thank you so much for sharing this. i’ve spent a good portion of my life in the peak district and definitely grew up loving the fields, even thinking for a long time that all the green grass was a sign of thriving. but now even more than i like to see those familiar views, i long for the land to be whole with rambling plants and life.
Thank you so much for your comment Sophie. I really relate to what you’ve shared. I grew up loving those green, familiar landscapes too, and it took me a long time to realise that neatness isn’t the same as health. There’s something powerful about re-seeing a place you love, not with less affection, but with more depth. That longing you describe, for land that feels whole, rambling, alive, that’s exactly what keeps me hopeful. I’m so glad this piece resonated with you. 🌿
I once had a huge allotment and spent my first year battling nettles. Swathes of them, some almost as tall as me. Later, I learned that my allotment had been used to keep pigs, and the earth was astonishingly fertile. So in the end, I gave up my battle and just cleared enough space among them to plant some fruit trees. And I learned so much from being up close and personal with the weeds, and working out what they wanted.
Great writing and a vital argument for the 'weeds and the wildflowers'. Though I must admit I am becoming a little disillusioned with hearing repeatedly the phrase in enviromental writing that the UK is one 'of the most nature-depleted countries in the world'. I entirely agree that we need to let the messier side of nature in because that's where most abundant life is. But my experience is of a different UK to the one often described in those terms. A walk by my local river early this morning (where weeds - thistles - and reed and sedge and trees and water form a multiplicity of habitats) was a total immersion in nature visually and aurally with a huge variety of bird life, foraging insects and air - despite competing with the sound of nearby traffic - filled with birdsong. But I really enjoyed reading your piece and feel that many more voices like yours - championing the merits of less visually appealing but ecologically far richer plants like thistles - need to be heard.
I really want to make illustrations of wild, witchy untamed gardens. To me they’re far more beautiful than neat and tidy English garden culture anyway. You’ve inspired me to paint some thistles Carrie!
thank you so much for sharing this. i’ve spent a good portion of my life in the peak district and definitely grew up loving the fields, even thinking for a long time that all the green grass was a sign of thriving. but now even more than i like to see those familiar views, i long for the land to be whole with rambling plants and life.
Thank you so much for your comment Sophie. I really relate to what you’ve shared. I grew up loving those green, familiar landscapes too, and it took me a long time to realise that neatness isn’t the same as health. There’s something powerful about re-seeing a place you love, not with less affection, but with more depth. That longing you describe, for land that feels whole, rambling, alive, that’s exactly what keeps me hopeful. I’m so glad this piece resonated with you. 🌿
I once had a huge allotment and spent my first year battling nettles. Swathes of them, some almost as tall as me. Later, I learned that my allotment had been used to keep pigs, and the earth was astonishingly fertile. So in the end, I gave up my battle and just cleared enough space among them to plant some fruit trees. And I learned so much from being up close and personal with the weeds, and working out what they wanted.
Great writing and a vital argument for the 'weeds and the wildflowers'. Though I must admit I am becoming a little disillusioned with hearing repeatedly the phrase in enviromental writing that the UK is one 'of the most nature-depleted countries in the world'. I entirely agree that we need to let the messier side of nature in because that's where most abundant life is. But my experience is of a different UK to the one often described in those terms. A walk by my local river early this morning (where weeds - thistles - and reed and sedge and trees and water form a multiplicity of habitats) was a total immersion in nature visually and aurally with a huge variety of bird life, foraging insects and air - despite competing with the sound of nearby traffic - filled with birdsong. But I really enjoyed reading your piece and feel that many more voices like yours - championing the merits of less visually appealing but ecologically far richer plants like thistles - need to be heard.
I really want to make illustrations of wild, witchy untamed gardens. To me they’re far more beautiful than neat and tidy English garden culture anyway. You’ve inspired me to paint some thistles Carrie!