Meandering into Autumn
Seeking the Green Knight in the "Wilderness of Wirral"
Dear Reader, how are you? Have you enjoyed September? I wonder - what does this time of year mean to you? For me, September has always felt like a time of new beginnings, dusting myself off after the recess of summer. A time for sharpening my pencils, cracking open new notebooks and getting in to new projects - and already, it’s gone. September has slipped through my fingers like the last drops of summer, so now I welcome October - proper autumn is here! In a state of hyperfocus, preparing for The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, everything else is on hold. But, preparations are going well, and I hope that I will meet some of you at the event (it’s at Victoria Baths, Manchester, 17-20 October).
Allow me to talk a little about my work. This will be the first time I bring a collection of my plant dyed paper flowers into public view and available to collectors. These plants and flowers are coloured solely with natural dyes, some locally foraged and gathered, some harder to find. Spending hours over vats of dye I am endlessly fascinated by the range of colours yielded by simple ingredients like alder cones and onion skins. This variety brings my wildflowers to life and I can’t wait to bring them into public view. Photographs rarely do the colours justice.
A large part of my work is about encouraging people to look more closely at wildflowers, using the mindful art of paper crafting as my vehicle. My range of Paper Wildflower CraftKits is expanding and now includes Ox Eye Daisy and Dandelion as well as favourites such as Wild Rose, Bluebell and Wood Anemone. I recently spent a day in the studio with @bigcheesephoto creating an image of the CraftKit flowers. As you can see from this BTS image, I spent a lot of time trying hard not to breathe or giggle as I nudged petals and florets “just 2mm this way” “just a fraction higher” - it’s practically impossible to move wired flowers made from stiff crepe paper without moving the whole arrangement… in the end, I think I did laugh, and had to start again!
But back to today, the first day of October. I can still hear birdsong through my window, and the sun is jostling with clouds to dominate space in the sky. Lately, the clouds have been winning. September in the Northwest was wet, wet, wet. And yet, rainfall this year has been 5% below average. Here on the Wirral peninsula, we are surrounded by trees, many flourishing in urban areas. The Wirral is famously described in the epic medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as the 'wyldrenesse of wyrale', a place “where very few live loved either by God or men of goodwill...”1 Surrounded by these trees I wonder - how old are they, might any have plausibly stood since Wirral’s days as a wild, green peninsula? Unlikely (although not entirely impossible).
Gawain’s adventures are the stuff of Arthurian legend. Christmas time at Camelot is disrupted by the arrival of a strange, green individual. Huge and wild, he carries a holly bough in one hand and a green and gold axe in the other. His garments are green, his complexion is green, and his appearance is enhanced by his elaborately embroidered clothing decorated with birds and butterflies, picked out in shades of green and gold. Threads of gold weave his wild hair and bushy beard together. He rides into the hall on his green horse, seated green lacquered saddle. The Green Knight wears no armour and he comes to the court with a challenge: if any man is brave enough to strike the Green Knight with his (green) axe, that man will have the axe to keep. But - that man must agree to receive the same blow a year later.
Gawain takes up the challenge. It’s a great story with a multitude of interpretations and reams of essays and pass notes available at the tap of a screen (including The Hazelnut, here on Substack). Go seek it out! In the end this strange, verdant giant spares Gawain after he has proved himself. Proved himself flawed, admittedly, but ultimately strong enough to stay true to his fundamental values.
Revisiting this tale recently, I wondered - who is the Green Knight? A magical creature of some sort, perhaps an Ent? The spirit of something larger than the Arthurian court? The embodiment of nature, true and just? And I find myself thinking that this story is one of the oldest tales we know, the struggle for dominance as human seeks to tame nature. Nature, in this story, is larger than man, dark and forbidding and unknown, but also awesome, forgiving and magical. Gawain journeys to find the Green Knight in his Green Chapel, the suggestion of which - to me - conjures a wonderful image, a green sanctuary on that wild peninsula.
Oops, sorry, back in the room! Trees, what was it about trees? Ah, yes. There are many trees on the Wirral, and this year, a number of my local trees have shown signs of distress. Late coming into leaf, with noticeably less coverage than expected, their leaves are now withering and dropping earlier than expected. I discovered a new phrase, reading about British trees including oak, birch and beech becoming ‘stag headed’, the upper branches remaining bare and protruding above the leaf canopy, tree behaviour I have observed locally. A new arboretum is being planned at RHS Bridgewater in Manchester, famously the rainiest part of the British Isles, and these trees are being considered as specimens for preservation2. 5% less rain may not seem like a lot (especially as it has felt like so much more), but it’s enough to challenge the fragile balance of our ecosystem.
It strikes me that maybe we haven’t changed much since the tale of the Green Knight was composed in the late 14th century, a time long before the urbanisation of this once tree-covered peninsula. Our trees are suffering from changing weather patterns, just as we are. The Green Knight ( a being who could withstand having his head chopped off) was (is?) a regenerative creature of great power, compassion and wisdom. Nature is powerful, regenerative, and contains multitudes of wisdom. Nature contains everything we need, and we have forgotten so much of it. But many of us are changing, reconnecting, choosing to learn and share as much as we can. We are nature. Nature is in us, and we are in it. Keep spreading the message! If you enjoy nature writing, a few accounts I recommend here on Substack are Flora and Forage, Travels with Plants and Flow (Letters from the Moss). I’d love to know which publications you enjoy, please do let me know in the comments.
Dear Reader, thanks for sticking with me! I did not expect the Green Knight to sneak into my Substack, but I’m glad he did, and I found this essay especially fascinating.
Until next time, with love, Ling
MEET ME IN MANCHESTER! Ling Warlow [Paper Botanist] will be at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 17 - 20 October - a wonderful opportunity to get your Christmas shopping started! Hundreds of top class exhibitors showing a huge range of crafts. Personally, I’m really excited to finally see, in person, the work of Kate Kato, a fellow paper artist making natural objects. It will definitely be worth a visit! Tickets available here.
AUTUMN PAPER FLOWER CLASSES The Cutting Garden series of Paper Flower Classes starts on 6th November at my studio on Hoylake, Wirral. This relaxing, mindful hobby is ideal for unwinding while tapping into your creative side. Plus, all tools, materials, refreshments, and great company are provided in our inspiring studio setting. You can book just one class or the entire series – the choice is yours! Classes include Foxglove, Chrysanthemum, English Rose and Hollyhock. Book your place here.
From The Guardian
There’s a free talk on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Wirral at Bebington Library this Saturday (5 October) 10.30am. Part of Wirral Poetry Festival 2024.