Wilding Weekend – June 2024
Full steam ahead for our third Wilding Weekend. It will be on 15th and 16th June in sunny West Dorset, near Beaminster! Opening hours will be 10.30am to 4.30pm. The garden is wild. Come and have a look. We have wildflower meadows, a cascade of ponds, insect homes, a medieval walkway, a bat-egg (!), mown […]
Wilding Weekend 2024 (Apr24 Update)
Full steam ahead for our third Wilding Weekend. It will be on 15th and 16th June in sunny West Dorset, near Beaminster! Opening hours will be 10.30am to 4.30pm. The garden is wild. Come and have a look. We have wildflower meadows, a cascade of ponds, insect homes, a medieval walkway, a bat-egg (!), mown […]
Saving frogs and forests in Ghana (mar24)
Do you love frogs? You’re not alone. I love them too. Last week, I met an inspiring man – Dr Caleb Ofori-Boeteng – who has made it his life’s mission to champion the cause of frogs in Ghana. We were in London at an event organised by Rainforest Trust UK which is supporting him and his work. […]
To burn or not to burn (Mar24)
Are fires the best way of getting rid of garden waste or clearing landscapes? I believe that the answer is generally ‘no’! But garden bonfires are ubiquitous and even conservation bodies are using burning as part of their land management plans – for example burning the brash from hedge-laying or trimming and site clearance of […]
Why do scything & wilding go hand in hand (oct23)
Our scything day was joyous. Watching the scythers sweep through the grass was a totally different experience from using a ride-on mower or strimmer. And, I learned that there are multiple benefits to this approach too. For a start, it’s far better for wildlife that may be lurking in the undergrowth. Our scythers found several […]
Our Wilding Weekend Was Wonderful! (Jun23)
It was tremendously exciting to get such positive feedback from visitors to our Wilding Weekend – some were ecstatic. It wasn’t just about the wilding we’ve done – they loved meeting other like-minded people and finding out more about what wilding might mean for them. As many of you will know not everyone has the […]
COME TO OUR WILDING WEEKEND ON 17TH & 18TH OF JUNE 2023
During the weekend there will be guided tours, talks, exhibitors and stalls with information and advice about wilding, as well as things to buy. Conservation experts will show you the wildflower meadows, ponds, and grasslands identifying the insects, birds, reptiles, and amphibians that they find. Julia will be telling visitors about the challenges and successes […]
No Fence Farming in Romania (May23)
We cycled for over 100 miles and didn’t go through a gate. The Transylvanian landscape was without fences, hedges, or ditches. Travelling by train across Europe to get to Romania the lack of fences signalled an entirely different type of farming. In this case, there were huge ploughed fields or monoculture crops stretching into […]
Our Wilding Weekend in June 2023 (Mar Update)
On 17th and 18th June 2023, my husband Jamie Macdonald and I will be hosting the second Wilding Weekend at our home in Dorset. Find out more about it here. WE WILL BE SUPPORTING – THE NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME Ticket sales will be donated to the National Garden Scheme (NGS) charities. Here’s a link to […]
INSPIRATIONAL HOTELS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA (Feb23)
We weren’t far from Singapore, but it was another world. Two tropical Indonesian islands to the East of Bintan, which is just South of the Asian city-state. I have to admit that I’m a very critical tourist – I generally challenge hotels on everything including what’s happening to their sewage, how they source their […]
