emails, books & more...

Where I have a little FOMO.

My email box is slowly starting to fill with inviting emails that talk of spring bulbs. These email encourage me to get in early, to pre order and for a moment I am seduced, clicking the link that takes me to a page which is filled with brightly coloured images of flowers presented in ways that suggests I need in them now. My eye wanders and I start to think of plans for spring adding items to my shopping basket. Then a little voice in my head says, “It’s January”. I stop and reflect for a moment and realise that the FOMO, fear of missing out, is real. Normally I am more of the JOMO type - joy of missing out but this tends to apply to large parties and gatherings. It turns out that when it comes to garden plants I am fully in the FOMO camp. So given that it is January and there is still some hope of trying to improve oneself this year, I close my browser and flag the email as a reminder to have a look at a later date. I am sure they will quite possibly be a bulb that I think of as beautiful that I will miss out on and I am ok with this. Waiting will give me time to browse through my recently acquired copy of “Containers in the Garden by Claus Dalby” for inspiration. So off I go to do some research and planning and hope that cures my FOMO.

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One of the many books that is part of my never decreasing book pile is “Everybody Needs Beauty in search for the natural cure ” by Samantha Walton   which is a delightful read. It covers well being in the landscape focusing on areas such as water, forest, mountain and of course gardens as a means of finding of peace and balance. What I am enjoying most about the book is how it is an exploration into these areas rather than a you must do this with the author looking at what works for her. She is a curious person who is exploring different outlets that may or may not enhance her day. She writes

“The wellness movement has long flourished by cultivating a sense of lack. But there’s nothing wrong with me….”

I felt rather seen when I read this as I often feel many aspects of the wellness world do make you feel there is something wrong with you when actually there is not, you are wonderful just the way you and you are just looking for some peace and balance.

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There are little hints of seasonal change beginning to appear. Autumn is starting to murmur. The days, while still glorious and long, are struggling to wake as early as they did a month ago. Even the birds rise later with their chorus starting at slightly more civilized 6 am rather than their high summer 5. Plants that I associated with vibrancy of autumn such as the dahlias are flowering. The field of green with pops of colourful dahlia blooms that I was dreaming of in late sprig when I planted out my tubers is now a reality. I wait and watch each day for new varieties to flower. It seems to distract me from the shortening days. In another corner of the garden, I spy the budding anemones while the jasmine at the door seems to be giving another second flush of flowers. I ignore in my head the words I spoke to another years ago, that the jasmine were flowering again, their second for the season and that this was a sign that autumn is coming. I feel I should fight theses signs of a changing season, moan and complain about the end of summer days but I have learnt and I am still learning to roll with the seasons, to try and embrace what they offer.

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Last year I pushed pause on learning. Since I took up photography in 2020 I had been bouncing around from course to course learning what I can. I hungered for learning. Last year I felt full and wanted to take a year to just potter and play and put all I had learnt into practice so I made a promise to myself, no courses for 2023. The year rolled on and towards the end of 2023 I could feel the itch to start learning again begin to rise which I’ve decided to embrace. I am currently learning how to improve my photo editing skills in an attempt to move on from the quick slap of a pre set. While I am learning the practicals of editing and how to see my photos in a different way, I think what I am cherishing the most is taking the time to slow down and appreciate what I am doing with my camera. So far it has been a joy and I am relishing being in a learning space again. It feels like a promising start to 2024.