Since my recent post on the resurgence of indoor plants in Britain, I came across a few things which further confirm that there is a trend. Here they are:

The Houseplant book
As recently as Nov 5th another book on the subject entered the market. Called “House of Plants”, this is a local effort albeit published by “serious gardening” publishers Frances and Lincoln. The authors, Caro and Rose, started with a stall on Broadway Market little over a year ago, selling their self-grown plants. They now specialize in self-made hanging planters and locally made ceramic pots along with air plants, succulents and other indoor greenery and have opened their own shop Ro Co in North London. “House of Plants” is their first book (which I appropriately enough discovered in a Broadway Market bookshop).

Caro and Rose also have a designers' background and indeed offer bespoke event styling services with plants. Unlike the books mentioned in my previous post, however, theirs caters for those who genuinely care for their plants, i.e. they give plenty of horticultural advice such as how to propagate plants via leaf cuttings.

The Forestarium entrepreneur
I learned that someone working in my local café has started her own business, too, creating bespoke “plant terrariums”. Faustine, who tells me she will go travelling for three months before concentrating on the business, calls them forestariums. She creates little scenes and often includes tiny figures or items personally relevant to her clients. Check out her Instagram account here.

The Evening Standard embrace :-)
On Nov 10th, London’s free daily The Evening Standard also declared indoor plants “hip”: In her weekly “Homes and Property” gardening column, Pattie Barron wrote about the trend for indoor gardening – triggered, no doubt, by the upcoming “festival” [her term] that was

The RHS London Urban Garden Show
This took place last weekend and was the first ever, i.e. a new addition to the show calendar of the Royal Horticultural Society.

There was a great programme of talks, curated by co-curators at large CityScapes. They paired two speakers on each topic which made for interesting juxtapositions. 
Take first seminar Urban Agriculture:  Richard Ballard talked about his fascinating enterprise Growing Underground which - in a tunnel 33 metres under the streets of London - grows microgreens for restaurants with the help of hydroponics and LED lights. I'd read about them in the only issue of WIRED magazine I ever bought and Ballard's talk was the one reason I dragged myself out of bed on a rainy Saturday to arrive at the Urban Garden Show early. He was complemented by Sean Gifford from Sky Farmers who also grow food and deliver it to restaurants etc. - but chose the exact opposite in terms of location to do so: London's roof tops.

A seminar called Green is the new Black saw founder and editor Tom Loxley of Rakesprogess talk about how this brand-new print magazine came about and why he thinks it is viable and tapping into a much wider trend. He linked it to the general "Slow-Movement"  and a revaluation of crafts. In fact, he echoed my own long-held conviction that there is a new "Arts and Crafts" movement - akin to the one  in reaction to the Industrial Revolution. Right now, we are witnessing one in reaction to the Digital Revolution though it may not (yet?) have a figurehead like William Morris & Friends. 

He was followed by Dr Catherine Horwood, garden historian and author of the highly recommendable Potted History: The Story of Plants in the Home, who spoke about the wider context and showed that gardening in the city really isn't anything new. In fact, the Lindley Library currently shows an exhibition called The City Gardener, inspired by Thomas Fairchild's book of the same name which was first published in 1722.

It was nice to meet the guys from GardenTags again whom I'd first come across at GROW London in June. They were promoting their free app, explaining its benefits to the audience. Their social network for gardeners seems to do well and I think it is a truly good idea. Their co-lecturer in the seminar Gardening and Social Media was Michael Perry: self-styled Mr PlantGeek and under this moniker successfully busy on seemingly every media channel (social or otherwise), spreading the love for plants.

I had been surprised to see such a large number of elderly people – well, a generation or two above my own – at the Urban Garden Show, and perhaps less of a young crowd than I had expected. Quite probably the RHS’s traditional members came, dutifully, for this new show from their society, too. What did they make of it, I wonder? And was it the RHS's declared intention to cater for this clientele as much as for a new target group - or were they simply not entirely sure of whom to expect? For Perry introduced his audience to various social media channels - what they are, how they work and what might be in there for a keen gardener. 

Now, I may not be on social media thus far myself, for a number of reasons, but of course I do know about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest & Co. So this talk clearly was geared towards the older generation and accordingly several younger people left half-way through. I'm sure many seniors would have left, too - as they likely are on social media themselves already - but politeness kept them on their seats. That's not to say, of course, that Perry's presentation was boring. Just that there is a fairly small demographic which still would have been unfamiliar with its contents. This kind of introduction seemed to sit strangely with the rest of the talks. I for one, at least, would have expected something far more specific here.

Neither could I help wondering what the large portion of grey- or white heads in the audience (and I don't mean the fashionably dyed-grey...) made of seminar Greening Grey Britain? It not only introduced the RHS's own initiative of that name, but the lovely The Edible Bus Stop as well as the work of aforementioned CityScapes. Over the past few years I've seen several examples of the latter two in real life and very much liked their practical as well as sometimes irreverent, sometimes intellectual take on the subject of gardening. Especially CityScapes contributions strongly veer towards conceptual art and no surprise here since their tagline is "growing art in the city". It's  not your average fare at a RHS London show...

If the traditional RHS clientele were surprise, they didn't show it. Sure, an elderly lady with ringlets asked where the money for all these activities and installations came from - and you half-expected it would be followed by the comment "I hope no taxpayers' money is squandered on this" - but really, she seemed more like a journalist who couldn't quit asking questions simply because she'd reached retirement age. So overall, everyone I saw and talked to seemed very positive about this departure into waters new by the RHS. I hope there will be more of its kind. It's one more step towards including as many people as possible and raise awareness for the importance of plants - indoors and out, in the largely untouched as well as in the rural and the urban environment.

Autumn to me isn't autumn without decorating with its season-specific bounty. Top of the list, of course, are colourful leaves of all shapes, hues and sizes which we pick up and then arrange at home in myriad ways to display their fleeting beauty. Likewise, I can think of little more beautiful than a huge arrangement of anything we could find on a walk outdoors: wild asters, grasses of all kinds, hop bines (Humulus lupulus) with large bunches of hop cones that weaved through and over a hedge. Or Old man's beard (Clematis vitalba). Bare rose branches sparkling with hips, fruit-laden twigs of e.g. privet (Ligustrum) or snowberries (Symphoricarpos), interesting seed pods and the dead stems of, say, burdock (Arctium).

But the most fun for my money is to be had from getting creative with acorns and conkers.

I've never outgrown my love for conkers. Each year, I find myself unable to resist bending down and stuffing every pocket to bursting point with these marvels of beauty. And I don't care about the odd looks I get! I'd so love a desk in "conker" - that is, made of wood in this incredible colour, gloss and smooth finish which is simply crying out to be touched. Alas, that's not possible as the conkers shrivel and turn matte and dull within days, especially indoors. So the next best thing is to spend a whole afternoon handling them with some fun results at the end. Which is what I have done every autumn of my childhood and have reintroduced when I had my own children. And they love it.

Since they are pretty popular in Germany, it surprised me to find the concept of crafting "little conker men", as we loosely call them, unknown amongst those I've met in Britain. I've lost count of the times other children, mums, even teachers reacted rapturously on seeing them, usually asking to join in. I've held special "workshops" at my children's school and even used it as the main "event" at a birthday party where it also met with an enthusiastic response. Maybe I should start doing it professionally...

So what are "little conker men", then? As you will have figured out from the pictures: it's conkers joined together to resemble creatures. Strong glue may work, but without the aid of a glue gun I find the smooth skin of conkers and acorns makes it tricky indeed and much prefer joining them with matchsticks. Or toothpicks. You drill a hole into the conkers where you'd like to join them and push the matchstick in as the joint. Depending on whether you want "legs", "arms" and a "neck" or not, you either sink them in completely - shortening them if necessary - or leave them visible. A drop of glue into the hole or on the end of the matchstick may help but isn't really necessary. It's trickier to find a balance for your creature.

Of course, it's not just conkers and acorns you should consider. Anything you've gathered and  like can be used. Cones are brilliant, as are beechnuts and their shells. Sycamore seeds or maple keys make lovely wings, for instance. The seeds of lime trees (without the "wing") can become bulging eyes, or antennae, or a tail. I once turned the stalk of a pumpkin into an elephant's trunk. The only limit is your imagination.  And while personally I'm a "purist" who doesn't like using any "artificial" materials, many children enjoy adding bobbles or pompoms or those wibbly-wobbly google eyes you can buy in craft shops. If you intend to keep your creations on the windowsill, shelf or mantelpiece for a little longer however, don't use things that rot or go mouldy quickly.

Children in particular love combining a walk in the woods or a stroll in the park with a "treasure hunt" for natural materials to use. Much more fun that way! You could even turn it into a casual nature lesson: What is this? Where does it come from? Et cetera. While visiting places like arboretums or big gardens with a large variety of (tree) species usually yields the most diverse materials, this isn't necessary at all. In fact, too many different "ingredients" to choose from may even stifle the imagination. Much like when you want to go out  and feel overwhelmed by the choice on offer so you end up doing nothing (or only that which you always do). 

What else do you need? Little. If you have a glue gun, that's great. I only have glue in tubes, such as UHU. For unadulterated fun I'd recommend something like a wax cloth to protect your table or other work surface. Then the sticks: matchsticks, wooden skewers or tooth picks tend to be stronger and easier to use as joints than twigs. Use pruners to pinch off the match heads or to shorten your sticks to size. To drill the holes into conkers and acorns etc., we use a small hand driller, a bit like a screwdriver. Obviously you should be careful when using it and small children should leave it to adults to drill holes for them. Anything else? No - just bring a bit of time and your imagination and you're ready to go. Have fun!