As a landscape and garden designer a portion of my existence and growth is spent being found by experiences and moments that take me. And I think I should continue that sentence by saying 'take me...to a place of timelessness' (following up on a previous post).
These experiences capture me, make me stop in my tracks or thoughts and are ones I long to incorporate into gardens and landscapes that I will one day develop. They can be found anywhere.
That's why I travel and wander through new territories, lands and cultures, there's always an unexpected experience waiting to teach me.
And I don't think it's about replicating the physical nature of the experience, the space or the moment, as it is understanding how I feel, and why I feel that way - then being capable of translating that feeling into a (domesticated) landscape.
I had one of these moments as I was wandering through an area in Regent's Park of which I had never passed. There was a rough hedge with an ambiguous path that went behind and I had to follow....it led to an opening of long floppy grass and in the far end of the clearing was one of the most magnificent beech trees. The new growth was magical in color and the late afternoon sun was hitting it just right.
Following an intriguing and hidden path, turning a corner, coming into an expanse - then happening upon a delight to wonder at...there's one experience to record for the diary.