Gardening with Sian by Paul I’ve been lucky to work in Sian’s garden. We’d often work together. I learned about specific plants and their qualities from Sian, and we’d also talk about nature and life. From time to time I would share a thorny problem and often Sian’s lucid response would change its aspect. We’d chat about books too, and quite possibly about the poems of Kathleen Jamie, one of my favourite writers. The Dipper It was winter, near freezing, I’d walked through a forest of firs when I saw issue out of a waterfall a solitary bird. It lit on a damp rock, and, as water swept stupidly on, wrung from its own throat, supple, undammable song. It isn’t mine to give. I can’t coax this bird to my hand that knows the depth of the river yet sings of it on land. The Tree House Kathleen Jamie