Hello my fellow garden lovers, how are you? Thank goodness for some cooler days! We’ve been having a full on hot summer so it’s quite a relief to finally reach for my cardi. The seasons feel so ahead, that I wonder how autumn will actually look this year. I walked over the park yesterday and was kicking up fallen leaves, most of the trees had already turned golden and it no longer felt like summer. I talk about there being more than four seasons, like the seasons each have mini transition seasons, well we’re definitely at that in-between stage now. I felt the release in my shoulders yesterday as I sat on the bench, surrounded by the ducks, writing, drinking tea and pausing to look around and breathe. I stayed on that bench a good hour, I was tempted to stay all day but the garden was calling me home. Now if we could all do a rain dance please- maybe that would work. Oddly, I don’t mind a brown crispy lawn, but I really hate watering my plants in the ground. Anyway, I’m rambling, what I want to talk about is my community- A Year Of Noticing, that’s opening next month.
September is my favourite of all the months and it felt like a lovely time to start. There’s too much pressure in January for new beginnings but I always feel like autumn is the perfect time for a bit of a reset and a little bit of reflection. The community is for people that want to slow down, connect to nature and are looking for a bit of calm. We have three guiding words- mantras if you like; Notice, Gather & Create. To notice- look closely at the world/seasons, the light, the effects of weather on the landscape and how it makes us feel. To gather- a lichen covered twig, the first forget-me-not, stones, feathers, a photograph and recording notes. To create- the response to noticing, crafting your seasonal journal & preserving the seasons.
If I’m feeling frustrated, foggy or like I can’t put my finger on what’s up- it’s always because I’ve been neglecting these three important rituals and I haven’t been checking in with nature.
I’m currently putting together the digital edition of my seasonal magazine called The Art Of Noticing, which community members receive each season. Every month there will be a personal letter (online) from me that will link to the journals we will create together. I’ll give you the link to the journal I’m using for the year if you’d like to buy the same, but any scrapbook with white/cream pages will do. This is where once a week (or more if you wish) we sit and remember/document the things we’ve noticed and the emotions we’ve felt as a response. I will give you prompts and little challenges, we’ll take photos to stick in and get better with our photography skills while we’re at it. You can use watercolours or pencils to document colours, ink to print stems, record recipes from things you’ve foraged. All the little things that you have noticed will go in here including how the garden is growing. Everything you notice about the seasons will all go into this book. You can share this with the group if you wish or keep it private, that’s your decision but you will be encouraged to join in with chats and share snaps of the things you have noticed.
Extra little perks of being part of the community are early access and discount to my fine art floral photography prints each season. My Lightroom preset recipes for mobile photography and priority booking for my in-person garden noticing mornings/evenings.
The community will open on Friday the 11th of September with an introductory offer of £7pm or £80 annually for the first week. I’ll write more about the community over the next couple of weeks so you can see if it’s something you’d like to do.
Right, best get on, I need to open up the gallery.
Write soon.
Emma.
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