The things you never get to see

Of course I try and make this life look as idyllic as possible. I hope not in a horrendously fake and whitewashed sugary sort of way, but in a ‘god, isn’t there enough awfulness in the world?’ sort of way. I had an odd sort of conversation with someone I had written a blog post for about how candour was unusual. What had I said that was so outré? That I had been sick with nerves every time Dean Hearne came for a shoot. Trust me, I was. Not just because I absolutely hate having my photograph taken (and I truly do), but also because when one of the last words in tasteful interiors styling is coming to stay and the wallpaper is falling off the walls in your spare bedroom, it is hard not to feel inadequate. 

Why did Grow & Gather need to be written? 

I resisted hard making this a ‘how-to’ or a project based book, there are enough of them already and also google. The bit of gardening that is hardest is to know how and when to enjoy it, how to accept that nature will do its thing despite you (and in spite of you) and that’s not a problem, that’s absolutely magic. We need to unlearn a lot of the colonialism of gardening and develop much more a of light touch. More respect. More just knowing that the process is the thing, not the outcome. 

Who is the book for? 

People who adore flowers and glorious, deep imagery. People who get a tingle in their fingers when they see a really sumptuous book. But also It is a book for people who get in their own way. Over-thinkers, over-workers, people who have been taught that their value is in what they do, their achievements and their outcomes. There is space for you in this book to just be.

How did you find the process of writing the book? 

I am terrible for getting caught up the rush and the stress of everyday life, the to-do lists and the worrying about bindweed and slugs and how I haven’t pinched out the dahlias. It was only when I started writing about my garden and my field that I truly noticed the absolute beauty of it as it is; the ecosystems and the tiny shifts and changes everyday.  Through keeping my gardener’s journal and sharing it through my newsletter every Sunday night, I found the joy of it. The book is an extension of that, a narrative about my thoughts and feelings as a grower. 

I also had the benefit of one of the most talented photographers today, Dean Hearne, coming to shoot it. I was sick with nerves every time he visited but it was such a privilege to have him capture my space.

Dean is efficient enough to delete any of the really unflattering shots, the ones where I started to laugh halfway through, or the ones where Hugo suddenly appeared in the middle of things and really needed to tell me something quite urgently (he does this a lot). But I really wanted to show you some of the photos that didn’t quite make it into the book, however much I wanted them to. 

The practice shoot

After I had been approached by the publisher and asked to write a proposal, wife and husband team, Dean and Jeska, came to visit. Had we known about covid, we probably would have taken a lot more photos, but we didn’t. I had met Dean before and he had taken that photo of me for House and Garden at Forde Abbey which remains the most favourite picture of me I have ever seen. I am going to assume you know the one I mean but just in case you don’t, here. The light is very different at my house but I was overjoyed that Dean’s style means that he captures the tones in a very similar way. He didn’t have much choice to be fair, I just sat there saying ‘darker, richer’ at regular intervals and completely undermining their creative processes.

The profile pictures

The proposal needed a picture of me in it so there was no getting away from it, I was going to have to stand in front of the camera and grin and bear it. We took these pictures in the morning light and so what you can’t tell is that the brown linen dress is actually a Maisie Makes apron that Naomi gave me, over my office clothes. I hated them all at the time, but actually I have come to love the looking at the camera cup shot. No one tells you this about looking at photos of yourself; you will initially loathe them, and then six months later, somehow they look completely different. I thought this was just me but apparently it is a common phenomenon. If you have any possible explanation for why it is, please do share.

First amongst equals

Dean is not only a talent, but he is also a careful perfectionist. We set up a shot and he shoots it. And then he says ‘one more’ just in case. He checks, double checks, and take a spare. Which means that we have lots of very similar but ever so slightly different pictures, all of which I love, and we can only use one.

It is not a coincidence that most of these pictures are of dogs; photographs of flowers can be made to sit still (even I can pose if told to do so). My gorgeous dogs were trickier.

The ones I ruined by using the wrong wood

Trying to be trendy, we attempted some flat lays. Some of the tools that I use everyday, and some demonstrating colour combinations of focals, foliage and fillers. However, the light was a little strong and the wood was a little grainy. Such a shame because I loved the concept and we worked hard on them, but they just didn’t quite work.

So there you go. For every photograph in the book, there are probably another ten that didn’t quite make the cut. It makes me so sad that they might never see the light of day and I love the fact that I can share them with you.