Bindweed and burning
Slowing down in the heat of the summer
Dear reader, it’s been a while, how are you? I last wrote just before my trip to Newcastle - a delightful little working holiday at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, staying in a beautiful garden room with a view and a cat, the last week before the summer heat truly kicked in. Tell me, how have you coped with the heat? I’m writing to you from Scotland which is blessedly cool, but even here, fires burn in the Cairngorms. Watching the swans glide calmly along the sound (three cygnets this summer), listening to the goldfinch chattering away in the hawthorn - and wondering what the future holds as the world around us undeniably burns.
Coping with the heat - spending time out of doors early in the day helps, and in these hot summer months I am lucky to be in a north facing studio building. But I have struggled with the heat, trying to stay on track and get the work done. This year so far has been a whirlwind of classes and workshops, peppered with selling events and (excitingly) new stockists of my Paper Wildflower Craftkits. But the compulsion to propel myself forward at high speed is another way of generating unnecessary heat and my Scandinavian blood doesn’t like it. For this first time this summer I have put down my flower making supplies and come away to Scotland just to be. Even before this trip, I’ve been out walking without my camera, taking more of those analogue walks, on the beach and down by the pond. Enjoying the shape of thistles, looking for Queens Anne’s Lace, and admiring the cool, smooth, elegant lines of bindweed.
Bindweed, I understand, can be divisive. Many gardeners I know have little time for this rampant plant, galloping along the hedges and smothering everything in its path. But the large white trumpets of hedge bindweed dotting the hedgerows have their time and place, being of great benefit to pollinators, a good food source for beetles and essential to several species of moth. I have often written about the oceans of bindweed which line the Tip Path through to the autumn, swallowing up hawthorns and willows, winding itself up the stems of summer grasses and greater willowherb - in the spring it made use of the unusually tall red campion stems to explore the upper reaches of the newly laid hedge down by the pond. It is inquisitive.
I recently led a workshop which promised fresh flowers for study, before we learned how to recreate them using paper. I knew the heat posed a challenge - I choose my life-models with care, having to fulfil certain criteria which make them suitable for paper recreation. Umbellifers do not fit the bill! Fortunately, despite the heat, bindweed continues to flourish, and made a perfect study, along with hawkweed which also seems to be heat resistant, growing tall out of the parched grass and producing vibrant stands of yellow flowers.
Certain plants, at different times of year, are prolific along stretches of the path, but when their time is over and they are gone, the next plant steps in to take up the mantle. Right now mugwort is coming into its own, greater burdock flourishes, and the stately hogweed is going through all its stages at once.
But I’m here in Scotland to enjoy time with my lovely dad, time which is always too short and which will soon be over, so I will say farewell until next time. Keep your eyes open and look closely at the wonders of nature which surround us everywhere from the tiniest cracks in the pavement to the magnificent highlands of Scotland. Let me know what you see! Love and cherish and fight for what we have, for “we can no longer be passengers in this world” (To Do and Not to Do @jeanettewinterson).
Until next time, with thanks, as always, for being here, and love, Ling
News from the studio
New Paper Wildflower Craftkits! This summer I have already introduced “Ferns and Grasses” and “Colourful Butterflies” and - in time for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester - I will be launching “Tulip” and “Cornflower”. Stay tuned!
MAY MORRIS come and meet me at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight at the Remarkable Women Makers Market on 8th August. A day devoted to remarkable women in crafts, in the company of May Morris. Daughter of William Morris and an amazing designer in her own right. By 23, she was manager and designer of his embroidery department.
A remarkable woman, May Morris devoted her life to crafting a legacy which continues to inspire designers, makers and educators today. Crafting a Legacy is at Lady Lever until 1st November1
STOCKISTS are you a retailer, gallery or craft centre looking for new products for Christmas? The Paper Wildflower Craftkits are a fantastic addition to your gift range! With fourteen flowers to choose from (soon rising to sixteen) they are collectible, good looking and affordable. A gift that promises an experience as well as a beautiful handmade flower at the end of it, my mission with these craftkits is to introduce the wonderful, slow art of flower making, and encourage a connection with nature by taking time to look discover and look closely at our wonderful native wildflowers. Drop me a line at ling@paperbydragonfly.com for more information.
All photographs copyright Ling Warlow 2026
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/lady-lever-art-gallery/exhibition/may-morris-crafting-legacy#section--the-exhibition
Good to hear from you - hope you are having a lovely time away - love the paper creation of your bindweed it looks so fresh. I too have been hiding away from the heat - luckily the commonwealth games has been keeping me entertained.