What are lichens? They are a mutualistic symbiosis. The plant body (or thallus) consists of two quite different organisms together in an intimate association; a fungus and a microscopic green plant (an alga). The fungus makes up the bulk of the thallus and the algal cells are buried within it. Or rather, imagine the fungus[…]Read more…
The foundation of this Winter Solstice dressing is made from yew (Taxus baccata) and larch (Larix decidua), symbols of transformation, rebirth and spiritual connection. Simply as an evergreen, the yew represents perpetual life and hope; whilst birch (Betula pendula) acknowledges the turning of the Wheel. With them is holly (Ilex aquifolium) for protection and in[…]Read more…
The dressings include Thuja plicata, Pyrus (pear), purple pittosporum, Lysimachia clethroides, Spirea, Panicum elegans, amaranth, medlars, rosehips, pyracantha (orange) and callicarpa (purple) berries, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Verbena bonariensis, the last of the dahlias, zinnias & chrysanthemums and pumpkins ‘Jack Be Little’, grown in our cutting garden. At this time of withdrawal comes opportunity to pause,[…]Read more…
“The garden surrounding the Chalice Well has been created to allow and support the mystical experience and therefore the relationship with nature and its kingdoms is a conscious and harmonious one.“ From The Chalice Well – a place of sanctity, healing and peace “‘God’ does not pour out His beneficence like rain from the skies,[…]Read more…
The Madonna statue honouring the last rays of summer is decorated with Panicum elegans, rowan berries, amaranth, vines, sunflowers, yellow and orange dahlias, yellow calendula and acorns collected by our visitors. The Well is dressed with the foliage of Thuja plicata, Malus, Pathenocissus quinquefolia and spirea; and flowers and fruit in gratitude for the harvest[…]Read more…
The meadow has been looking particularly beautiful in the early autumn sunshine. The light, already mellowing, illuminates a hundred suns of corn marigold (Glebionis segetum), their central pads filled with pollen. All are celebrated in the flowering rays of the Buddleja x weyeriana ‘Sungold’, also often full of feasting bees and butterflies. The bright yellows[…]Read more…
We have begun the harvest in the orchards at Chalice Well. It has been a good year and the trees are abundant with apples, up to half as much again as normal. Mike and Anthony are busy picking them for our juice, carefully selecting the variety that is ripest at the time. Over the season[…]Read more…
A dressing made on Lammas/Lughnasadh Eve. First fruits & the grain harvest. Hazel, spirea, Euphorbia oblongata, ash keys, Amaranth, poppy heads, dahlias, calendula, cosmos, plums from our orchard. The ridiculously exuberant dahlias in this Well dressing are “Penhill Watermelon”, a “dinner plate” variety as they are known in floristry. They have certainly lived up to[…]Read more…
A meditation on impermanence …
“The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose” Hada Bejar With good weather, summer is a celebration of the rose in the UK. We have a large number of different types of roses within the Chalice Well garden including several groupings of Rosa ‘Blanche Double de Coubert’ with semi-double white flowers and[…]Read more…
