MY COUNTRY PASSION

Settle’s cabins, carriages and tents are set in 30 acres of private parkland, with its own lake

While you’re there...

WYKEN VINEYARD WYMONDHAM

This characterful Suffolk farm is home to an awardwinning vineyard; the acclaimed Leaping Hare restaurant; a pizza café; delightful country store and a bountiful Saturday farmers’ market, wykenvineyards.co.uk. From the old market square to the magnificent abbey, this south Norfolk town is brimming with history. Today, an array of lovely shops, restaurants and traditional pubs make it a great place to visit, explorenorfolkuk.co.uk. KNETTISHALL HEATH NATURE RESERVE

This ancient heathland extends to over 430 acres. With six trails around the reserve, expect to see wild ponies and grazing cattle, along with a wealth of plants and birds, suffolkwildlifetrust.org.

Using a book is an easy way to press flowers

Pressed flowers make beautiful gift tags

MYCOUNTRYPASSION Flower pressing

Designer and shop owner Claire Holland’ s childhood love of nature and flower pressing has become a lifelong passion, one that’ s now instilled in her children too

Flower pressing holds so many childhood memories for me. I grew up in a remote part of the Scottish Borders, and my tiny village school would hold a flower pressing competition every summer. I took it very seriously! My home was surrounded by fields filled with wildflowers; I’d spend hours searching and I can still remember the excitement I felt when I discovered them. I often relive that feeling when I’m searching for flowers now; it’s very comforting.

Simply being outdoors has such a positive impact on my wellbeing. I never get bored of marvelling at what nature creates, and flowers are one of its most beautiful manifestations. When my children were younger, they ’d bring me fistfuls of buttercups, forget-me-nots and meadowsweets when we went out on country walks. Not wanting to discard them, I began putting them in books to preserve them. Now, the books in my workroom are filled with countless specimens.

Spring is a gift for those who wish to start experimenting with flower pressing. Tête-à-tête daffodils, snowdrops, fritillaries, forget-menots and geums all work particularly well. Don ’t forget leaves either, and bluebells too – these have special meaning for me as my husband proposed to me in a bluebell forest. I picked some at the time to press and still have them to this day.

It’ s always best to press flowers (particularly wild ones) as soon as you ’ ve picked them – the fresher the better* . I take a small notebook out and about with me, so I can press them on the go, then I transfer them to a larger book when I get home. I put blotting paper either side of the flowers to avoid damaging the pages and leave them for at least two weeks before opening them up again. It’ s such a wonderful surprise to see how they ’ ve turned out. Make sure you remember which books you ’ ve used though – I’ ve lost count of the times I’ ve forgotten and had to pull each one off the shelf!

A few years ago, I created a pressed flower artwork to hang up on my bathroom wall, and I’ ve continued making them since then. I’d encourage anyone to give it a try; it’ s so much fun experimenting, and the results are so satisfying.

Findoutmore...

Discover Claire’s beautiful artworks as well as more tips on how to press flowers at paperthinmoon.com