How to Tell Time with Your Garden (And Not a Watch)

2026-08-18

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Is it possible to tell time with your garden? Apparently, birds and plants can tell us what time of day it is! When we recorded this episode, I was in my third trimester, so sometimes I would be up at 2 AM whether I liked it or not. Which was how I found out that the birds in my Florida backyard start up around 4! For a while, I'd check my phone to see how close we were to sunrise. Now I learned to listen. That's the idea behind The Fullness of Time by Cathy Haynes. It's a book I read about how to tell time without a clock, instead using...

Is it possible to tell time with your garden? Apparently, birds and plants can tell us what time of day it is! When we recorded this episode, I was in my third trimester, so sometimes I would be up at 2 AM whether I liked it or not. Which was how I found out that the birds in my Florida backyard start up around 4! For a while, I'd check my phone to see how close we were to sunrise. Now I learned to listen. That's the idea behind The Fullness of Time by Cathy Haynes. It's a book I read about how to tell time without a clock, instead using birdsong, blooms, shadows, and stars. It touched the gardener in my soul, and I knew I needed to have Cathy on the podcast to talk about all of the different ways our ancestors kept time in their gardens and in nature. Come learn with me!

In this episode, we learn:

[02:07] Meet Cathy Haynes!
[03:12] What is The Fullness of Time book about?
[04:05] The evening primrose in her London backyard that started all of this!
[05:55] How does gardening change your sense of time?
[07:17] How did ordinary people tell time before clocks?
[09:26] Cock crow, midnight spirits, and what each part of the day means!
[11:42] Reading a clock vs. actually sensing time
[12:20] What is the ornithological clock (how to tell time through birds)?
[15:24] Espoma Organic
[17:00] Learning to pick out the individual singers in the dawn chorus
[17:36] Merlin app to learn birdsong
[18:38] What third-trimester insomnia taught me about the 4 AM birds
[21:53] What is this Linnaeus’s flower clock?
[23:55] Did the Bern Botanical Garden get a living flower clock to work?
[26:30] Daisies, chicory, and the timekeeping plants hiding in pavement cracks
[28:40] Which time-telling plants can you add to your own garden?
[30:59] Why mature sunflowers stop following the sun and just face east
[33:26] How did our ancestors use shadows to tell time?
[35:21] Ancient scratch sundials on churches and Icelandic hills!
[37:37] Light pollution and how to adapt to the sun in a city
[39:32] Can you tell the time by the stars?
[41:42] What are some simple ways to get started with your time garden?
[44:52] Where to find Cathy and The Fullness of Time!

Mentioned in our conversation:

The Fullness of Time: Marking the Day by Birdsong, Blooms, Shadows, and Stars by Cathy Haynes
Merlin Bird ID
Collins Bird Guide App
A Botanical Timekeeper - The Flower Clock
Growing Joy Episode 186: The History of Houseplants with Jane Perrone

Interested in tracking time with your local birds and flowers,

check out the full show notes and blog here!

Follow Cathy:

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Thank you to our episode sponsor: Espoma Organic

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

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