Wild Things - New book in collaboration with our friend Hannah Gallagher!

Hannah and I have been friends for the longest time. Our friendship goes so far back, we can’t even remember! 

Together, we have created a book which journeys into our hedgerows and local natural spaces and celebrates some of our favourite wild plants. In the book you will find twelve stories of familiar wild things growing in Ireland, and along with each one, a fun recipe or activity that allows you to bring the enjoyment nature into your homes. From the cheery dandelion to the magical plantain, the stories bring together our curiosity, observations, rememberings and our learnings. We really wanted to create a book that celebrated the beauty of the nature we have on our doorsteps here in Donegal and country-wide, and also to create something that brought the reader a sense of connection to nature. Or reconnection to it.

The idea for Wild Things was originally born during the pandemic. During those months and years, there was a collective moment of taking stock. The pace of life slowed right down. And here in Ireland, a lot of us were lucky to spend more time in nature. We were very grateful for that. To be able to step out into our gardens or wander down country roads was a blessing - and nature became the centre stage of our everyday life.  Our chance to breathe and to get out. There was a tangible shift from spending time in nature to spending time with nature. Getting to know it. A friendship with it. Hannah and I - we really wanted to create something that captured, encouraged and nurtured this simple and positive friendship. Friendship with nature and our surroundings. Friendship with the community of flora and fauna that we live alongside. How to be a good friend to them, understand their characters and peculiarities, how they grow, how they survive, what they need and what they don’t need. We wanted the book to act as a reminder of all of those things, with beautiful designs and illustrations from cover to cover to bring the reader into the colourful and intriguing world of our wildlife. 

At the core of the book is the concept of friendship, of being a good neighbour. This instinct, which we all have, can bring great joy and a sense of belonging to the area in which you live. So for us, forming these close friendships with the wild life surrounding our homes, good neighbourliness, felt natural, and it was something we wanted to keep reminding ourselves of. And we wanted to share that with others, and especially with the younger generations. Nature helps us all find balance in life.

Laura
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Wild Things is now available to purchase from Hannah's online shop which you can visit here!