# Telling the Story of This Place <br> ![[IMG_20230922_094454.webp]] <br> --- ### Hello My name is Thomas — welcome to my digital garden! In January 2021, my partner Emily and I left the city behind and relocated to Torr House. At that time, the large, five-acre garden was essentially a blank canvas, and so we have had the **immense privilege** of designing and creating something completely new. --- <br> ![[IMG_E0393.webp]] <br> --- Since then, we have been digging ponds, planting thousands of trees, and making plans. **While the vision is very much still evolving,** we definitely want to grow a lot of food, establish a biodiverse range of habitats, and allow large parts of the land to gently rewild. The garden is still at the beginning of its journey, but it has already been **such a joy** to see the steady return of wildlife and the slow unfolding of the ecology. --- <br> ![[IMG_5089.webp]] <br> ## What is a Digital Garden? A digital garden is a highly personal, evolving website. It develops gradually over the long life of a project, expanding naturally as new records and observations are added. **As the garden itself grows and changes, so will this website.** <br><br> ![[IMG_2485.webp]] <br> ## What I'm Hoping to Create - **A personal record** — paying attention, asking questions, and building a deeper understanding of this land. <br> - **A way for friends and family to follow along** — keeping track of what’s happening here as the project develops. <br> - **An archive for the future** — a rich resource for whoever cares for this land after me. <br><br> ![[IMG-20250316-WA0029.webp]] *photo: Jonny Sharp* <br> ## What You’ll Find Here The site consists of three sections: - **Field Notes** — regular entries, usually published four or five times a week, recording my observations and research. <br> - **Photo Journal** — capturing ongoing projects and other developments. <br> - **Index** — use this to locate all mentions of a particular species, place, or topic across the site. <br><br> ![[WhatsApp Image 2022-01-06 at 11.31.30 (11).webp]] <br> ## Subscribe! If you’d like to follow along, you can subscribe to: - [**The Full Notes**](https://buttondown.com/thomasbaylem?tag=full-notes) — every new note as it’s published. <br> - [**The Highlights**](https://buttondown.com/thomasbaylem?tag=highlights) — a curated digest every Friday. <br><br> ![[IMG-20250316-WA0051.webp]] *photo: Jonny Sharp* --- Thank you for taking an interest in this project. If you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at: [**[email protected]**](mailto:[email protected]).