Episode Three: Nathaniel Hughes and Fiona Owen. ‘Weeds in the Heart’
I’m really excited about sharing this conversation with you as it’s with two people whose work I adore. Nathaniel Hughes and Fiona Owen are the writer and artist behind the incredible book Weeds in the Heart. As I mentioned in the episode, I found their book completely by accident in a little bookshop in Stroud when I was away with my partner and children over the new year. It was Fiona’s artwork that first drew me in and upon opening the book I felt myself transported into a world of plants, weeds and utter magic!
As they mention, Fiona and Nathaniel have been working together for around six years creating the Weeds in the Heart books, a living, breathing project that will continue to develop and change with the seasons and the years.
In this conversation, we cover:
Their paths into Herbalism
Working with plants as spirits and allies
Why we don’t always have to ‘consume’ plants as food (something I needed to hear, as you’ll see when I speak of my hunt for wild garlic!)
The need to find our own herbal medicine path that is unique to the place in which we reside
I really do encourage you to practice the meditation that follows this conversation to really get a sense of what Fiona and Nathaniel are speaking about. I also encourage to get their book - it really is the most therapeutic book to read; the combination of Fiona’s illustrations and Nathaniel’s words creates an ethereal experience and it’s a book I often sit and gaze at when my brain needs some time out. It would be a perfect gift for someone need some reassurance or comfort at any time.
You can find the book on the main website:
And Nathianiel’s main school page is:
https://www.schoolofintuitiveherbalism.weedsintheheart.org.uk
And Fiona’s stunning artwork can be found at:
https://johnandfionaowen.weebly.com
Please stay around until the end when I’ll give you a little information about the meditation and writing prompt I’ve created in the follow-up to this conversation.
As always, you can find me over at www.promptedbynature.co.uk or on the Instagram squares with my daily writing prompts @prompted.by.nature
NB. For some reason i can’t get the meditation and writing prompt episode to load on this page. Please search the podcast page on Apple, Google, Anchor, Spotify to get this lovely practice for your creativity <3
