Foraging

Autumn Crafts

Apples, leaves, vines and wreaths...Autumn is a great season for foraging in nature, starting with early mushrooms before the fruit has begun to fall. We use this time at Hazels Cottage to begin preparing for winter, making sure the wood is chopped and stacked for drying so Tom's Hut has a plentiful supply for the colder evenings.

Tidying the garden seems to take so long as there are so many interesting leaves and branches and contorted sticks that will make beautiful decorations. With Sally demanding daily adventures it's uplifting to walk amongst the woodlands near the hut as well as further afield to Red Marley and beyond, foraging for interesting foliage blown down in the early winds. Nature is so beautiful in all its forms, but foremost it is a home to our beloved natural wildlife, so we always make sure to only forage a small varied amount of natural waste.

This year we have begun pressing leaves and making wreaths to capture the beauty that surrounds us here in Pool Hill. If you would like to see the results please subscribe to our email link below where we plan to start uploading our unique mixed media nature captures. Every object we build and create has a unique story; this year our neighbours Rik and Patricia gave us an old outside table and chairs that we lovingly restored with lots of sanding, a boiled linseed mix and some planks of rescued cedar. Tom made the new table top and the tired, broken outside set was transformed - he even filled the knot holes with some interesting little walnut wood plugs and we now have a lovely outdoor crafting space!

We are inspired to create at Pool Hill and are lucky to live in a community where talented artists take inspiration for their work. Gardenening, weaving, jewellery making are just some of the crafts in residence here and nearby Ledbury has a number of little independent shops that are really interesting to browse if you are looking to get away from the mainstream. There are some hidden gems here when you know where to look and we are still discovering more everyday!