Travel is just the best. I love to experience nature all over the
world. These are some of my personal photos: from over-the-top garden
designs at multi-annual Chelsea Flower Shows (including my all-time
favorite garden design), to designs I've encountered from my trips
around the world, created either by local folk or nature.
In Australia, I was amazed at the dry conditions, the clarity and
color of the sea, the stands of Eucalyptus and grass trees as I drove
the Great Ocean Road up to the Grampian Mountains on my way to
Kangaroo Island. The sense of place is strong and undeniable.
Kangaroos and Koalas were sighted not only in rescue centers but in
the wild jumping across the road or munching on Eucalyptus leaves.
Just outside of Cairns Australia in the Daintree rainforest, the heat
and moisture was a constant reminder that I was not at home in
Southern California.
A terrific font of joy sprang up, when I realized that the plants in
the botanical garden in Christchurch New Zealand were planted
according to genus, and that I could get photos of > Southern
Hemisphere plants like Phormium, Astelia, Hebe, Pittosporum,
Leucadendron and Lophomyrtus all lined up allowing me to compare the
different species' characteristics.
All provide a unique sense of place or wonder as you witness people,
plants, land forms, insects and animals adapting to their own unique
situations. Whether designed by humans or nature, all inspire and help
you form a vision of what a garden can provide. These are ideas we can
use to make our gardens places of tranquility or activity.
