Hello friends. How are you? I went for a walk on the dunes by Meols early one morning last week and they were covered with leafy spurge and bluebells, a striking colour combination. I gathered a little posy of ribwort plantain, fumitory, spring beauty, shepherd purse, the first buttercups of the year and some herb Robert (aka stinking Bob! – pick the leaves and crush it and you’ll understand why). I treated myself to a little playtime, working on some paper interpretations of the wildflowers, here are the results. What have you spotted out and about this last week?
🌿 Nature Notes
Garlic mustard - Jack-by-the-hedge - is one of those plants I find genuinely difficult to walk past, and its everywhere this year, so my walks are taking longer than usual. It’s a biennial, so I have to make the most of it when it’s here, and honestly, in my eyes, everything about this plant is worth looking at. The luminous white of those tiny four-petalled flowers, the curve of the stem, the faintest copper tint on the freshest leaves as they unfurl. It smells faintly of garlic when you crush it. I've been making paper studies of it since 2022 and I'm still not done with it. It's also, apparently, considered a highly invasive weed in the American Midwest, where communities organise pulling parties with industrial waste disposal to manage it. Imagine! I've written more about this in this week's Substack post, if you'd like to read it. → The Paper Wildflower
✂️ From the Studio
I've been pulling out my old Garlic Mustard studies this week - sketches, photographs, cutouts, paper experiments - and it's made me think again about what I'm trying to do with Form & Freedom. It's the same impulse: look closely at something, then find your own way of interpreting it. Not a formula. Not a right answer. Just the plant, the paper, and what you notice. I’m currently experimenting with crushing paper and painting it to create a suitably textured surface for those gorgeous leaves. I don't know whether it will work, but it'll take me a step closer. Watch this space, I will share the results.
📅 Come Find Me
Summer Evening Classes - Block One: Roses & Hibiscus - 14th May to 4th June Block Two: Peonies - 25th June to 16th July Studio 3, Hoylake · Book one block or both (save £35). Please check dates before booking. → Book here or email ling@paperbydragonfly.com
Form & Freedom - A Wildflower Day Workshop Tuesday 20th May · Studio 3, Hoylake · £95
Tuesday 20th May · Studio 3, Hoylake · £95 A day to slow down and look properly. Real flowers (as wild as I can get), all the paper and materials you need, my guidance - and space to relax and make something that's genuinely yours. Plants and food provided. A few spaces left. → Book here
Book here or email ling@paperbydragonfly.com
The shop is always open - wildflower kits, botanical supplies, and everything you need to start slow-making at home:
Until next time,
The countdown is on - the Paper Blossom Masterclass at Ruthin Craft Centre is happening in just over a week, and I'm very excited! Your next chance to join a Masterclass will be 'Exploring Autumn', taking place in Keswick, Norfolk (just outside Norwich). Go here for more details.
