Botanic Shed

Botanic Shed Botanic Shed creates sanctuaries - we are a community of gardeners and healers developing gardens and running events. Lara Cowan

Through expert design, consultancy, and nature-based experiences, we reconnect people with the healing power of the natural world. Botanic Shed membership will help you move towards a brighter future, by focusing on the power of nature. You will collaborate with world-class members, and learn to heal and grow through a range of nature-based therapies and ideas. Through nature connection, we hope t

o help you to build new neurological pathways to sooth your mind and protect your well-being whilst empowering your existing personal strengths. "If every person could take a non-negotiable 1 hour out of each day and spend it outdoors in nature, deepening that innate connection we have with it then stress and depression levels would plummet."

29/05/2026

Come on a little walk in the Walled Garden with me…I’ll share more of the roses…oh the roses…later.
Always nature friendly 🦋🐝
Generously loved ❤️❤️
Never Round Up ⚠️☠️
Love Lara ###

Life is not a dress rehearsal. Make sure you get it right! Nurture your garden of life. Each moment requires love and at...
28/05/2026

Life is not a dress rehearsal. Make sure you get it right! Nurture your garden of life. Each moment requires love and attention.

The tulips are gone, but not forever and by no means forgotten.
26/05/2026

The tulips are gone, but not forever and by no means forgotten.

I’ve changed. Today was so quiet. I wasn’t looking for anything to do. I knew how much a quiet day of resting, a bit of ...
24/05/2026

I’ve changed. Today was so quiet. I wasn’t looking for anything to do. I knew how much a quiet day of resting, a bit of gardening and seeing no-one would be good for me. Took a while to learn that! And it’s just what the Doctor ordered.
The morning was with Molly’s children but after that was a very lazy day reading and working by the pool with a two hour walk past Rushy Lock along the Thames by Chimney Meadows.
The first image is Goat’s beard, the second the canal boats chilling out, the third a stunning bearded Iris and the fourth is Sainfoin. So grateful to have a community of friends to help me identify nature’s most precious blessings like the Sainfoin and Goats Beard. So Lovely.

20/05/2026

Nature’s flower show ❤️

Bere Court Farm 19th May 2026. I’ve used Phaecelia on the edges of the rain water bed here and she’s out on full glory t...
19/05/2026

Bere Court Farm 19th May 2026.
I’ve used Phaecelia on the edges of the rain water bed here and she’s out on full glory this week. Love her so much.

A new horizon for us…in hippy-ville just outside Stroud. A short walk to We have taken on the management and renovation...
17/05/2026

A new horizon for us…in hippy-ville just outside Stroud. A short walk to
We have taken on the management and renovation of one of my very best friend’s gardens. So I get to see my God Daughter at work…blessed!
Here are just a few snaps taken this week of the areas closest to the house. I’ll try and keep a promise to take you on the journey through the gardening year here. X

As a forager, I love the community shares at this time of year. My friend sent me this photo of pignuts (the white flowe...
15/05/2026

As a forager, I love the community shares at this time of year. My friend sent me this photo of pignuts (the white flower among blue bells) which seem to be more abundant this year than I have seen before. They look like baby cow parsley and taste like hazelnuts. What’s not to like?!

Swan River aka the Thames at Pangbourne meadows ❤️
13/05/2026

Swan River aka the Thames at Pangbourne meadows ❤️

Back at the ever so mesmerizing Walled Garden in Padworth ❤️ The job we did on the roses is looking fabulous. Well done ...
11/05/2026

Back at the ever so mesmerizing Walled Garden in Padworth ❤️ The job we did on the roses is looking fabulous. Well done and

I found a new garden that I’m absolutely desperate to visit. Created by Mike and Tessa Crowe fellow alumni of Great Dixt...
10/05/2026

I found a new garden that I’m absolutely desperate to visit. Created by Mike and Tessa Crowe fellow alumni of Great Dixter where I studied the Art and Craft of Gardening Design course with Annie Guilfoyle and Fergus Garrett, it looks like a symphony of Dixter sympathy to natural rhythms. I’ll be there in August visiting at the NGS garden opening looking forward to it!

The meadow scene looks absolutely heavenly with those Camassia. I’d love to share meadow management experiences with you Tessa. I studied Wild Meadow management with Fergus Garrett a few years ago too.
We are doing an early cut this year on our meadow at home and on a few of the client because the grass is so dominant.
An early cut this year to (early May) or early summer (June), can be done to control vigorous, nutrient-loving grasses and weeds that can smother the smaller wildflowers. This early cut reduces grass height to roughly 5–7.5 cm and allows light to reach smaller flowers allowing those yellow rattle some more sun, encouraging stronger root growth in young meadows, and potentially forcing a second, more diverse flowering display later in the season.
Who is out in East Sussex? Do try and visit The Oast in Mayfield.



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