... at the back of a flower.
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself”
― Henry Miller
Attention brings happiness.
Take a look
Blog
Beauty, beauty, beauty
Bloom - bee - bird
Enjoy beautiful flowers, plants, colours and shapes every day. I want everyone to experience that joy.
When you take the time to observe a flower, you come closer to nature.
You begin to appreciate the little things in life even more. A whole new world opens up to you.
You notice more of nature: a little bird flits past, and you stop for a moment, curious to watch it. Then you notice the intricate details of the nearest flower, spot a tiny creature, and see how the colours on its back shimmer in the sunlight.
In the gardens I design, I want to create colour, fragrance and joy for people to enjoy.
Let’s sketch together and create something beautiful.
Image: Annie Spratt (unsplash)
Marathon des Sables
During the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, I volunteered as a Runner Relations volunteer. My husband was taking part in the marathon alongside 900 other runners. Throughout the week, I supported, cheered on and encouraged the runners, handed out water, and did a lot of dancing!
During any free time, I took the opportunity to study the local vegetation.
Acacia nilotica - Prickly acacia
Asteriscus imbricatus - aster
Stipagrostis pungens - desert needlegrass
We celebrated the completion of the garden lesson programme at Leeuwerikhoeve Primary School in Mariahoeve, The Hague with a forest school restaurant.
The six pupils, guided by Marjan, Souad and I, welcomed their parents, the lesson coordinator and a council representative as guests. They treated everyone to a delicious selection of homemade dishes: wild herb pesto, lemon balm and mint pancakes, and strawberry mousse.
Many thanks to the school and to Jan and Marjan from Stichting Voedselbos Mariahoeve. I thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and learned a lot along the way. It was a wonderful collaboration.
Garden lesson festival
Anima gardens, Marrakesh
An unexpected day exploring Marrakech on my own — and I loved it!
I took the shuttle from the stop behind the beautiful Koutoubia Mosque to ANIMA Garden, about 30 minutes outside Marrakech. The garden was created by Austrian artist André Heller and combines art, nature, sculpture and exotic planting.
I spent the morning wandering, sketching and simply enjoying the garden. A wonderful place to get inspired!
Food forest training
What a Sunday! I joined a food forest training with Cityplot at the Stadsboerderij in Osdorp, Amsterdam.
There was a great group of enthusiastic participants, with theory in the morning followed by a hands-on planting session in the afternoon.
We shared a delicious potluck lunch, learned some new terminology, and headed home full of fresh inspiration and ideas.
Ctrl+Alt+Ecology
A thought-provoking presentation and discussion about sustainability from a non-Western perspective, and about humanity’s place in the world. The afternoon began with a planting ceremony and took place at Amare.
Top tip: Seed libraries!
Seed libraries offer a wonderful way to borrow, exchange and share seeds for free, while helping to build local seed collections and support biodiversity.
NL doet
It was a regular Friday of school gardening for me, but with one big difference: it was NLdoet, and lots of volunteers came to help.
Other children from the school joined in with their mothers, teenagers came to help as part of a school assignment, and municipal employees got stuck in too. Everyone planted a plant or ten, helping to create a beautiful garden for the school while contributing to biodiversity in the city.
A wonderful example of what we can achieve when we all get our hands in the soil together.