Author Sonya Patel Ellis: ‘I’m Plotting A New Potager-Style Patch In My Backyard’
Contributions From SONYA PATEL ELLIS
Sonya Patel Ellis is a garden writer and the author of several books, including The Collins Botanical Bible and The Modern Gardener. Sonya has received an RHS Level 2 Qualification and is a member of the Garden Media Guild. She also frequently runs garden workshops and action projects for both adults and children in London.
Sonya Patel Ellis is an accomplished garden author of several books, including ‘Collins Botanical Bible’, ‘The Heritage Herbal’ and ‘The Modern Gardener’.
Her works have been recognised and celebrated across the UK by other gardeners and writers.
Beyond books, she has also penned articles for renowned publications like Gardens Illustrated and runs writing for wellbeing workshops for both children and adults.
Sonya shares her love of herbs, her journey from publishing to writing as a freelancer and her experience of leaving her much-loved garden after a move.
Imagery in this interview is provided with permission by Sonya Patel Ellis.
What Are Your Earliest Memories Of Gardening?
“I grew up in the village of Stanley, in the Rhubarb Triangle of Wakefield, where we had a small garden that wrapped around our house on the corner,” says Sonya.
“Me, my siblings and friends from around the neighbourhood would spend hours bashing succulents into juice, pressing flowers from the garden, fields and brownfield building site at the top of the road, and helping our parents plant up our rockery and little beds.
“Gardening was actively encouraged from childhood, plus we were relatively free to roam the surrounding countryside as children of the 1970s – thus a love of nature and plants was instilled from a young age.
“After moving to a different house in the early 1980s, I was given my own little patch of garden and planted bulbs and other specimens pilfered from my mum’s beds, helped dad mow the lawn and developed a passion for creating miniature gardens for the local flower show.
“I eventually left Wakefield for Art College in Liverpool, carrying my love of plants and flowers into creative and professional pursuits in design and writing.”
From This, What Led You To Garden Writing?
“I wanted to study Art and Writing at university, but the option wasn’t there at the time, so I opted for a Multimedia degree in Textiles and Fashion at Liverpool John Moore’s University,” she shares.
“Printed and woven textiles have long been inspired by nature, so I was in my element researching artists and techniques that borrowed from the botanical world.
“I eventually moved to London to pursue a career in lifestyle journalism and having dipped my toe into other forms of communication such as PR, Design Management, and Events, and a stint travelling around Asia, became a Features Editor of a suite of health and travel magazines.
“I moved to Think Publishing in 2005, which specialised in nature and the environment, where I worked across books, magazines, websites, and with clients including the RHS, The Royal Parks, The Wildlife Trusts, Greenpeace, Butterfly Conservation, GreenSpace and the Ramblers Association.
“I left to go freelance in 2006 and have aimed to keep the focus of my work on nature ever since, retaining a keen interest in both the written and visual quality of my output.
“Over 17 years later, I have written, edited, and commissioned numerous books and articles.
“Whether writing and editing features or books, teaching gardening, designing planting combinations or making nature-inspired art, finding an inspiring narrative is always foremost in my mind.”
What Does A Typical Working Day Look Like For You?
“I’m freelance so I generally work from home. If I’m working on a book, I could be writing a synopsis, flat planning, laying out chapters, or actually writing or editing content.
“If I’m working on something for a magazine or newspaper, it might involve writing pitches, creating the framework for an article or producing copy and captions.
“I’ve stayed relatively close to home while my kids were young, and the lockdown years were isolating for all concerned, so I’m enjoying getting out and about more, doing in the field or in-person research on-site in gardens or other botanical places of interest.
“I particularly enjoyed writing an article about a garden designed by Miria Harris, which involved visiting the garden and interviewing both designer and client before creating copy that would also complement Rae Warne’s beautiful images.
“I would normally also try and fit some actual gardening in, but had to leave my garden of 15 years when I moved in March.
“Developing the local school garden into an inspiring outdoor learning zone has given me the space to continue trialling new plants and ideas and I now work there one day a week, teaching the children and their teachers and carers how to garden and think creatively.
“I’m forever bringing in gardening books and magazines from my library and hopefully am inspiring a new generation of gardeners, writers, and artists within an education system that often doesn’t connect the dots.”
You’re The Author Of Several Gardening Books. Do You Have A Particular Favourite & If So, Why?
“The Heritage Herbal, published by British Library Publications in 2020, is my favourite authored book,” says Sonya.
“I spent such a huge amount of time fully immersed in the history of herbals and herbs, then writing and testing recipes, remedies and creative projects with which to nourish, heal and style in modern times.
“My kitchen is full of herbs, jars, oils, bases and various moulds and other equipment with which to prepare culinary, beautifying and home-styling preparations.
“In fact, I’m currently just building an area for them all in my new kitchen after moving house in March.
“I also created a herb garden in my old house relating to the 50 heritage herbs in the book including beautiful apothecary roses, sweet cicely, chervil and angelica. Some herbs I brought with, others have had to stay, but I’m now plotting a new potager-style patch in my new backyard that can also function as a herbal teaching and community garden.
“Herbs are probably my biggest passion in the plant world as they all have a benefit and a backstory, often spanning thousands of years and many continents.”
What Is Your Favourite Thing About Your Career?
“I often joke that I write about plants because it allows me to write about absolutely everything!” she laughs.
“In fact, this is absolutely true given that everything that we interact with in this world has some kind of connection to nature, whether that’s through raw materials, an effect on our senses, an inspiration, food, or more obvious translations such as gardening.
“I love doing a deep dive on a subject such as a herb, type of gardening technique, person or place, looking closer at the story within and the minutiae in order to pan out again to the bigger picture and create perspective.”
Sum Up Your Relationship With Gardening In Just 3 Words.
“Nature, connection and wellbeing.”
Do You Have Any Advice For Those Wanting To Get Into The Industry?
“I would recommend getting some kind of training, whether that’s an RHS qualification such as Level 2 or Level 3 in Horticulture, a Garden Design Diploma or hands-on experience as a gardening apprentice,” recommends Sonya.
“You then have authority in terms of knowledge and skills, options in terms of applying for jobs and will hopefully develop a network of good contacts as you learn.
“From a publishing perspective, I’d say most authors these days are trained in some form or another or are very present on social media through engaging reels and video content.
“If you want to write, then the best advice is [to] start writing. This could be about your garden as a newsletter or Instagram feed, or more formally through an internship at a magazine, newspaper or book publisher.
“Neither horticulture nor writing is as well paid as it should be, so in the meantime, the more opportunities you give yourself, the better!
“It’s still worth it though and judging by the number of people segueing into horticulture from other higher-paid jobs, has a proven level of job satisfaction due to its associations with improved wellbeing and purposefulness.
“I haven’t met anyone in this field who doesn’t love what they do.”
What’s Next For You?
“I’m just starting work on a new book about how to leave a garden,” she says.
“This is based on my own recent experience of having to inadvertently leave my garden, having tended it for 15 years. I’m currently interviewing other people about their experiences or memories of leaving a cherished space and delving into issues around ownership, placemaking and impermanence.
“I’m also pitching articles to magazines and newspapers and am particularly interested in gardens that weave herbs into their midst or are created by herbal practitioners, artists, or cultural gardeners – spaces of multi-sensory beauty and usefulness.”
If you have any stories about your experiences of leaving a garden that you would like to share, you can get in touch with Sonya via her website.
