June, at the mid-point of the year.

This is the month when the hedgerows have reached their peak, elder is in flower, foxglove bells opening , the evenings long and light. It is also the month when the solstice arrives and passes, and the light begins its slow turn back. Our ancestors marked this moment as one of the most important of the year. The June Almanac is built around it.

What’s inside

Thirty-two pages on the natural world and folklore of June in Britain.

The Summer Solstice and the old Midsummer traditions the bonfires lit on the headlands, the plants gathered on St John’s Eve and the customs that persisted in the British countryside.

Plant lore for the month, including the elder tree, the foxglove and its folk names, the plants that were hung over doors and gathered by firelight at the year’s most magical moment.

British wildlife for June including the tiny marsh tit and its remarkable memory for buried seeds. The beautiful demoiselle, a damselfly of clean fast-running Cornish rivers, iridescent in the June sun. The creatures of the long evenings.

The night sky, the full Strawberry Moon, and what the June moon was called in the old agricultural calendar. Written and illustrated by E.L. Heywood. Printed on recycled paper in the UK.

The illustrations

Every page is illustrated with original artwork — watercolour and botanical illustration in the tradition of the naturalist’s field notebook. The marsh tit on its branch, the beautiful demoiselle in close detail, the plants of the season drawn from observation.
This is not clip art or stock imagery. It is a small illustrated publication made by one person who has been paying attention to what grows and moves in the British countryside.

Format
32 pages. A5. Saddle-stitched. Printed on recycled uncoated stock.
£3.95  
Available until sold out. A new edition is produced each month.

As a gift

An original, considered gift for anyone interested in the natural world, British folklore, or the turning of the seasons. Small enough to post in an envelope. Substantial enough to read slowly.
Also available as part of the June Almanac box — which includes two original signed art prints, a summer tea blend, a rose lip balm, a wooden badger totem, and a moon phase calendar alongside the zine. [internal link to /products/june-almanac-box]