THE SEASON AHEAD
Springtide
“See, the grass is full of stars, Fallen in their brightness; Hearts they have of shining gold, Rays of shining whiteness.”
Marjorie Pickthall
GATHER
If you’re in Hong Kong, join The Floristry for a spring-themed workshop in Gough Street’s Meadow Room. With a calendar of events designed to celebrate the season, learn the art of flower arranging whilst connecting with other members. Available to members only, book online now.
In the UK, Somerset-based Georgian hotel, The Newt, is hosting Dawn Walk: Reawakening (9 and 23 March). Walk the estate with Arthur Cole who has an ear for birds and other wildlife at daybreak.
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra will perform at Gardens by the Bay for the annual Music in the Meadow (12 March). Bring along heaped winter salads, a cosy throw, and ornamental bunches of spring flowers to make a seasonal spread.
GROW
Early spring has an abundance of detoxifying greens perfect for foraging after the long winter. Hunt for wild garlic, chickweed, cleavers, common nettle and dandelion, but pick younger plants as these tend to be less bitter. These greens are brilliant for the liver but in need of a creative recipe. Try Polenta Fries and Wild Garlic Aioli by Welsh chef and gardener, @xanthegladstone. London-based Kensal to Kilburn Fruit Harvesters will be meeting for an urban forage (26 March).
In the garden, use the last of the overwintering varieties of brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, parsnips, radicchio, Jerusalem artichoke, and Savoy cabbage. Prepare and mulch outdoor beds, while undercover pot tomatoes, runner beans, courgettes, marrow and squash. These can go on sunny windowsills, warmer greenhouses and conservatories.
GIVE
Spring cleaning is an age-old tradition that is rooted in religious and cultural traditions. Passover requires a deep-clean, Nowruz imagines ‘shaking the house’, and the Ching Ming Festival sees the weeding of ancestral graves. In your home, clear out items you don’t use and give them a new lease of life. The Salvation Army in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore accepts donations.
Speaking of spring cleaning, this season’s cleansing extends from our homes to our bodies as we lather up with our new botanical soap bars. Handmade and infused with natural scents of rose and lemon, nothing says spring quite like sweet-smelling skin. Available to order online now.
For a literary gift that inspires outdoor activities, give Lauren Macdonald’s In Pursuit of Color, From Fungi to Fossil Fuels: Uncovering the Origins of the World’s Most Famous Dyes (23 March). The book looks at the story of dye, tracing lost folk practices found throughout human history. Featuring original recipes, the author teaches us how to dye with daffodil-yellow weld and blue woad.
International Women’s Day falls on March 8, celebrate with mimosa-filled gifts for the women in your life. Our Meadow Reverie and Two Roads arrangements are filled with the symbolic flowers as well as our limited edition mimosa hand painted candle.
GAZE
By day, immerse yourself in an enchanted digital realm with Arte M (until 7 Jan 2024). Hong Kong’s K11 HACC has commissioned Korean digital design company d’strict to create four sensory spaces that take visitors on a surreal exploration of digi-nature, from delicate life-cycles of flowers and lush tropical rainforests. Elsewhere in Hong Kong, Myth Makers—Spectrosynthesis III is the first major exhibition to explore LGBTQ+ perspectives. Tai Kwun Contemporary galleries will host over 60 artists from Asia and its diaspora to explore queer mythologies.
By night on March 6 and 7, look for the Worm Moon, so-called because it signals the humble earthworm’s rise to the surface of warmer spring soils. If rain is forecast, search for the moon an hour after sunset, for a resplendent celestial ‘moonbow’.
