“My great-grandmother sang
with the girls of her village
as they pulled the flax.
Songs so old and so tied to the season
that the very sound
seemed to turn the weather.”
—Karina Borowicz
For centuries we’ve watched for the first flower, the first frost, or the first fruit that hails the change in seasons. We listened for the call of the cuckoo or goose long before we pinned calendars to walls or strapped watches to our wrists.
In this interactive talk, Storyteller Eileen Budd will be bringing a selection of handling objects from her Travelling Folk Museum and together we will explore the stories, traditions and folk objects that have helped us mark the passage of time for generations.
About Seeds of Thought
Join us for a series of lunchtime talks with researchers, thinkers, artists, creatives, and like-minded individuals.
Throughout 2025, we invite you to a menu of fascinating ideas over lunch. Together, we’ll consider how changes, at various scales of time and space, reflect the broader ecological crisis and explore ways to engage with these shifts, both practically and imaginatively.
Coffee, tea, and water will be available, with sandwiches for pre-order at the Visitor Centre. Free for St Andrews Botanic Garden Friends Members, £3 for visitors
