Notes from the Garden
Peace and Tranquillity in a Wild Place
“You do not have to go far. Only deep.”
— Anonymous
These daisies are everywhere in our garden.
I say garden, but truthfully, it’s more of a lived-in wildness — a place where order and untidiness meet halfway. Some areas are mown, yes, but others are left to grow freely, as nature intended. Grass sways in the breeze. Flowers open and close with the rhythm of the sun. And among it all, the oxeye daisies thrive — their white petals like soft beacons in the green.
As someone who loves making photographs, this is a deeply generous place. I don’t have to pack a bag or chase the golden hour across distant hills. I simply step outside, camera in hand, and look. Each morning offers something new: a slightly different slant of light, a flower just opening, a hoverfly dancing above the yellow disc of a daisy. Nothing repeats, not exactly. And that’s the wonder of it.
I live in the middle of the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales — an area of outstanding natural beauty and deep-rooted stillness. We moved here in 2019. Not to ‘retire’ — I’m not sure that word means much anymore — but to live more fully.
There are so many things to do, so many ideas and projects to explore, that I sometimes wonder how I ever found time for a career.
But I did — over forty years of working and travelling extensively — and now, I’m profoundly thankful to have the time and space to follow a different kind of path. A slower one. One that listens more. That notices. That creates.
There’s a kind of peace here — not the silence of escape, but the calm that comes from belonging. From slowing down enough to see what’s already waiting. These moments aren’t loud or dramatic. They don’t shout to be noticed. But they’re rich, and alive, and full of meaning if you give them the time.
More and more, I find I don’t need to leave home to discover something worth capturing. The garden — this half-wild, wholly welcoming space — is enough.
It gives. And in return, I watch. And sometimes, if I’m lucky, I see.