Inspiration

Valerie Finnis's study, photographed by Jan Baldwin for World of Interiors

This is how I want to live my life. I don't really want anything else, none of the stuff that can clutter a life with false promises. To have a place for my work, a small garden, and the opportunity to photograph flowers and garden - these are the things I crave and need. I can't tire of looking at this picture. I wish I could insert myself in it.  

Valerie Finnis & Garden People

Valerie Finnis, photographed by Howard Sooley in 2006

I woke up to find snowflakes dancing unexpectedly outside my windows so instead of heading off to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, I delved into the wonderful book Garden People that Melissa had lent me. Valerie Finnis was a plantswoman and photographer who documented the garden world of England with her colorful portraits of plants and gardeners, including Vita Sackville-West, Lady Birley, and David Shackleton. She used the same Rolleiflex camera, a gift from the curator of Munich's botanic garden Willhelm Schacht, for 40 years.

A New Beginning

Edward Hopper's summer house in Truro

Photo by Chris Ramirez