Imagine if tomorrow humanity were to reverse the current calculation for valuing things; where now we prize the new and the fast, the large and the easy, tomorrow we treasure the slow and the old, the small and the hard-gained. What would fetch the highest price in this market of tomorrow? An amble through an old forest, the glimpse of a lyrebird feeding her chick, a night spent in silence on the high seas: how high would the auction go?
Continue reading “The flower that conquered sultans and speculators”“The bonsai responds to our heart” – meeting Sydney’s bonsai master, Megumi Bennett
Underneath a skyscraper city, there is little time for patience, and few spaces for contemplation. But today in the shade of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney’s own bonsai master is giving a lesson in the quiet art of the bonsai.
Continue reading ““The bonsai responds to our heart” – meeting Sydney’s bonsai master, Megumi Bennett”Admiring the heavens in a city of light
Underneath Sydney’s glowing night sky, we almost forget that above us hang a million billion stars, galaxies, comets and nebulas, their sparkle dulled by the towers of light we built to out-do the heavens.
Continue reading “Admiring the heavens in a city of light”Sensing the forest through shinrin-yoku (or forest bathing)
Whether in a walk in the park, a hike through the bush, or a countryside stroll, people have always taken to the outdoors to breathe, think and feel. We enjoy the warmth of the sun, the shade of a tree, a cool breeze, because it is instinctual: our bodies have always known the benefits of nature.
Continue reading “Sensing the forest through shinrin-yoku (or forest bathing)”Autumn in Australia’s eastern ranges
Across Australia’s eastern ranges, Australia’s forests are beginning their long recovery. This year’s autumn rains have been heavier and temperatures lower than in years past, when hellish mega-fires burnt a million hectares of bushland across the continent.
Continue reading “Autumn in Australia’s eastern ranges”Adoration of the Waterlily
In religion and in gardening, in art and lore, the waterlily (Nymphaeaceae) has long been revered for its beauty, with its vibrant yellows, whites, pinks, and purples capturing our eye and imagination.
Continue reading “Adoration of the Waterlily”Uncovering the Triassic at Longreef, Sydney
How can we comprehend the world as it was 245,000,000 years ago, in the Triassic age?
Continue reading “Uncovering the Triassic at Longreef, Sydney”The Garden City: Macro Photography at Adelaide Botanic Garden
If, instead of a the bustle of streets or the heights of skyscrapers, a city’s worth was measured in plantlife, then Adelaide surely would rank among Australia’s richest.
Continue reading “The Garden City: Macro Photography at Adelaide Botanic Garden”Blending the human and natural at the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection of Australia
In the ‘vision splendid’ of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin’s planned bush capital, Canberra was to embody the principles of a garden city: blend the human and the natural; bring the beauty of nature into the daily life of the community.
Continue reading “Blending the human and natural at the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection of Australia”