Three candles tracing a single day in an English garden — from rain-bright morning to the herb border at dusk.
A walled garden keeps its own weather. Brick holds the night’s rain well into morning; by midday the glasshouse is warm enough to ripen figs; at dusk the herb border gives back everything the sun put into it.
These three candles follow that one day. Each is poured a few at a time in Holyport, and each jar is hand-numbered from its batch.
The gravel path an hour after a morning shower — lemongrass bright over wet rosemary and basil, drying down to vetiver.
The garden's idea of a clean start.
Morning. The gravel path an hour after a shower.
Lemongrass first, sharp and clean, the way a garden smells when the sun comes out on wet leaves. Then the herbs: rosemary and basil, bruised rather than cut. Underneath it all, vetiver, which is the wet-earth note that gives the candle its ground. It's the start of the day in the Walled Garden.
A morning candle, and a kitchen one. It clears a room rather than filling it, so it's good after cooking or first thing with the coffee on. It's lighter than the evening specimens; in a large room, keep the door shut for the first half hour. The 20 cl jar suits a worktop, a windowsill, a desk.
20 cl Oxford jar in frosted glass, hand-poured in our garden studio in Holyport. 160 g of wax, a cotton wick, up to 40 hours of burning. Each jar carries its batch number, written by hand. The frosted glass softens the flame to a glow.
Let the first burn reach the edge of the glass, two to three hours, so it doesn't tunnel. Trim the wick to 5 mm before each burn. Never leave it unattended; keep it from children, pets and draughts.
Fig Leaf & Sun-Warmed Stone follows it at midday; Herb Border at Dusk closes the day.
Midday at the south wall — green fig leaf and bergamot over warm stone, a fig ripening in the sun.
The warm side of the wall.
Midday. The south wall, warm to the touch.
Fig leaf, green and slightly bitter, with bergamot to sharpen it. Then the middle turns milky: fig milk, immortelle, cedar, the smell of a fig tree with the sun on it rather than the fruit in a bowl. It finishes on fig wood, oakmoss and a soft amber, warm and mineral, like brick that has held the heat all afternoon.
This is the one for a warm room and a long afternoon. It behaves like a green scent at first and a woody one later, so it changes over a burn in a way the others don't. Good in a sitting room with the sun coming in, or anywhere you'd sit with a book. It carries well for a 20 cl candle.
20 cl Oxford jar in frosted glass, hand-poured in our garden studio in Holyport. 160 g of wax, a cotton wick, up to 40 hours of burning. Each jar carries its batch number, written by hand.
Let the first burn reach the edge of the glass, two to three hours, so it doesn't tunnel. Trim the wick to 5 mm before each burn. Never leave it unattended; keep it from children, pets and draughts.
After the Rain is the morning before it; Herb Border at Dusk the evening after.
The day's last job — brushing along the herb border as the light goes. Rosemary and bay over clary sage, settling into patchouli and moss.
Best burned with the back door open.
Evening. The herb border giving back the day's heat.
Rosemary and bay, the two herbs that smell strongest at the end of a hot day, with birch leaf to keep it green. The heart is where it turns: clary sage, muguet and a touch of peat, soft and slightly smoky. Then patchouli, vetiver and moss, the damp, dark floor of the border once the sun has gone. Best burned with the back door open.
An evening candle, and the most grown-up of the three. It suits a kitchen table after dinner, a hallway, a room with the lights low. It builds slowly; give it an hour and the herbs give way to the moss and patchouli. It's the one to burn when you want the room to smell of outside without it smelling of flowers.
20 cl Oxford jar in frosted glass, hand-poured in our garden studio in Holyport. 160 g of wax, a cotton wick, up to 40 hours of burning. Each jar carries its batch number, written by hand.
Let the first burn reach the edge of the glass, two to three hours, so it doesn't tunnel. Trim the wick to 5 mm before each burn. Never leave it unattended; keep it from children, pets and draughts.
After the Rain and Fig Leaf & Sun-Warmed Stone are the morning and midday before it. Any three are £65.
Up to 40 hours. That figure comes from an independent burn test of this wax, wick and jar, so it is "up to", not a promise of the full number in every room. Give the first burn two to three hours, until the melted wax reaches the glass all the way round, and it will burn evenly from then on. Trim the wick to about 5 mm before each burn and burn for no more than four hours at a time.
Candle care & safety →Candle Shack CS1, a paraffin/mineral wax blend with added plant wax, made in Germany. It is vegan-friendly. We chose it for its scent throw: the fragrance is held at 8% of the wax, on a cotton LX 12 wick, which is the pairing the burn test was run on.
A Walled Garden candle comes in a 20cl frosted glass jar holding 160 g of wax. The jar is yours to keep once the candle is done: stand it a minute in hot water, wipe it clean, and it makes a good glass.
The 20cl collection candles suit a bedroom, a hall or a bathroom. Light it half an hour before you want the room to smell of it, with the door shut. Two candles in one room fight each other, so one in each room is better than two together.
Every jar carries a printed base label with the hazard and allergen declaration the law requires, the net weight, the burn time, and a batch number written by hand at pouring. The full declaration for each scent is on its safety page. Never leave a lit candle alone, keep it from children, pets and draughts, and stop when a centimetre of wax is left.
Candle care & safety →Candles are hand-poured in small batches, so we aim to dispatch within 2–3 working days, Monday to Friday, by Royal Mail tracked. You get an email with the tracking number when it is on its way.
Delivery →UK delivery is a flat £4.95, shown at checkout before you pay. Orders of £40 or more are delivered free. We deliver within Great Britain, which is England, Scotland and Wales. We cannot send candles to Northern Ireland or outside the UK at the moment.
Any two candles for £45, any three for £65. Delivery's free too. Mix any of the candles; the saving comes off automatically in your basket, with nothing to enter.
Yes. If you change your mind, email hello@theluminary.uk within 14 days of the candle arriving and we will arrange a refund; it needs to come back unused, unburned and in its packaging. If a candle arrives damaged or faulty, tell us within a few days with a photo and we will replace it or refund you in full, postage included.
Returns & refunds →Rich & Leigh, in a garden studio in Holyport, Berkshire. Every candle is poured by hand in small batches and numbered from its batch on the base.
Our story →
The first of the Walled Garden going into its jar, poured by hand in the Holyport studio, one at a time — and the printed fronts, back from the printer on textured paper. Each jar sets, its wick is trimmed, and then the label goes on by hand.
Morning, midday and evening. Any three candles are £65. £7 less than three singles.
Any two candles for £45, any three for £65. Delivery's free too.
The jar is meant to outlast the candle. When the wax is done, stand it a minute in hot water, wipe it clean, and keep it — refills are coming later this year. How to get the most from every burn is on the candle care page.
