
Logbook - January 2025
Hello,
Every day, as I sit at my desk to work, I look a the pictures I added on the wall, year after year. Today I want to share one with you. It is an illustration of Emy Lou Holmes. I don’t know this artist, I don’t know their work but this scene on this card caught my eyes in this very small shop in Bristol. The foxgloves, the lupins, this tools shed and the gardener watering veg. The green too is marvelous. It caught my eyes because it is a dream of mine to create such a place, to grow our edible food, medicinal herbs and tinctorial plants. A garden for work, for sustainability but also a sanctuary for creativity and relaxation.

With my partner we started this last spring on our croft. We are far from it but we know it will take time and years to achieve this project.

Last year job has been about make the ground workable. We are starting from scratch, which in a hand is a good thing, we are free to design our garden as we wish. In another hand it means to build windbreaks all along the limits and a first polycrub before to try to grow anything. Heavy work before the more relish part of sowing growing, harvesting.
Meanwhile I am taking a new turn in my jounrey in the world of plant – that I started 6 years ago - by studying theorically and practically plants in a larger manner. Which means I don’t focus only on which plant produce which colour. I am going far beyond this path by studying the plants growing on the islands, their story and history, their link with the land and with the people.



I tell you about this because it is influencing my sewing time this year. Until March I will spend a lot of time to create a stock hopefully sufficient to provide a large selection to the different suppliers and my Online boutique. Most of the year I will be less in my studio and more outisde for field trips and building a garden.

Also, at the beginning of winter, I took the decision to not take part to the 2025 Craft Fairs and use this time for studying. However I am taking part to Heb Celft and Open Studios Hebrides, so there is some opportunities to meet you.
As I am really attached to this website and the bond I have with all of you, I will document my work with regular logbooks and articles here.
Last but not least.
I know the online boutique is looking a bit sorry right now… be patient I am coming back with new colours, new designs and even a new collection. By the begginning of spring it will be bright again.

3 comments
Hello Fi and Peter,
Thank you very much for leaving comment under this article.
I have now purchased the book you mentionned Fi and it is a fscinating one.
Peter, I hope we will get a better weather this year too. I can’t wait to see what we are going to achieve this year for starting.
Hi Mathilde
There’s a wonderful book called Flora Celtica plants and people on Scotland which has many stories and information about native Scottish plants. Probably be able to find one second hand on EBay or I think the library might have a copy if you want to look first before buying.
Fascinating to learn what you and your partner are proposing to do over the years to come. I hope that the weather is good enough to be able to bring life to all the plants, herbs and vegetables that you are trying to grow. Inevitably there will be some failures but that is life, we humans learn by trial and error.