Basking in the green glow of growth
New life is everywhere
Hello! Thanks for stopping by. In the spirit of trying new things, studio news now comes first, for all my local subscribers who are eager to know about classes, courses and kits! For my regular nature letter please scroll down.
I’m really happy to announce that I will be back at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair this October, this year my offering will include Plant Dyed Paper Flower kits to compliment my expanding range of Paper Wildflower Craftkits. Watch this space for dates and details.
THE ART OF PAPER FLOWER MAKING : upcoming classes
3rd May, 4th May 2025 : join me at Ruthin Craft Centre for a weekend of wildflowers! Using nothing but paper, wire and glue, you will learn how to make a series of iconic British wildflowers, exploring a variety of shapes from a range of plant families, and creating a collection of wildflowers for you to take away. You can book the whole weekend - or come for one day. On Saturday 3rd May learn how to make corn poppies and cornflowers and on Sunday 4th May we will be make foxgloves! Book tickets here!
Evening classes last few spaces remaining in the summer 2025 evening class starting Thursday 8th May, 7-9pm at Studio 3, Wood Street, Hoylake. Come along and join our friendly group!
Are you looking for something more? Come away with us to Norfolk this September for the Flourishing Retreat, a wonderful opportunity to get away from it all and enjoy a weekend of luxury at Little Massingham Manor. Three days and three nights in the heart of the countryside, surrounded by beautiful woodlands and meadows, enjoying in depth teaching from not one but two experienced paper artists - Ling from @paperbydragonfly (that’s me) and Meg Lowder of @floragami.paperflower - and wonderful food from our private chef Katie from Little Pie Patisserie, serving a delicious menu with thoughtful botanical touches. (and PS, the early bird price ends 30th April!)
Dear reader, how the devil are you? Have you welcomed the rain this week? It feels rather lovely, getting wet, after two weeks or so of hot and sunny. Although I welcomed the opportunity to wear sandals in April, it felt good to get back to the damp drip-drip-drip of little April showers, genuinely the best accompaniment to all these green shoots and ducklings. A week ago, the rising temperatures arose my suspicions that the terrapin would make itself known - and yes, I spotted it. This time, it was nowhere in sight. The sky was overcast (but full of skylarks) and the soft light set the greenery off to perfection. Everywhere glowed.
Walking to the pond yesterday (cheating, I took the short route from the allotments) I was struck by the cloud of Alexanders, pale green umBellinger’s rising above a blue sea of green alkanet. Alexanders has a strange scent - heady, pungent, sweet. Nearing the pond I was greeted by the crisply elegant white tipped spikes of new season garlic mustard. Jack-by-the-Hedge, I’ve been waiting for you to appear. Delicately fresh leaves and stalks sway slightly under the weight of their flower crowns (but don’t worry, they will grow into it). Everything is so lush, so green, a perfect time to work on any latent plant blindness and attempt to identify plants by their leaves. I know, I know, I do this at least weekly, and the odds are in my favour as I know what grows where, but it’s a nice exercise in welcoming old friends back, and there are always some surprises. Pretty sure I saw three different horsetails, so after my walk I dug out some books (see footnotes). There are swathes of nettles, the cherry blossom spreads its sweet confetti everywhere and both elder and guelder are in bud, soon to be spreading their white umbels wide and attracting pollinators.
In the news on Good Friday is confirmation that all targets for global warming will fail and we the planet will hit 3 degrees of warming by the end of the century. There is an overwhelming sense of inevitability. It’s time to put arguments and disagreements about the causes of the changes to one side and focus on the veracity of the situation. However it has happened, here we are. We should never stop trying to reduce global warming, but in the face of the inevitable increases, our urgent tasks are minimise pollution, stop creating new plastic and move swiftly to renewable energy. If we must go forward into a warmer future (and this is the reality) we must aim to do it with as healthy an ecology as possible. I don’t know any other way to do this than to keep trying to awaken others to the wonder and beauty of nature, so we can all learn to love, care for and live with the flora, fauna, fish and fungi that share this world with us. To accept that we are nature and nature is us, and in the simplest of terms, caring for nature is caring for ourselves. To keep talking about nature, get everyone talking, learn the names of plants and flowers, talk to your friends and families and neighbours, grow a network of compassion and connection. Who is with me?
Leaving the pond, walking back out past the allotments, I am surrounded on all sides by apple blossom. Staked out trees of different varieties show a range of flowers, all with deep, intense cerise on the outside of the buds, opening to show that rich, creamy white, truly, are there more beautiful blossoms than those of the humble apple tree? Apple blossom catapults me back in time to painting sessions with my mother, as she tries to teach me how to look. I still have the vase we rested the apple twig in that day. I stop and count the buds (7) and the leaves (8). I vow I will make that apple blossom, and when it is done, present it as a gift to my wonderful mum.
With love, as always, until next time, Ling
GEEK OUT WITH ME - how many flowers have you spotted this week?
Saturday 19th April flower count Identified red dead nettle; herb robert; dandelion; groundsel; ribwort plantain; bluebells (blue, pink and white); chickweed; meadow grass; meadow foxtail; cocksfoot; rapeseed; daisies; field horsetail; wood horsetail; water horsetail; fumitory; green alkanet; pink wood sorrel; garlic mustard; cow parsley; forget me nots; sow thistle; shepherds purse; cuckoo flower; white archangel; purple vetch; black sedge; daffodils; alexanders; lesser stitchwort; dog violets; celandines; kingcups; cowslips; willow flower; coltsfoot; cherry blossom; ground ivy; sycamore flowers; field maple flowers; ash flowers; red campion; wood sedge; buttercups; gooseberry flowers; hawthorn; apple blossom; sorrel (48) Unidentified a tiny little white (or pale blue?) five petalled flower with leaves like a forget me not but not a forget me not; various species of sow thistle (2) Other plants (not yet flowering) tormentil; yarrow; silverweed; cinquefoil, hog weed; ground elder; cow parsley; hemlock; stinging nettle; herb bennet; meadowsweet; goldenrod; greater willowherb; spear thistle; creeping thistle; melancholy thistle; iris; St John’s wort; docks; goose grass; common mallow (21)
RECOMMENDATIONS: for identification purposes I used WILDFLOWERS OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND by Marjorie Blamey, Richard Fitter and Alistair Fitter. Marjorie was 85 when she illustrated this book (there are over 5000 colour illustrations) and Richard Fitter, who wrote the text, was 90. Amazing!
THE READING PILE For pleasure, I have two books on the go: The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane (2007) proving that - at least in 2007 - there were still wild places to go. But I do believe that as long as we are willing to find them, there are always wild places to go.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr I have read twice and am about to go round for a third time. The interwoven story of Anna, Omeir, Zeno and Seymour, spanning eight centuries, and traversing the globe from Constantinople to Korea, Lakeport to Greenland, the novel encompasses Ancient Greek texts, space travel, futurism and our relationship with nature. A fantastical fable and beautifully written. Highly recommended. What are you reading? Can you recommend something new for me?
All photos unless otherwise stated are by Ling Warlow
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