Tower and Town, September 2025 (view the full edition)Poppy Okotcha - A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us
A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us is Okotcha's first book - a delightful mix of elegantly-written reflections on the plot of land she has taken to her heart, explanations of her regenerative approach to horticulture, practical gardening tips and simple recipes. Her enthusiasm is so infectious that you immediately want to seek out the nettles you normally hate to make soup or rush into the garden to gather seed for next year's crops. Structured as an annual cycle, the book works through The Wheel of the Year, a neo-pagan calendar of seasonal festivals. It can be read as a month-by-month guide but it's also easy to check back when you decide to make a pond, find out when to sow or harvest broad beans or knock up some Easter biscuits. Okotcha will be visiting home territory as she was a student at St John's Marlborough after a childhood spent first in North London and then South Africa. Looking for independence and adventure, she became a model after leaving school, but soon realised the jet-setting life was not for her. Instead she has sought solace and satisfaction from learning how much a patch of soil can nourish us if we work with it and listen to what it needs. Already inspired by her approach I'm looking forward to gleaning more on how to get the most from my garden while nurturing it for future generations. Poppy Okotcha will be talking to the award-winning nature writer Michael Malay in the Town Hall at 1pm on Saturday 27 September. Genevieve Clarke |
