Victoria Bennett: ‘The Apothecary By The Sea’

Moving to Orkney (from her previous home in Cumbria) had always been a dream of Victoria’s. But for years she had been a carer – to her son, who has type 1 diabetes, and to her mother (who passed away), and then finally for her elderly father. She decided, seven years after her mother’s death (when her son is in his early teens), that the time has come to do something for herself, and to leave the role of carer behind.

She and her family decide to take the leap, moving five hundred miles north of everything they know to the northern Scottish islands of Orkney, where the winters are long and the summer a perpetual light. In Orkney, Victoria sets out to transform her scrappy backyard into an abundant apothecary garden by the sea, inspired by local folklore, ancient landscapes and wild nature. She curates a sense of belonging and community in an entirely new place through her gardening, writing and passion for wild swimming in the cold Orkney waters. Her book is a beautiful combination of nature writing, folklore, memoir, botanical wisdom and practical gardening insight.