Category Archives: Gardening

In which I come home

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Jennifer Rohn

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been caught in the flurry of the early-spring conference season, crisscrossing continents to take part in that most ritualistic of scientific pastimes: networking, giving talks, sliding through poster sessions, drinking bad coffee from steel … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Joshua, Nostalgia, Research, The ageing process, The profession of science, Work/life balance | Comments Off on In which I come home

In which I thank my stars for country living

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Jennifer Rohn

When I first moved to London in 1997, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Long hours in the lab would spill into the evening streets and underground tunnels of a city so large that you could never experience it all. … Continue reading →

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In which I lurk on the edges of the playground

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve just finished Richard Powers’ latest novel, Playground. This is not a book review (although I can highly recommend it), but more of a reflection on its aftertaste. Cryptic spoilers below. I’d consider the book ‘lab lit lite’ – there … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Joshua, LabLit, Staring into the abyss, The ageing process, The profession of science | 1 Comment

In which I mark a milestone

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Jennifer Rohn

I have been putting off writing about a special twenty-year anniversary. But first, apologies are in order. Yet again, I find that another season has passed without me writing here. This was never meant to be a quarterly affair, but … Continue reading →

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In which I dream of escape

Posted on July 14, 2024 by Jennifer Rohn

Sometimes everything just seems too much. As the non-existent summer rolls on – 14C mornings of rain or overcast, wool sweaters taken back out from storage – I find my stress level to be the only thing heating up. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Gardening, Research, science funding, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Work/life balance | Comments Off on In which I dream of escape

In which I make the best of things

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Jennifer Rohn

Greetings from the tail end of a typical British bank holiday, where the big highlight was gardening in the rain. In all seriousness, it was rather lovely to be out tidying up the flower beds in the fresh air, among … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Careers, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Research, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Work/life balance | Comments Off on In which I make the best of things

In which we fast-forward

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Jennifer Rohn

The phrase bleak midwinter was first coined by the English poet Christina Rossetti in 1872 and went viral when composer Gustav Holst incorporated her text into a carol a few decades later. Although the words are clearly meant to evoke … Continue reading →

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In which I age backwards

Posted on November 21, 2023 by Jennifer Rohn

I don’t know if it’s just me, but for the last few years, I’ve forgotten how old I am. Because I spend so much of the year pessimistically rounding up, I’m rendered unsure by the present state of affairs. When … Continue reading →

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In which the wheel turns

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Jennifer Rohn

Time is a wheel, speeding me along in ever quicker circuits. As individual moments rush towards me, flare into immediacy and then blur past, most are soon forgotten save for those captured as digital images, or in some dashed lines … Continue reading →

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In which I am pummelled into viral submission

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Jennifer Rohn

I am only happy to write about this today because I suspect it is finally almost over. I’m no longer so superstitious that I think I’m tempting fate by doing so now. In short, I’ve been ill for a long … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Illness, Research, The ageing process | 1 Comment