2. Birch leaves

Today was chilly and bright. The silver trunks of birch trees in the Samhain garden gleamed in the winter sunshine. The circle of trees around the pool reflected the stark simplicity of winter.

On the island, the leaf woman rests. She is close to the earth, listening perhaps, in a posture that indicates gratitude and humility. 

When setting up Brigit's Garden I came across a work by sculptor Linda Brunker of a woman made of oak leaves. I thought it exquisite - I had never seen such lightness in bronze, a delicate filigree of leaves creating a figure that was simple yet deeply moving. We commissioned Linda to make a similar figure from birch leaves, and designer Mary Reynolds created the Samhain garden around her.  And so here she is, dreaming through the seasons, providing a quiet heart to the Gardens.

I walked onto the island and noticed some of last year's birch leaves still lying around her. They seemed to emphasise her connection with the ground, as if she might dissolve back into it with the leaves. I picked up a few and laid them on her back, leaf on leaf. Soon it will be spring and I can imagine her coming back to life, stretching, her leaves becoming green again- like the trees around her - as light and life return.