pathways

Looking for a bit of writing inspiration? A writing prompt to kick-start some ideas? Here are two photographs that I took that will hopefully help. The first is a glimpse through an open doorway and down a summer garden path. The second is an open gate into an autumnal walled garden, the greenery belies the fact it was taken in November.

I'm always intrigued by an open doorway leading from one environment into another; indoors to out, from the open street into an enclosed garden. A glimpse of a garden will especially spark my imagination. Shades of A Secret Garden, Tom's Midnight Garden, and even hints of Narnia. A pathway, leading off into the distance, draws the eye towards an unseen destination, where is it heading to? What awaits me at the other end of that path? Is it something I want and need, will be delighted by? Or will it turn my world on its head, so that I rue the day? To lead someone down the garden path is to hoodwink, trick and fool them. But to wander down a winding redbrick path through garden borders can be one of life's great pleasures.

Lots to ponder and wonder about, imagination-wise. Lots to wander about, garden-wise. And what further inspiration is sparked by the fact that the first image was taken from inside Virginia Woolf's bedroom in Monk's House, looking out into her garden? Doesn't that add a layer of story? What was she thinking about as she walked that path? And what do we gain from knowing that in the second image we are gazing into Rudyard Kipling's garden in Rottingdean, looking down a path that he'd have walked? Does that change what we see here now, and how we feel about this garden? How did these gardens affect their owner's writings?

 Photos are the author's own.