A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us

’A wise, passionate, heartfelt book. An invaluable resource for those seeking greater attunement with the year’s cycles’ - Katherine May

’I learnt so much, about the alchemy of the living world and the possibilities of relationship. I finished the book newly awestruck by planet Earth and all the life that she carries. Beautifully written, nourishing, evocative and inspiring’ - Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden

’Poppy’s fresh-eyed look at her own little corner of the county gave me a renewed sense of wonder and delight at the joys and challenges of loving and (on good days) living off a small patch of land. Plus some truly brilliant ideas for getting the most from it’ - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

’This is an intimate look at building a true relationship with a garden and all that live in it. Practical, poetic, political -like the best conversations over tea in the garden’ - Alys Fowler
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A Wilder Way is a memoir of a relationship with an ever-changing garden, of setting down roots and becoming embedded in nature, and of how tending to a patch of land will not only grow us as individuals, but can also help to grow a better world.

Join Poppy Okotcha in her wild little garden in Devon, where, over the course of a year, she shares the inspiring, the mundane and the magical moments that arise from tending a garden through the seasons, and what they can teach us about living more sustainably.

Alongside tips for sowing and growing, wild ingredients to be found and delicious seasonal recipes to make, she shows us how the small joys of engaging with the natural world are imperative for our physical and emotional wellbeing. How the more we look at the world around us, the more we learn and the more we care. Woven throughout are personal stories, exploration of environmental issues facing us today, and folktales from her English and Nigerian heritage - stories with nature at their heart that have inspired her, and will inspire us to live a little more wildly.

With original illustrations from Frances Whitfield

WINNER OF THE JANE GRIGSON TRUST - SOUS CHEF AWARD FOR NEW FOOD AND DRINK WRITERS 2025

Poppy Okotcha is a trained horticulturist and regenerative grower, on a mission to inspire people to engage with and connect to the natural world. With her joyful Instagram content, Poppy teaches people how to grow and forage their own food, whilst living and eating consciously - for personal, community and planetary health. As a young black woman, Poppy also advocates for those who are underrepresented and marginalised in the world of horticulture and environmentalism.
Poppy’s successful modelling career began in 2014 (she has worked with brands like Vivienne Westwood and Chloe), but in 2016, exhausted by work and international travel, her focus turned to her garden - and to learning how to grow her own good quality, nutrient-dense, food. She began to think more deeply about the connection between healthy environments, healthy food, and, indeed, healthier (happier) people, and decided to train as a horticulturist.
In 2016 Poppy began her horticulture studies with the Royal Horticultural Society, and spent time working with a number of community gardens in London. She also studied alongside Martin Crawford, the creator of the oldest ＂food forest＂ in England, qualifying in 2019 as a Permaculture Designer.
Poppy has been featured on Gardeners’ World (BBC2), and is a regular contributor to the Royal Horticultural Society podcast.
She recently relocated to Devon, where she has more growing space to work with, and more links to a landscape of established, sustainably run farms and community gardens.

@poppy.okotcha