Wildflower Inspiration
the magic and beauty in the small and simple things
Hello, all! Welcome back to the blog. I’m so glad you’re here.
In my last blog post, I talked about the subversive power of creativity and the ways in which we are all connected by art. Today I want to touch on how we find our inspiration– and in how many ways, inspiration can be a choice.
It’s often said (I’ve said it, too) how we ought to just be receptive, and inspiration will flow to us. That’s true, to an extent. But what does it mean? And what happens when we somehow block inspiration?
In the past, I couldn’t see the beauty and magic in so many small, simple things in my life because I was constantly seeking out the next “mountaintop experience.” For instance, I couldn’t truly appreciate the beauty of my local city parks because I was only chasing the rugged mountain trails hundreds of miles away.
Now I know better the value of the little things, too. But I had to really cultivate a practice of noticing them– a practice of looking for them. Over time, I learned how to better see the wonders right under my nose. And only then did I find the inspiration waiting for me right outside my door (and often inside it, too!).
“Inspired by Wildflowers”
My Instagram bio reads, “inspired by wildflowers.” It sounds quippy, but I share it because it’s true. Over the last few years, as I’ve been leaning into living more in tune with the seasons, I’ve begun to connect with the flowers of each one. I now know which wildflowers and flowering trees bloom first in the spring, and how to tell when we’re shifting toward fall by the flowers, too. This knowledge has all been through cultivating this practice of noticing.
It has opened me up to noticing so much more, too. Like the ways each of my dogs’ noses twitch ever so slightly when they smell something interesting in the air. Noticing behavior patterns and the calls of wild birds. How we as humans are influenced by and connected to nature, too. How my energy levels are attuned to the moon cycle, and how stepping outside into fresh air and sunlight can make everything feel instantly better. It’s really incredible how our understanding can deepen when we choose to slow down and look around.
My novels inspired by wildflowers
One early spring morning a few years ago, our family went for a short hike at a local nature preserve called Ritchey Woods. This place is a hidden gem in and of itself, smack dab in the middle of suburban neighborhoods and business parks. But when you walk into the woods, you’re in a whole different world.
It was here that I encountered what first inspired my novel-in-verse Wildflowers in Watercolor. Inside the nature preserve, there’s a tiny pioneer cemetery alongside the trail above a creek. That day, someone had placed a small wildflower, a spring beauty, on one of the old weathered gravestones.
That was enough inspiration for me. Two years later, I released Wildflowers in Watercolor, a gentle coming-of-age novel-in-verse that was first inspired by a single wildflower and a small act of kindness.
My new book inspired by wildflowers
My upcoming novel Heirloom Rose was also first inspired by wildflowers– this one by daffodils! We don’t often think of daffodils as wild, but they can be. Once, when wandering the hills and hollows in and around Brown County State Park in southern Indiana, I learned something incredible about daffodils. The thousands that grow wild all through the area are mostly descendants of those in pioneer gardens from centuries ago.
I love what nature-inspired artist Kim Koehler recently wrote, “Daffodils are tenacious perennials. They multiply and spread on their own, often outliving the people who planted them. Have you ever seen rows of daffodils blooming in the woods? They are time travelers, marking the footprint of a garden that existed decades or even a hundred years ago.”
When I learned this about daffodils, I knew there was a story in there. So, I wrote it. Based on the history of the communities displaced by the construction of southern Indiana’s Lake Monroe, Heirloom Rose is a middle-grade novel about a family: a grandmother, a mother, and a young daughter, and how they reconnect with one another and with their heritage. And in the story, too, it all starts simply, with daffodils.
Heirloom Rose releases later this year.
Tell me: What small things around you tell a story if you look a little closer?
Well, thank you so much for stopping by the blog! For book news and writing updates from me, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter below. You will also receive a free resource on writing historical fiction for kids, plus a very special short story. And be sure to check out my books— inspired by wildflowers.
I’ll be back on the blog again soon!
Katie
