Orkney's wild embrace: how a storm unlocked a writer's soul
A brutal Orkney winter, once a source of crippling doubt, became the catalyst for a nature writer’s profound transformation. Victoria Bennett discovered solace – and a defiant connection to the land – amidst the unforgiving elements, revealing a hidden resilience in the face of relentless adversity.
Finding release in the roar
It began with a storm, a true tempest rolling in off the North Sea. Bennett, battling her decision to relocate from Cumbria, felt trapped, fighting a losing battle against the sea and the weather. But as the waves crashed against the rocks, something shifted. She let go, howling into the wind, a primal release she hadn’t realized she craved. “There’s something very physically releasing about howling,” she explained. “It’s quite animalistic and powerful.”
From fight to forgiveness
Initially, the prospect of nurturing a garden in this isolated archipelago – a place she’d only visited briefly years prior – felt like an impossible task. The threat of the sea, determined to reclaim every inch of land, loomed large. Yet, she stubbornly persevered, transforming her backyard into an apothecary garden, a space for reflection and healing, filled with traditional medicinal and culinary plants.
A garden shaped by the elements
But even that nascent sanctuary faced constant challenges. Fierce winds, capable of obliterating her efforts in a single day, tested her resolve. Forced to adapt, Bennett learned to work with the sea, selecting hardy species like fuchsia berries to withstand the onslaught and embracing the constant exchange between land and tide. “That’s part of what living here involves: an acceptance that whatever I’m growing is in relationship with the sea, with the elements around me.”
More than just plants
The garden itself, a modest 9 square meters, is a testament to this symbiotic relationship. A central spiral bed of herbs is surrounded by dwarf fruit trees and wildflowers, all nourished by foraged seaweed. Bennett’s daily swims – a necessity in this far-north location – inform her choices, revealing which coastal plants thrive, offering invaluable guidance for her garden’s design. It’s a carefully curated landscape, a vibrant tapestry of color, pollinators, and scent, a deliberate counterpoint to the island’s stark beauty.
A lesson in letting go
More profoundly, Bennett discovered a crucial lesson: the need to relinquish control and embrace a deeper understanding of herself. “Coming here and growing this garden by the sea has helped me loosen and release into the ebb and flow of life,” she stated. “Relinquishing control and allowing my garden to be what it is – without wanting it to be something else – was a really important way of understanding that in myself.” Her journey, chronicled in The Apothecary by the Sea, is not merely a record of a writer’s relocation, but a powerful testament to the transformative potential of embracing the wild, and, ultimately, accepting one’s own limitations.