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Trees of life : As uncertainties take over urban days, the need for the natural world grows.

Trees of life

When travel restrictions and pandemic lockdowns limited our reach and our scope, other priorities and emphases became more pronounced. Family and house pets, reading and television, reliable internet for work, the world within our walls. But on forays outside, the natural world also gained in importance, in my case from buying more flowers for the kitchen table to venturing into forests or on long walks to see the cherry trees in bloom. I also dusted off old photographs from botanical gardens around the world, from Hawaii to Australia, Thailand to the Netherlands, Singapore to Germany, that I was able to visit over recent years. Many of these photos were from rose gardens and flower parks – blossoms saved for a future essay. Presented here is simply a selection of trees, cacti, ferns and other plants – small sketches and details of the natural world, bursting with colour, life and mystery, displayed with little context or introduction. In a socially distanced or locked down world, visual slices of the natural world can calm and invigorate.

Prickly spheres. Cacti from the ...
Prickly spheres. Cacti from the ...
Leaf details in Leiden, the Neth...
Leaf details in Leiden, the Neth...
When plants are indistinguishabl...
When plants are indistinguishabl...
The textures of tree trunks, in ...
The textures of tree trunks, in ...
The textures of tree trunks, in ...
Exposed tree roots in Hawaii.
Exposed tree roots in Hawaii.
Exposed tree roots in Hawaii.
Fern details, Hawaii.
Fern details, Hawaii.
Bare branches set against the sk...
Bare branches set against the sk...
Abstract dangling tree roots and...
Abstract dangling tree roots and...
Radial symmetry in St Kilda, Aus...
Radial symmetry in St Kilda, Aus...
Radial symmetry in St Kilda, Aus...
Radial symmetry in St Kilda, Aus...
Radial symmetry in St Kilda, Aus...

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