forms and we hope you love them too!
We will be returning to Ely this Sunday, 15th for the Spring Pagan and Alternative Fayre. We have some wonderful markets and fairs booked in for the year ahead, check out where you can find us here.
Wishing you all a little Spring Magic for the weeks ahead,
Nic x
P.s you can find more notes on Spring, journal prompts and practices below:
My emergence into Spring is feeling rather slow this year. As my dear friend, Theresa put it, ‘it’s like waking up, but I’m not quite ready to jump out of bed yet!’ Some years, I am desperate to jump out of bed, and begin planting seeds and foraging those fresh Spring greens. But this year, as I sit in front of the fire and look out onto yet another wet day, my body whispers, ‘not yet’ and I remain in my late Winter cocoon a little longer.
In today’s post, I wanted to share with you my favourite question to return to at this time of year. I am celebrating a tree with deep associations to the season and sharing our first Wild Jewellery release of the year…
Ostara, the celebration of the Spring Equinox falls between 20-23rd of March each year in the Northern Hemisphere. Day and night length return to an equal balance once again. This can be a good time to reflect on the areas in our own lives where we would like to cultivate more balance. In today’s post I will share some simple Ostara practices and introduce you to one of the elements associated with this season; Air.
A tree I really enjoy journeying with is the Yew tree, Taxus baccata. Typically associated with the Samhain season, I find myself really connecting with this tree in Spring too.
Like Willows, Yews are dioecious meaning that trees are either male or female. In the Spring the male trees produce an array of flowers covered with golden pollen. This pollen is carried by the wind to the smaller flowers of the female trees that will go on to produce the red berries in the Autumn.
In astronomical terms, the Spring Equinox (also known as Ostara) marks the beginning of the Spring season in the Northern hemisphere and falls between the 20th – 23rd March each year.
The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin word meaning ‘equal night’ and twice a year, on both the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, night and day length reach a point of balance. The light has slowly but surely been increasing from it’s lowest point at the Winter Solstice (Yule) in December. It will now continue to expand, overtaking the hours of darkness, until it reaches its peak on our longest day at the Summer Solstice (Litha) in June.
Eating seasonally is one of my favourite ways of feeling more aligned with earth’s cycles and come Spring I really start craving fresher, zingier and lighter meals with lots and lots of greens. And just as if Nature intended, our gardens and woodlands are bursting full of Spring greens, that nourish and cleanse our bodies after a heavy winter.
I feel very lucky to have received some wonderful books for my birthday this year including ‘Walking with Trees’ by Glennie Kindred (one of my favourite authors and nature connectors).
It has inspired me to form an even deeper connection with some of our lovely trees in Britain and I thought it might be nice to share some of my journeying here, starting with Willow a beloved tree all year round, but particularly special in Spring.
Wild Fen 