I’m thrilled to be the Artist in Residence at the ‘hidden’ gem that is Dr. Neil’s Garden, by the shores of Duddingston Loch, near Edinburgh (from June 2021-July 2022) where I’ll be found, ‘dropping down’ among the plants and general ambience of this very special spot. The poet, John Clare (1793-1864) described his need for ‘dropping down’, in order that he be better able to see nature as it might appear to other beings – he ‘dropped down’ in order that he might better attune to his immediate environment. I too am trying to allow myself to do this – slowing down, dropping down, seeing as heeding – because I feel a need more strongly than ever to study, to learn from what is happening all around me, in the natural world – by making studies of the plants that I encounter while out walking in my own immediate environment and allowing plants to be my teachers…
Click here to visit Dr Neil’s Garden