ADVENTURES IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

How one writer’s quest to understand the wildlife on our doorstep led to a timely book for the lockdown era…

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VISIT THE CABINET!

When guidelines and circumstances allow, there are some great visitable herb gardens around the country. At the extraordinary Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag in Knaresborough, volunteers have planted a herb garden based on Maud Grieve’s 1931 tome A Modern Herbal, with explanations of what each herb was used for in medieval times (including sweet cecily ‘for flatulence, snakebites, ulcers and gout’). Or when it reopens, visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon; its herb garden includes an array of flowers and herbs that are mentioned in the Bard’s works.