“The love of gardening is a seed once sown never dies”
Gertrude Jekyll
Lost in the Garden
For the past six years, my admiration for flowers and desire to preserve rare varieties on my own land has completely consumed me. Immersed in old garden books and engrossed in British gardening shows, I have developed a fascination for unique and historic plant species. The unadorned iris and the modest cupped daffodil bring me immense joy. Just as intense as Carol Klein’s passion for a rare daffodil, I can be brought to tears by the beauty of a lost apple variety or a plant personβs efforts to form a national plant collection. Through years of research and with thousands of notes, I aspire to share my knowledge on the lesser known varieties and my experiences I have gather along the way.
In addition to heirloom varieties, I want to also shine light on traditional crafts. My current explorations include Victorian flower-making, building Putz houses, and the 19th-century German ornament-making technique called spun cotton. These crafts are a testament to human creativity and skill, passed down through generations or forgotten during historical hardships. From pottery to weaving, blacksmithing to woodworking, these crafts tell a story of our cultural heritage. I want to feature artisans who are keeping these crafts alive, sharing their stories, techniques, and the beauty they create. I will take you along on my journey with learning these techniques and how the modern artist can adapt these traditional skills into their art or use them to enhance the beauty of their living spaces and even their garden.
Ultimately, I plan to chronicle my journey in cultivating unique and historically significant plant varieties, while also reviving forgotten crafts. I hope to increase interest in preserving these plants and heritage crafts before they are lost forever. Thank you for joining me in The Pleasaunce.
