ST201906

Simple pleasures

The storyso far

ThebusinessstartedbackinJuly2010,
whenI founda walledgardeninwest
Suffolk,previouslyrentedbya friend.
It wastheidealspace,aboutanacre,
with3m-highwallsgivingprotection
fromtheelements(andsomeofthelocal
wildlife).It’sbeena joytoworkin.There’s
somethingquitemagicalabouta walled
garden;thewallshaveconsiderable
horticulturalhistory[seeTheSimple
Things, issue83,formoreonwalled
gardens]andprovidea gorgeousbackdrop
forf loralphotography.InitiallyI just
wanteda plotthatwouldbelargeenough

Anne-Marie’swalled

garden(opposite)

sheltersher

bedsbutalso

outbuildingswhere

shesharesherlove

offlowerswith

customersin

workshops.Elegant

stems(aboveleft)

collectedtogether

in glassbottles

bringsummerinto

thehome;Anne-

Marie(above),out

cuttingdelphiniums

Anne-Marie Curtin is the f lower grower and f loral artist behind

ForageFor ( foragefor.co.uk). She produces seasonal f lowers

(cut, edible and dried) in an old walled garden in Suffolk. She

communicates her ‘seed to vase’, ‘seed to plate’ and ‘seed to press’

knowledge to others through courses held in the garden.

Find her on Instagram: @fora eforf lowergarden.

There are so many things about the f lower

garden that give me pleasure: the f loral

abundance in high summer; the butterf lies

and bees; the tranquillity of the space; and

sharing it with others. The greatest

pleasure, however, is sowing a seed and

seeing the f lower and plant tell its story

through the seasons, all the way to the

final arrangement and event. It feels like

nature’s own cyclical work of art.

to grow f lowers on, but I ended up with

lovely outbuildings, too, which we cleared

for consultations, courses and workshops.

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