The Requirement to Garden

This is a long one. I suggest you make a cup of tea and a snack before starting. “And now listen carefully. You in others-this is your soul. This is what you are. This is what your consciousness has breathed and lived on and enjoyed throughout your life-your soul, your immortality, your life in others.

In Search of My Grandmother’s Garden

I am doing something big this winter, something I have wanted to do for a very long time. It has sat inside me for years and years as a wish that I never quite believed would happen. Even now, with some of the plane tickets booked, I can barely believe I am really doing this

Gardening Lessons My Grandmother Taught Me (Unintentionally)

I wrote this piece back in February for The Guardian UK, and am now posting it here in its entirety as promised. You can read my preface to it here. —————— My gardener’s story is atypical. There were no childhood summers frolicking in the garden of a rosy-cheeked matriarch eager to pass on a passion

Personal Histories

Phew, that was fast. I put the finishing touches on an article late last night and it is already up on the Guardian website. This one, about the relationship between myself and my maternal grandmother is a bit more personal than usual and I am still getting used to having put it out there. However,