Ffern

Among the blooming heather • Autumn 26

At the end of summer, the heather blooms…

On the moors of Northumberland, sculpted by smooth knowes and rocky crags, the heather rolls away to the horizon in a quilt of grape, burgundy, mauve, softest lilac - its honey-herbaceous scent called into life by the late summer sun, harvested by hot sleepy bees.

Autumn 26 bottles those scents and colours - shading them towards dusk, to be illumined again by the rise of the harvest moon.

°.☾.࿔*:⋆

How to make an anthotype

Anthotype prints were first developed in the 19th century. They are created using light sensitive plant pigments to create images through sun exposure. They’re sustainable but ephemeral, so photos or scans are the best way to record the results - you can then admire how the print continues to change 🌞

Here is our guide to creating one - a good activity for these endless sunny days.

1. First collect plants or objects you’d like to print with.
2. Gather fresh heavily pigmented ingredients - we have used beetroot, turmeric, spinach and blackberries - and blend.
3. Measure out ¼ ingredient purée to ¾ rubbing alcohol and combine.
4. Paint around four layers of your solution onto sheets of card.
5. Dry flat in a dark or shadowed space such as in a cupboard.
6. Once dry, lay your gathered objects or plants flat on top of the sheets.
7. Cover with weighted perspex or a thin sheet of glass and expose to direct sunlight.
8. Prepare 1 litre of water in a mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Stir well.
9. Remove your objects from the paper to reveal darker printed areas, then rinse in your solution to help fix the print.
10. Hang or lie flat to dry, and watch the colour change.

Meadowtation • Lunasa

‘Meadowtation’ is Richard’s word for the blissful nature of scything. It is a simple act that is ancient - with roots stretching to Roman times.

The author, Leo Tolstoy understood how the scythe binds man to nature. We love these words from Anna Karenina:

“The longer Levin mowed, the oftener he felt the moments of unconsciousness in which it seemed not his hands that swung the scythe, but the scythe mowing of itself, a body full of life and consciousness of its own, and as though by magic, without thinking of it, the work turned out regular and well finished of itself.”

Many thanks again to Richard Brown of Wild Scythe in King’s Lynn, Norfolk 🌾

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‘It looks a bit like a moonscape at this moment in time…’

In our Found Sound for July, meets gardener and artist Errol Reuben Fernandes, Head of Horticulture at south east London’s Horniman Museum and Gardens.

Errol leads Alice to an overlooked place that’s been special to him since childhood - an abandoned brownfield site that nonetheless thrums with life… 🌿🌞

Found Sounds are sonic scrapbooks of field recordings and interviews with people whose work helps us strengthen our connection to the natural world. They are part of As the Season Turns, an award-winning podcast created by Ffern.

Listen wherever you find your podcasts

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Sounds of Scything • Lunasa

The harvest’s first cuts of wheat have a certain timbre to them - a swishing, deep vibration felt through to the scythesman’s fingertips.

As the blade cycles through wheat, it creates a sound as sweet as music. It is the sound of fields being reaped to make food, as nature shifts from growth to ripeness.

With thanks to Richard Brown of Wild Scythe in King’s Lynn, Norfolk 🌾

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Ready for the harvest • Lunasa

The vanishing art of traditional haymaking requires many tools. Here is a list of those shown here…

Root Knife, pitch fork, scythe strickle, grass hook, bill hook, brushing hook, cut down scythe blade, scythe blade used for testing, screw driver, French peening enclumette, replica bronze age sickle, pea scythe, three-pronged fork, bakery shovel.

With thanks to Richard Brown of Wild Scythe in King’s Lynn, Norfolk 🌾

Corn Dollies • Lunasa

To celebrate the coming harvest, we sat with Rhia Davenport, , who has practised the ancient folk craft of wheat weaving for over ten years.

Corn dollies are effigies for the harvest, plaited from the dried ears and straw of cereal crops. They are said by some to honour the Corn Spirit, while for others they serve as amulets displayed above the hearth.

Taking inspiration from this time-honoured Lunasa tradition, our fragrance blends hay extracted from sweetgrass with the green-toned vetiver root.

Thank you to Rhia, who crafted our Devonshire Neck corn dolly at Simply Straw Farm in the heart of Staffordshire, one of the only farms in Britain that grows traditional straw for corn dollies 🌾 ✨

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Permanent Collection • Lunasa

Lunasa is the festival of first harvest, when the year’s hard work reaps its reward. To celebrate this ancient festival, which begins today, we have launched a new fragrance to join our Permanent Collection.

Kumquat leads the dance, giving way to hazy florals - neroli’s golden nectar, jasmine and Rose de Mai, spiced by nutmeg. Sweet hay and sparkling vetiver recall heat rising from the earth into the crops, while amber benzoin and brown-eyed rock rose are grounding, conjuring the sun-baked earth.

Lunasa is available to all for one week, until 7th August. After this time, it will be available to Ffern ledger members only 🌾 🌻

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