'Talking about the local landscape and wildlife as part of the Society of Authors contribution to the Hitchin Festival was a wonderful experience. The audience was enthusiastic and responsive, and the session ended with interesting conversations and questions about community-led conservation and how to help wildlife in our gardens.' Nature Writing Workshop Nic's next event … Continue reading Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust Workshop
At Christmas I no more desire a rose Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled mirth; But like of each thing that in season grows. Love's Labours Lost Cerise snapdragon heads (Antirrhinum majus) nod gently each morning as I pass the garden at the top of Benslow Hill. The flowers are doubly surprising - out … Continue reading Snapdragons of Autumn Twilight
I was asked recently to write a piece on where my personal gardening passion came from. The origins of inspiration is a subject which interests me in both my work with children and my writing. This is what emerged when I put pen to paper... As a child scrambling though the scrubby heather on Conwy … Continue reading How Did Your Love Of Gardening Begin?
Charting the year's progress through seasonal celebrations is comforting, but can it eclipse the wondrous yet understated transformations taking place each day outside our back doors? Autumn is a big word, a catch-all for subtly shifting seasonal changes. On 2 September this year, a colleague remarked that it was nearly Christmas. Behind this provocatively jovial … Continue reading Remaking The Seasons
I went on an early cycle round the Greenway yesterday, with the field margins and hedgerows full of movement and vigour, wildflowers, birds and fruit, whilst the field itself seemed stilled and characterless, until a skylark gave it life. This is the prose-poem I wrote when I returned... Silver lifting, undersides of leaves blown back … Continue reading Still Life