What causes dull creativity?

Have you ever read a book and felt heavy? Or perhaps bored?
Next time you see your kids slumped over the homework you might just do the following.

Some of the trouble you run into has to do with a lack of being able to picture something in your mind. Clients sometimes say, “I am no good at visualizing” meaning that they can’t formulate an image in their mind. And when this happens, you feel dull. Your body feels heavier and creativity wise, you come to a stop.

So, what is a great solution to this is to create a mood board. Now 10+ years ago clients would get their scissors and cut out pictures they liked in magazines, collate them into a folder, and then present them to me for images of what they wanted to see in their garden.

One of my favorite mood board apps are Pinterest and Houzz.
Rather than think, “now, what would it look like to have a firepit area? Could be stone or timber or rocks or…ahhh” – instead, go to Pinterest and create a ‘New Garden mood board’. In the search bar enter, ‘garden firepit’ and below, you can see examples of various styles.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of examples, and when you find the ones’ you like, you simply ‘pin’ it as per the below image by pressing the SAVE button.

If you then enter any single element you wish to include, then you will start to feel brighter about the subject. And when you have created a board full of these images, you can share the board with us by simply clicking on the board and hitting the plus sign and entering the email of your designer.

Remember, a designer is only as good at interpreting your dream as the information you give them. So, the more you articulate what you like and don’t like, the easier the flow of creative thought that ultimately brings to life an amazing garden.