After ten months of identifying wildflowers in Ireland, I think it’s time to give a brief overview of how I go about this process. The first question most people ask me is, ‘Do you use an app?’ No, I haven’t used an app. Yet…
Wildflowers
5 Things I Needed After Lockdown: Finding Wildflowers in August
A change of scenery. Headspace. Being reminded of the bigger picture. Friends. Family. These are the things that restored my energy in August. Work, childcare, studying, laundry, meals… the cyclic routine of our everyday lives, good and normal things, started feeling exhausting after the lockdown...
Wildflowers in June and July – The Garden as Teacher
Gardens are teachers. The joy and satisfaction I experience when I spend time in my garden come from a deeply rooted relationship. As I tend my garden, it tends me and my need to nurture, create, and build a relationship with nature, or the non-human world. I tend sick plants, plant seedlings, water pots, add compost. I decide where to create borders, which plants to thin, how to prune shrubs and trees, how often to deadhead flowers. But the garden has a life and agency of its own...
In-Between Spaces and Waiting Places: Identifying Wildflowers in May
But waiting is part of life, for all things, and there’s value in waiting too. Waiting, either actively or passively, is simultaneously an act of acceptance and resistance and anticipation. Accepting the discomfort of uncertainty, yet resisting the urge to become stuck while anticipating change.
Whispering Trees and Forget-Me-Not Skies: Finding Wildflowers in April
It's hard to live far away from your family during the pandemic and the distance feels immense when you need to process a loss or grief. So, I keep walking, despite the fickle weather. I keep writing, despite the stale words. And I look for wildflowers and listen to whispering trees.
New Adventure: Identifying Ireland’s Wildflowers
I’m always stopping on walks to examine flowers, shrubs, and trees but I'm not familiar with many of the plant and bird species in Ireland and I find this weirdly unsettling. This is where ‘Wild Flowers of Ireland and Britain’ come in - I’m hoping to learn more about Ireland by identifying as many plants, trees, and grasses as I can this year. I’d love for you to join me on this adventure!
Wild Library 