Rock Sea Lavender
The tiny, tenacious jewels of the rock face
Flower friends, how are you? Let me start with a big thank you to everyone who visited during the Open Studio Tour last weekend, and if you are here and reading because of that visit, welcome. An especially big thank you to all the people who told me they read The Paper Wildflower, it means so much to hear that you love nature too. If you’re here simply for the studio news, scroll down - or, why not stay a while, and take in the view?
Hoylake Beach news this week is the arrival of southern marsh orchids, often found growing in coastal areas including dunes and grasslands, although rarely found further north than Wales. Walking the beach this week I crossed dense carpets of tiny, low growing forget-me-nots, large swathes of clover and birdsfoot trefoil. Now orchids and common rue are present too, it really is like crossing a meadow in bloom. I’m so thankful for this green space, full of birds and insects, every year I look forward to seeing new plants appear. To the rakers, who continue to express horror at the natural developments on the beach, all I can do is quote David Attenborough, and hope you understand:
Every mouthful of food that we eat, every lungful of air that we breathe, depends on plants. Green Planet 2022
This week has also seen my girls finish their exams, hurrah! Whatever their results, I know how hard they worked. They really have done their best which makes me a proud mama. Only TWO MONTHS to wait before results, so I’m going to try and put it out of my mind until then. Six pieces have left the studio, journeying up to Rheged Gallery for ‘In Bud and Bloom’, I waved them off with some trepidation, packing 3D work is almost as challenging as making it in the first place. I’m sure it will all arrive safely! So now I’m straight back into making Paper Wildflower Craftkits for my stand at RHS Wentworth (only 1000 to go) and writing new tutorials for my paper flower evening classes, including this weeks lavender.
Talking of lavender, I ventured back out to Hilbre this afternoon and the rock sea lavender (Limonium britannicum ssp. celticum ) was in full flower, bright stems of amethyst sprouting from the rocks. It’s endemic to Hilbre Island with a couple of thriving colonies, but listed as near threatened elsewhere. It’s such a treat to see it in full flower, I am considering how to represent it in paper, now my upcoming exhibition on Hilbre Island is moving into the ‘urgent and important’ quandrant of my todo list. Is it just me that works like this? I think and think and think about it but until it hits U+I it’s just not happening. Nothing like a looming deadline to apply the necessary pressure! The island was looking particularly lush, despite the heat, and I spotted hops, baby vines twining through the fence behind one of the Heligoland traps, bright orange Birdsfoot trefoil - and a single solitary bluebell. Quite what a bluebell is doing flowering in June I don’t know, it was tucked away under some bracken, unmistakable.
Everywhere is green and glorious at the moment, there has been some recovery after the parched grass of late spring, and fortunately this latest heatwave has been accompanied by some rain. Leaves are everywhere, enticing me with intricate repeat patterns and fenestrations, subtly varying verdant hues, tempting clues as to what flowers might appear, and their general all-round awesomeness. Effortlessly converting sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into glucose, leaves produce all the food the plant or tree requires. At the same time, they release oxygen into the atmosphere. Just think about that. Leaves are fundamental, essential for all life on our planet. We are surrounded by these tiny, amazing factories, and we continue to fell, prune and clear. Simply looking at leaves can reduce levels of cortisol and calm us down… Nature’s green goodness is a treasure chest of remedies for the body and mind, appealing to all our senses as well as sustaining us both physically and mentally.
I’ll leave you with that thought. Until next time, as always, with love, Ling
New Classes: blossom and create and learn the art of paper flower making with me! Open Rose is a three hour class on Tuesday 12th August; Fancy Iris on Thursday 14th August is a four hour class where we will create stunning Iris stems with a range of beautifully dyed papers; the clue is in the name for Colour Popping Iceland Poppies on Tuesday 19th June (4hours) and on Tuesday 28th, join me for a full day for your chance to make gorgeous Paper Gladioli. Please note there is a glitch on the website and timings are as stated in this post (site shows 2 hours!)
If you are on the Wirral and fancy a trip over to Hilbre Island, keep an eye on the Independents Biennial events listings, and make sure you check the tides before venturing out. There are events and exhibitions throughout the summer as part of Drawing Out Hilbre Archipelago at the CASS Centre for Arts, Science and Sustainability. Here’s a glimpse at what’s happening there this weekend and over the coming week. All photography and paper flowers copyright Ling Warlow 2025
And finally…there are just four weekend spaces left on The Paper Garden Masterclass, taking place 26-28 September in Keswick, Norfolk. Once the last two (edit!!) weekend tickets go, we’ll be releasing a few day tickets, watch this space. It’s going to be a wonderful weekend, tickets have gone really quickly, if you would like to join us book your space now! THE PAPER GARDEN MASTERCLASS
I love the colours of the rock sea lavender. So delicate and bold at the same time!