Blog on Nature Works

I have finished filming the CAD for Gardeners online class!

Full steam ahead with the CAD for Gardeners online class, I did a run through of the video, looks like it’ll be more like 1. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230109-victory/

Edibles & natives in the woodland beds at Rhug It was a pleasant surprise at the last meeting to find out that the clients would like more edibles, herbs and things for the kitchen. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230109-rhug-woodland/

I’m keeping on with my YouTube Garden Wild Flowers series, today was the turn of Bugle (Ajuga reptans), just a short 7 minute video. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230108-bugle/

GIS stands for Geographic Information System, software that can analyse data that has a geographic component. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230107-gis/

Long day writing & tech noodling, finishing with a photography find Today I have mostly been noodling with tech to record the ‘CAD for Gardeners‘ online class. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230106-abandoned/

Finally back on the blogging wagon I read the most amazing blog post by Cory Doctorow about blogging, called The Memex Method. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230105-memex/

Meeting onsite for primary school garden Key points Quiet seating Art class material Wildlife habitat Edible berries Recycled substrates Todo Jake make plan: outline done, see PDF Move Birch & Beech tree Kate find out tree species (white leaf, a poplar?

The binomial naming of plants is quite beautiful & useful but I have always wondered, how do you pronounce Latin?

Interesting conversation with Nickie Bartlett from NFGS has led to me thinking about what I’m trying to achieve I was helping Nickie Bartlett out with the National Forest Gardening Scheme website today, and we had a really interesting side-chat about temp…

To promote the adoption of food forest gardening, creating ready-made planting plans feels like a good way to go One of the strange side-effects of working as a wildlife & food forest garden designer is that I don’t have much time for our own forest garde…

Let’s start forest garden blogging for 2022!

Paths in the forest garden are useful in so many different ways.

Jake has a new website and the blog is back up and running!

Detail of a mostly native windbreak hedge on the eco-homes project On part of the eco-homes project I’m landscaping, there’s a 2m high clay and shale bank. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/mostly-native/

Tired of sowing, growing & munching lettuce?

Part 6 of my online course preview has been livestreamed and is now available on my YouTube channel 🙂 On Wednesdays at 10am BST, I livestream a free preview of my online forest garden course. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/course-livestream-06-canopy/

Part 5 of my online course preview has been livestreamed and is now available on my YouTube channel 🙂 On Wednesdays at 10am BST, I livestream a free preview of my online forest garden course. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/course-livestream-05-veg/

Here’s my current setup of computers & equipment for livestreaming, recording and editing videos for my online forest garden courses.

Part 4 of my online course preview has been livestreamed and is now available on my YouTube channel 🙂 On Wednesdays at 10am BST, I livestream a free preview of my online forest garden course. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/course-livestream-04-protec…

Part 3 of my online course preview has been livestreamed and is now available on my YouTube channel 🙂 Every week on a Wednesday at 10am, I am a livestreaming a free preview of my online forest garden course, as part of my regular Lockdown Livestream. http…

Part 2 of my online course preview has been livestreamed and is now available on my YouTube channel Every week on a Wednesday at 10am, I am a livestreaming a free preview of my online forest garden course, as part of my regular Lockdown Livestream. https:…

Part 1 of my online course preview has been livestreamed and is now available on my YouTube channel Every week for 8 weeks, I’m live presenting a new section of my re-vamped online course, for free, on my regular Lockdown Livestream. https://www.naturewor…

I’m previewing my online forest garden free, as part of my regular Wednesday Lockdown Livestream 1.

Fantastic livestream and Zoom Q&A today, thank you so much to everyone who took part, I hope you found it useful. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/lockdown-livestream-planning-mapping-june-2020/

There is a #ClimateEmergency and the rate of change is incredibly fast. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/warming-stripes/

This Wednesday 3rd June, I’m launching the revamped free mini-course ‘Make a Backyard Forest Plan’, followed by a Zoom Q&A I’m revamping my free mini-course, all about creating a forest garden plan. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/lockdown-livestream-…

Today’s livestream, about my favourite forest garden plants, over on Twitch. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/forest-garden-plants-2020/

Rakesh B, who I met via the National Forest Gardening Scheme, is running an online forest garden design course, from 13 June to 19 July, on weekends These are the details that Rakesh passed on to me, please do share 🙂💚🌳 https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog…

Thank you so much for everyone who attended The Wildlife Forest Garden livestream. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/lockdown-livestream-wildlife-may-2020/

My next free lockdown forest garden livestream is: The Wildlife Forest Garden Wednesday 6th May, 10am BST twitch. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/wildlife-forest-garden-may-2020/

Forest garden perennial vegetable workshop, recorded for your viewing at your leisure As part of my weekly, free, lockdown special livestreams, last Wednesday 29th April, I talked about perennial vegetables and their place in the forest garden. https://ww…

It’s official, as of today, I am being furloughed.

The climate and ecological emergency is happening.

Today’s livestream workshop on Forest Garden Design seemed to go okay. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/forest-garden-design-workshop-april-2020/

Thanks to everyone who turned up for the free online forest garden workshop 😀 https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/small-forest-garden-workshop/

Making a plan for an irregular shaped garden can be tricky.

A smaller forest garden can still contain a diverse range of edible crop plants, you just need to pay attention to the rootstock, species and final sizes Laura on Facebook asked about plants for a smaller forest garden. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog…

Just a quick heads-up, the next free online forest garden workshop will be livestreamed from my Twitch channel at 10am BST on Wednesday 8th April. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/workshop-8-april-2020/

For these difficult times, I’m running a weekly free online forest garden workshop, Wednesdays 10am BST, livestreaming on twitch.tv/forestgardenwales Doing my very small bit from a remote hillside in West Wales, I’ve started livestreaming a free online wo…

Yesterday’s blog description should have read “I’ve spent 2 months *ruminating* about this year’s garden trends and it can be summarised in 2 words: more nature” Apologies, I was tired, I wrote fulminate rather than ruminate. https://www.natureworks.org.u…

I’ve spent 2 months fulminating about this year’s garden trends and it can be summarised in 2 words: more nature I am late to the New Year’s party, missing out on all those 2020 Gardening Almanacs and Things I Will Water Properly This Year guilt lists. ht…

Gross Domestic Product is a pretty useless measure of a country’s prosperity, it’s time to factor in the true cost of economic activity by using life as the measure Don’t know much about ecology, don’t know much economics either but what I do know is what…

A handy list of the Roots and All podcasts Sarah Wilson put out a review of all past Roots and All podcasts & budcasts. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/roots-and-all/

Modular design can make designed meadow planting easier but can it do the same for a forest garden?

My notes from fantastic talk ‘Wild Orchids of Wales’ by Sue Parker, Publicity Officer at Hardy Orchid Society Great talk by Sue Parker at Llechryd & District Gardening Club. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/wild-orchids-of-wales/

My entry into gardening was via the forest garden, so I find the emphasis on the ornamental in mainstream gardening quite perplexing, particularly after reading Benjamin Vogt’s A New Garden Ethic. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/planting-post-wild-wor…

Abigail Lowe at the Botanic Garden Wales is researching which are the most beneficial flowers to plant for hoverflies and other wild pollinators On a recent visit to Botanic Garden Wales, I met up with Abigail Lowe, a PhD student with the Garden’s Science…

My client in Poland wants a Japanese-style garden incorporated into the forest garden, so I made a special trip to meet the staff responsible for the Japanese Garden at Botanic Garden Wales At first glance, the idea of a Japanese Garden is at odds with a…

Humans are strange creatures, capable of abstracting their minds unfathomable distances from their situation. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/local-garden-local-species/