Lia Leendertz: ‘Winter is for climbing into our caves and getting cosy’

In spring, plants begin to grow, flowers to bloom and animals awaken from hibernation. When summer arrives, fledglings learn to fly, grasshoppers softly chirp and seabirds clamour on the cliff sides. Autumn brings with it rust orange and mushy leaves, with daylight growing shorter and the harvest brought in. When winter comes, mushrooms erupt, snowflakes dust the landscape and many trees lose their vibrant leaves.

It is these subtle but magical changes to the outside world which unfold each month that writer, journalist and horticulturalist Lia Leendertz aims to unlock. She has reinvented the traditional rural almanack, a kind of calendar or book which has existed in some form or another for thousands of years.

Lia’s version is a month-by-month toolkit compendium with details that celebrate the distinctiveness of each moment in the year, in part through food, foraging, folklore and festivities. Called The Almanac, she writes a new edition of the book each year.

Best-selling author Lia was born in Bristol and now lives in Bishopston – photo: Kirstie Young

The first copy was published in 2017, inspired by a seaside getaway in Cornwall. “When I’m on holiday, I always buy those little yellow tide timetables,” she explained.

“Although it’s just numbers, I always feel like there’s real poetry in them as it describes the movement of water that’s happening right before our eyes.

“I remember one holiday, I was watching the tides come in and out each day, the sun set, the moon rise, and felt so easily in touch with all of these massive forces and had an urge to find a way to bring that to my little terrace in Bristol.”

‘The Almanac’ reinvents the traditional rural almanack – photo: Betty Woolerton

Lia has published seven editions of The Almanac. The theme of 2024’s edition is her first love: the garden. From the first stirrings of green buds in spring to the falling of leaves and on to winter, she has included monthly garden and weather folklore, garden crafts, misty-eyed folk songs set in flower-filled gardens, planting by the moon, the goings-on of the creatures that make homes in our borders and hedges and a guide to the best pollen-rich flowers for every season.

Her passion for green-fingered activities was sparked when she lived in a shared house with friends in Montpelier with a “tiny” back garden and lawn.

“I remember it had a huge Russian vine overtaking half the garden and I hacked it back and cut the lawn with scissors,” Lia said. “My mum had always liked gardening and had encouraged me to try it, but it wasn’t until doing it myself I realised the enjoyment you can get from creating a lovely little outdoor space.”

Lia went on to train in horticulture at Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, and has worked as a journalist writing about gardening, growing food and cooking at Royal Horticultural Society’s magazine The Garden, the Telegraph and the Guardian, among many other publications.

 

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A post shared by Lia Leendertz (@lia_leendertz)

The aim of the book is to help readers appreciate even the darkest times of the year.

Lia said: “I try to encourage people to find their own little kind of keys, whether that is going for a walk in a park to hunkering down with some soup under a blanket on the sofa.

“One of the things I’ve become more interested in as the years of writing have gone on is the idea of recognising that we’re mammals and acting appropriately.

“In winter, that means resting, taking it easy, switching off and getting cosy. Recognising that we are allowed to go into our caves in the depths of winter and allowing ourselves that slow emergence in the spring gives us the kind of resources to face the summer months and the more sociable times with more energy and without burning ourselves out.”

The little guide to the intricacies of each month has created a big community of people wanting to learn about living seasonally.

Lia said: “The idea of publishing a new book every year felt like a real dream at first that was really unlikely to happen. When I first approached publishers, nobody was interested at all.

“Several people said they really loved the idea, but it’s not commercial at all.

She ended up crowdfunding on website Unbound, raising enough money to write, publish, promote and distribute the book. It was an “unexpected joy” for so many to back her idea from the start, she said.

“The unbound model was really helpful because it meant that a lot of people were very invested in it beforehand,” said Lia.

“Then really it became word of mouth and it just took off. It’s just been fantastic to be able to do it every year and know you’ve got the community backing you. It’s an author’s dream to get such a regular gig on a subject I’m so passionate about.”

To purchase ‘The Almanac: A seasonal guide’, visit www.gloucesterroadbooks.com/product/the-almanac

This feature originally appeared in the latest Bristol24/7 quarterly magazine, available free across our city

Main photo: Niko Simpson

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