Lisa interviews Alice Vincent, a multi-platform storyteller based in London. She explores words, womanhood, and the wonders of everyday life. Her recent book, Why Women Grow, celebrates women’s relationship with the earth. Here, she talks to Lisa about seeking awe, her earliest memories, and why the younger generations are reclaiming their connection with nature.
Could you introduce yourself in your own words? What do you do?
I'm a writer, writing about the bits of life that are often overlooked. Lately, that’s been women's relationship with the earth and their stories as custodians of the Earth in my book, Why Women Grow. I’ve also been writing about sound. And in my weekly newsletter, Savour, I write about the delicious things in life we don't recognise as we should. When I’m not writing I create podcasts and take photos. But essentially, I'm a storyteller who likes to garden.
What’s your earliest memory of a garden?
I feel like I have memories overlaid by photographs. One strong memory is of helping my grandfather in this greenhouse where he’d grow tomatoes. Even now the scent of tomatoes still transports me. I find it so nostalgic.
He’d tell me to go inside and wash the dirt off before eating them. And I remember it felt like an eternity for me because I just wanted to eat. I don't grow vegetables now, but that olfactory sense of tasting, smelling and being is really strong for me.
How has your relationship with nature changed throughout life?
Where I grew up, it's just an expanse of fields and I felt trapped by them because you couldn't go anywhere without driving. I was desperate to get to the city and become a music journalist. I wanted to live, go to gigs and access this life I’d only read about in magazines.
And now it's a balance of the two. I love living in the city – I'll probably never leave London. But I always feel so much better when I'm outdoors.
Is there anything you think musicians and gardeners have in common?
I'd say that many people involved with music, whether they're fans or musicians or journalists, have a deep connection to nature. I know many people who used to be music journalists who’ve become nature writers and gardeners. I think it’s because we seek awe. We want to be awestruck, to have our minds expanded.
In Why Women Grow, could you tell me about the women you profiled?
I interviewed 45 women, mostly strangers, from all over the country including some in Europe. Their ages ranged from 22 to 82 and they were from all walks of life. From people who’ve been heiresses, or who live in huge houses in Clapham, to those rehabilitating prisoners to refugees in Kazakhstan refugee camps. Also, drag kings, mothers, people who were child-free by choice and those not by choice; authors, painters and accountants – a real mix. Of the 45 I interviewed, 20 stories are featured in the book.
A younger and more diverse audience seems to be attracted to gardening these days. Why do you think that is?
I think that all kinds of people have always enjoyed gardening. And it's just the mainstream media that makes it seem as if it's only for posh white people. Step into any allotment or community garden and you'll meet people from all backgrounds. But I think young people do have a new hunger for gardening right now. I explored this in my book Rootbound which is about why we’re drawn to the earth in times of upheaval and trauma. And why our generation is reclaiming it.
I think it's because we're the generation that grew up without and then with, the internet. We need something to root us and slow us down and gardening offers that. Combined with the pandemic, this awareness of our need for green space is growing. We were the generation that sat in front of a computer as entertainment – and everyone thought that was acceptable. So, we played outside less, and I think we're reclaiming it.
What do you wear when you're gardening?
I wear my grandfather's overalls, which I had modified to fit me. And that works because you can just put them over whatever you're wearing. I call it the gardening suit.
Any essential tools of choice in your garden?
Hori Hori, a Japanese gardening knife you can use for everything. Weeding, planting bulbs, scraping things. It's just a back-pocket wonder. I also have a beloved pair of secateurs. With forged steel and a good heft to them, they're not too big for my small hands.
And finally, what are you working on now?
I'm speaking to you two days after handing in a manuscript, so my project right now is to give myself space. I need to stop and fill my cup with other things before I launch into another book proposal. So I want to enjoy art classes and do some drawing. And then I’m teaching at a retreat in Italy in October and another one in Hertfordshire in November. But mostly I'm working on making space. Oh, and I'm thinking about my next book, which I have an idea for…
Alice wears the Early Riser tee.
Follow @alicevincentwrites