One of the things I got to do last year, in amongst finishing one degree and starting another, moving cities, and taking on generally Too Much, was the Tolkien Society Seminar. The co-chairs were my wonderful friend and co-conspirator Clare Moore, and Journee Cotton, and the title was "Arda&
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or "Oops, I realised I've written nothing for ages despite wanting to!"
For my first real post on this blog, it feels right and proper to start where Tolkien starts: the Shire, and specifically, its gardens. When we first meet Bilbo in The Hobbit, he is outside his front door having a leisurely smoke; Frodo’s journey likewise starts from Bag-End, and
(That’s “hello universe” for folks who don’t read Sindarin!) Welcome to this fun new project of mine! I’ve been interested in Tolkien’s plants for a long while, and in plants in general for even longer. The idea for writing about them here in particular came after