On Monday 12th October at 8pm in Cwmyoy Hall Paula Davies will talk about THE HOUSE ON STILTS
Paula will tell us about her home, The House on Stilts, in Ferryside, Carmarthenshire, on the edge of the Towy estuary, and the making of the garden there.
“The modernist house has evolved into a giant bird hide. Frothy perennials, lacy ferns and drifts of native wildflowers create gentle waves in this wildlife-friendly garden where water is key.”
Alys Fowler, Gardens Illustrated
Hear about how two art teachers who are serious gardeners and keen on wildlife have made a sustainable garden in keeping with the beautiful surroundings, for all forms of life to enjoy!
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9th November
Helena Attlee: Plants & people on the slopes of Mount Etna
Helena Attlee is a garden writer and historian who is also a great scholar of all things Italian. She speaks Italian and has spent long periods of time there especially in Sicily, delving deep into contemporary society and its many back stories.
She has written many highly acclaimed books on the gardens of Japan, Portugal, Wales, Italy, Britain…She lectures widely, writes for a wide range of journals and magazines, and leads specialist garden tours. She lives in Presteigne with her husband, the photographer Alex Ramsay.
Her talk for us will be the on the subject of her recent book, which is the story of what happened when she decided to settle for a season in a village high on the slopes of Mount Etna, Europe’s biggest and most active volcano.
THE FIRE IN THE MOUNTAIN
Sicily, Etna and Her People
For centuries, Mount Etna has sent lava to engulf the towns and villages, terraced fields, orchards, vineyards, and citrus groves that nestle across its slopes. But still it remains home to a quarter of Sicily’s population. Why? Because Etna has always rewarded her people after every eruption with a landscape of unparalleled fertility, richness and drama.
In this extraordinary new book, Helena Attlee combines travel writing with history, mythology, geology, gastronomy and horticulture to tell a unique story of life in the shadow of Sicily’s most dangerous and alluring landmark. Venturing through lava-strewn fields and pistachio groves patrolled by armed guards; past dusky, basalt-built farmyards, and caves once used to store snow, Attlee gathers tales of the artists, writers, farmers, and scientists who have for centuries been drawn to this unpredictable landscape: from the early Roman, Arabic and Norman settlers, Romantic poets and Victorian geologists, to the local families who live and work there today. It is at once a compelling account of Sicily’s rich and varied past, and a powerful meditation on humanity’s ever-changing relationship with landscape.
Particular Books, publication 16th April 2026
The 2026-27 programme of talks in Cwmyoy Hall is available here
