Grace Alexander
PSYCHOLOGist · PART-TIME Gardener · FULL-TIME Anthophile
About me
My name is Grace Alexander, and I know a bit about the need for floral escapism. When I’m not packing seeds, turning a back lawn into a kitchen garden or debating the pros and cons of leaving a patch of nettles to go to seed (they give great dye colour ), I am an expert witness psychologist in the UK family courts.
The days might be a bit grim, but the weekends are filled with dogs, tea, flowers and the wondrous experience of life in a Somerset thatched cottage.
I have been gardening forever, off and on. What I lack in technical brilliance as a gardener, I make up for with experience and enthusiasm. My growing space (about a quarter of an acre, tiny) was all developed from scratch in 2013 and has been going from strength to strength ever since. It includes an orchard, a flower field, meadows and a kitchen garden.
I am now in conversation to organic status with the Soil Association, and all of the seed I sell will be certified organic from August 2026.
I don’t have hobbies, I have passions and obsessions. That means sweet peas and writing.
But I am a busy person, and I need help to make sure I don’t find gardening stressful and overwhelming. To keep the garden as a sanctuary, you need a plan.
I got stressed and overwhelmed, so I drew up the plan.
Your phone knows everything except what actually matters.
Until now.
The single most useful gardening tool has been invented.
SCRIBEHOUND GARDENING
Scribehound Gardening is a daily collection of writing and audio by 30 of the most thoughtful garden writers working today. Subscribers receive essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories — all read aloud by the authors themselves — offering a rich, intimate way to experience the rhythms of the gardening year.
This is more than advice or instruction. It’s a carefully gathered community of writers and readers who grow, observe, and write with care. Each piece is rooted in lived experience — lyrical, practical, or wise — and together they offer a quiet, daily companion for those who long to move more slowly through the seasons.
Whether you’re planting sweet peas, harvesting stories, or simply seeking inspiration in the turning of the year, Scribehound Gardening welcomes you in. Read slowly. Listen deeply. And find yourself among kindred spirits.
LATEST ARTICLES IN SCRIBEHOUND GARDENING
Scribehound Gardening is your portal to daily insights from the finest voices in horticulture.
With a subscription, you’ll receive exclusive columns crafted by 30 of the most respected writers in the field, including me, Sarah Raven, Alan Titchmarsh, Adam Frost, and Jekka McVicar.
Each day, uncover stories that celebrate the joy of gardening, practical advice steeped in wisdom, and creative musings to ignite your imagination.
Whether you read or listen, Scribehound is a sanctuary for those who find beauty and meaning in the natural world.
sweet pea seed
In my garden at Malus Farm, the most glorious and gorgeous of plants grow all summer long to set seed in autumn. I harvest the seed by hand, dry it with love and care, and package it up for posting out to you, the flower lover. My seed is grown out in the open and so is hardy and adapted to normal growing conditions (most sweet pea seed you can buy elsewhere is grown under glass, in polytunnels, or in hot countries) and without pesticides or herbicides. From January 2026, all Gather seed will be certified organic.
if you would like to buy the most exquisitely packaged, beautiful seed in the world, you do need to be a member of Gather. However, the great news is that you can join for a week free trial, and shop to your heart’s content.
THE STUART & ALEXANDER PODCAST
Gather at the Garden Gate.
Becca Stuart and Grace Alexander come in from the garden, put the kettle on, and talk about what they have been getting up to indoors, outdoors, and get incredibly excited about, every so often, going out out.
This isn’t just a podcast about gardening. It's about women celebrating life in the garden, flowers, each other, and taking refuge in the kitchen when it starts to pour with rain.
