A little note from me to you

I can hardly believe it! It’s been ten months since I started this Substack, and here we are… now over three thousand strong!

Hello, my lovely gardening chums,

I don’t mind telling you, I’m utterly gobsmacked. Not just by how fast time has flown (wasn’t it April last week?), but by how many of you enjoy these garden rambles, rose obsessions, and the odd melodramatic grumble about slugs.

Honestly, when I first hit “publish,” I thought it might just be me, my mum (hello, Mum 👋), and perhaps one kind stranger who got lost on the internet and is too polite to unfollow. But here you are, reading, restacking, replying, and making me feel like all this writing really has meaning and value.

Thank you.

I mean it. It’s really because of you that I’m enjoying writing again. Loving it, in fact. Over the past few months, I feel like I’ve finally found my voice. It just took a little time (and a few shovelfuls of inspiration) to shake off the old formal prose from my photography magazine days.

So… I’ve had a thought brewing for quite some time.

Writing this newsletter has become one of the most joyful parts of my week. I get genuinely excited when a new idea pops into my brain and I just have to open the MacBook and start tapping, or confuse Siri with my rambling dictations.

I’ve already got an extensive list of ideas and topics I’d love to cover over the coming year. But, if I’m going to do something, I want to do it properly and to the best of my abilities. Producing something of real quality takes time, love, and energy. I want to keep it going, not just ticking over, but growing and thriving like the garden itself.

That’s why I’m introducing something new: a paid subscription option.

Now, before you do anything rash, please let me explain…

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This is a soft launch

The free posts aren’t going anywhere. You’ll still get the regular Clippings, garden ramblings, photos, and rose-scented musings delivered straight to your inbox, just like before.

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Paid subscribers will simply get a little extra

Here’s what you’ll have access to:

• Exclusive posts, including monthly behind-the-scenes garden tours and longer reads to really get your teeth into

• Handy monthly to-do lists with bonus tips, based on what I’m doing in my own garden

• Downloadable treats, like high-res phone or desktop wallpapers from my photography (from my own garden or gardens I’ve visited)

• Q&A sessions, where you can send me your burning garden questions

• Full access to the Archive, so you can revisit any past post whenever you like

• The Chat function, so you can message me directly with questions, musings, or the occasional photo of your hostas

• Subscriber-only discount codes from some of my collaboration partners (I’m working on it!)

Think of it as a top-dressing of extra goodness to keep things thriving.

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But why go paid?

Quite simply, it helps me carve out (and justify) the time to keep creating thoughtful, heartfelt, carefully curated content. Fewer distractions. More focus. And a real chance to turn this into something sustainable in the long term.

If you’ve enjoyed these posts, if they’ve made you laugh, brought a tear to your eye, inspired you, or simply brightened your day, I’d be honoured to have you as a paying supporter.

I’ll be adding the paid option shortly (softly, gently, just like everything else around here) and your first bonus post will land soon after.

And if now isn’t the right time, that’s absolutely fine. Truly. I know there are so many brilliant Stacks out there, all vying for attention. But just you being here (reading, sharing, and cheering me on) means the world.

From the tip of my threadbare cap to my dusty knees, thank you.

Here’s to many more months of growing, writing, and sharing together.

With love and gratitude (and pocketfuls of twine)
Elliott 🌿