Cultivating Presence

Reassessing how and why we garden

with Alys Fowler

10am - 4pm (arrive at 9.30 for coffee/tea)

£150

Group Size - 10 people

“The wonderful Annie Dillard once wrote ‘how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives’  in an essay on existential tensions between presence and productivity. I often think of this essay when gardening, because how we garden is also a measure of who we are. Let us come together to explore this idea. Let us examine how and why we garden and look for ways in which we might create better relations with these places and all those that dwell in them, from the soil community to the many more-than-humans who call our gardens home.” Alys Fowler

We will look at what it means to be in good faith with these spaces so that we can move from trying to dictate or control what happens to a place of reciprocity and being in genuine community with all that live there.  By learning to let go of the fight—be that certain insects, the wrong soil, or a desire for a certain aesthetic—so that we can stop intervening and starting responding to place, its soils and learn to heal both ourselves and our processes.

We will look at composting our egos, learn how to use plants to heal both the soil and our bodies and explore co-design as a ecological tool through seed saving, landrace breed and insect-led design. The day will focus on exploring ideas and learning together and is inclusive to all sizes and shapes of gardens. Part workshop, part retreat, there will be time spent out in the garden with meditation and journaling exercises and we will end the day together around the fire circle to share reflections and cake.

Alys Fowler is a highly respected gardener and writer. She trained at the Royal Horticultural Society Wisley, The New York Botanical Gardens and The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. For many years she wrote weekly column on gardening for the Guardian Weekend Magazine and is the author of many books, including Hidden Nature which was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize in 2018 and Eat What You Grow in 2021. Her latest book, a love letter to peat bogs, Peatlands, was published in 2025. She now lives in Wales where she is creating a new garden and studying for a PhD.

Refreshments

Alison will prepare a delicous vegetarian lunch featuring produce from the garden and scrumptious savoury tarts made for us by Beth, the Freerange Chef. There will be home made biscuits on arrival and we will round up the day with tea and home made cake to ensure that your day will be as nourishing as it is informative. If you have any specific dietary requests do let us know on the booking form.

What to Bring

Check the weather forecast before you travel and ensure you bring appropriate clothing, whether that’s waterproofs or sun hats, or possibly both!  You may wish to bring a notebook and camera too.

Getting Here

Directions will be emailed to you a couple of weeks before the workshop. Use Damson Farm rather than the postcode on Google Maps.

Accessible Payment Options

We would like this workshop to be accessible to those are on lower incomes, particularly, though not exclusively, gardeners or other land workers. If the full price is a stretch for you please email alison@alisonjenkins.co.uk to chat about the options.

Cancellation policy

As a small business it’s not sustainable to offer refunds. However if you need to cancel your place up to 28 days before the event you will be offered a credit towards another workshop.   After that time, the offer only applies if we’ve been able to re-sell the place. It’s not possible to promote cancelled places for re-sale less than 4 days before the event.