| I’m a gardener, and I have rather a lot to say. Some gardeners listen to music or podcasts while they work. I don’t. Partly because I need to hear when a client has a question, but mostly because I like to keep my ears open to what is happening around me — birdsong, the hum of bees and all the other sounds of a garden that are easily missed. My hands may be weeding, pruning, sweeping leaves or cutting a hedge, but my mind is rarely quiet. I’ve always been curious. I ask questions, wonder why things are the way they are and have a habit of posing what if? scenarios to myself. One thought leads to another and occasionally ends up somewhere I certainly wasn’t expecting. Much of what I write is about gardening — practical advice, plants, wildlife and observations gathered from doing the job. But sometimes curiosity takes over and we wander considerably further afield. Some subjects are serious, others are peculiar, and a few are here simply because they made me smile. That’s really what A Gardener’s Curiosity is about: gardening, noticing things, asking questions and seeing where they lead. My clients, after all, probably have enough to contend with without hearing everything that goes through my head. |
Earthly Comforts Latest Posts …
The Edge of Discovery
Discover The Edge of Discovery, a new investigative series exploring cryptozoology, legendary creatures and the fascinating boundary between folklore, science and zoological discovery. Join Rory as each Case File examines the evidence with curiosity, balance and original research.
If Growth Continued Through the Night
What if plants never slowed down after sunset? A reflective and gently humorous exploration of gardens that continue growing through the night, and what that might mean for gardeners.
Plot 17 Update
A late summer update from Plot 17, where Suze now stewards the allotment, proving that resilient gardens can continue to flourish as life and priorities change.
Within Living Memory
Has autumn changed, or have our memories changed? A gardener reflects on shifting seasons, historical evidence and why autumn no longer feels quite as familiar as it once did.
Plot 17 Update
A late summer update from Plot 17, where organic vegetables are now arriving daily. From courgettes and tomatoes to cucumbers and beans, here’s how the allotment is rewarding steady care.
African Insects
A reflective exploration of African ants, bees and wasps, examining how cooperation, underground systems and rapid seasonal response support survival across extreme landscapes.
Echoes Through the Garden – The Second Verse
A reflective pairing of two original poems written fourteen years apart, exploring how time, gardening and nature transform our understanding of autumn, fallen leaves and the quiet cycles of life.
If the Weeds Took Over
What if the weeds finally stopped waiting for our mistakes? A thoughtful and quietly humorous look at resilience, adaptation and what weeds can teach us about gardening.
Raised Beds
Discover how to keep raised bed soil healthy for years with practical advice from a working gardener, including composting, feeding, watering and seasonal maintenance.
Nature Rarely Produces Waste
Discover why nature has almost no concept of waste and how gardeners witness the world’s oldest recycling system every day. Explore composting, soil health, biodiversity and why the natural world continually recycles what humanity too often throws away.
COVID: The Pandemic That Apparently Ended
COVID may no longer dominate the headlines, but it still disrupts lives. A personal reflection on illness, recovery, public perception and the irony of a virus many believe has simply gone away.
More to the Soil Hub Journey
Follow the latest chapter in The Soil Hub journey as a major setback turns into an unexpected opportunity, securing affordable land and bringing the composting and worm farming project back to life.
Bindweed
Most gardeners throw bindweed away without a second thought, but could this persistent weed become a valuable natural liquid fertiliser? Discover its surprising ecological benefits and learn how to safely turn bindweed into a nutrient-rich weed tea for your garden.
When a Blog Quietly Becomes a Journal
After four years, The Earthly Comforts Blog has evolved into The Earthly Comforts Journal—a gardener’s life journal exploring gardening, wildlife, observation, history and lifelong curiosity.
African Insects
Discover the extraordinary world of African insects in this five-part series, exploring how ants, butterflies, beetles, locusts and predators survive, adapt and shape some of Earth’s most demanding landscapes.
A Year Later: Finally, My Left Eye Surgery
After a year of waiting, I finally undergo surgery on my left eye. A personal reflection on recovery, living with mismatched vision, and taking the first steps towards seeing clearly again.
The Garden Butler Essays
Why don’t we rush gardens? Rory reflects on patience, craftsmanship and why the best gardening happens when care is allowed to take precedence over haste.
Rethinking the English Garden
A thoughtful exploration of how English allotments may evolve through healthier soils, changing growing seasons and a new way of thinking about food production in a changing climate.
Working With Worms
A reflective closing to the worm farming series, exploring attention, restraint, and how lived experience shapes understanding beyond instruction.
The Garden Butler Essays
What is true luxury in a garden? Rory reflects on trust, quiet service and why the greatest comfort is knowing that somebody is paying attention.
The Long Way Into the Dark
An atmospheric exploration of the Fontana and Pan horror anthologies and the classic comics that shaped generations of readers through quiet dread, ritual reading, and paperback fear.
Rethinking the English Garden
How might English gardens evolve over the coming decades? A reflective look at water, soil, planting and design, exploring why the future may depend more on changing our thinking than changing our gardens.
Rethinking the English Garden
Two conversations with clients and one visit to the allotment prompted a reflection on how English gardens may be entering a new chapter, one that asks gardeners to observe, adapt, and think differently.
Working With Worms
A reflective essay on patience in worm farming, exploring time, restraint, trust, and why waiting is often the most effective action.
Things I Didn’t Notice at First
A reflective closing piece on noticing as an ongoing process — exploring attention, familiarity, and why understanding is never quite finished.
Within Living Memory
Why does Britain still compare every heatwave to 1976? A gardener and environmental observer considers historic hot summers, changing seasons and the difference between memory and evidence.
The Garden Butler Essays
Why do some people notice what others walk past? Rory reflects on observation, gardening, hospitality and how years of service shaped the quiet art of paying attention.
The Long Way Into the Dark
A reflective essay series exploring a lifelong relationship with horror literature, collecting, belief, and how dark writing shaped attention, curiosity, and meaning.
Working With Worms
A reflective exploration of scale in worm farming, examining growth, labour, economics, ethics, and why bigger systems often lose what makes them work.
If Shade Became More Important Than Sun
What if shade became more valuable than sunshine? A reflective, quietly humorous look at how gardeners might adapt as hotter summers change the way we think about our gardens.
European Insects
A reflective exploration of Europe’s true bugs, dragonflies, damselflies and praying mantids, examining precision, adaptation and the predators that help maintain ecological balance.
| © 2022 – 2026 Rory Matier – Earthly Comforts – All rights reserved |
| 07300 216849 earthlycomfortsuk@gmail.com Earthly Comforts GPM Ltd Business Website |
A Gardener's Curiosity 