My commute

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[This view is about 1km from Birmingham City centre & the bars & clubs of Broad Street & the Mailbox]
When not running home from work along the Worcester and Birmingham Canal on a Tuesday and a Friday (officially the worst and best days of the week), I am usually siting/standing on a train avoiding eye contact.
Commuting on one of the busiest train lines into central Birmingham used to be one of my biggest stressors.  Even now I occasionally fall back into that state of mind and begin to loathe getting on a packed train.  

Over the last few months I have started working on a flexi-time basis which means my commute into the City is usually a breeze as I can either start really early or relatively late.  Even better I can give my eyes a rest from a screen, sit and take in the scenery out of the window.
When day-dreaming isn't an option I combat the daily stress (and avoid the public transport sin that is eye-contact with another human-being) by swiping through the pages of my favourite gardening  blogs.


For me, content is as important as design and presentation.  Anything that looks beautiful, is simple to navigate and has content I enjoy reading ticks all of my boxes.  


Here are a few of my go-to blogs that I return to time and time again, sometimes to read the same page over and over such is the eloquence at which some construct their prose.  
I love this blog, the author also has a YouTube channel that I have found most helpful.  When I read these pages I hear the authors soothing voice in my head slowly reading the words to me like an episode of Jackanory.
I can't remember how I stumbled across this Oregon based blog Perhaps It came up in the search engine for a plant I was looking for.  Anyway, this is a well constructed blog from another part of the world.
Having recently made contact with my family in France over a genealogy question I discovered another lover of blogging/gardening/nature who gets a special mention. 
This blog shows what is possible to achieve in a relatively short space of time when armed with patience, love and commitment.  The photographs on these pages are stunning and stand out against the simple clean and crisp backdrop. 
I have just begun reading this award-winning blog found via Instagram, the illustrations alone make it for me.
The rate at which people contribute posts for their blog sometimes impresses me.  This is  especially true when you have an inkling that their daily life must be packed to the brim.  I've been reading these pages for several years now. Its an upbeat positive blog that often makes me laugh out loud - yes even on the train.
Its the depth and the detail that first attracted me to these pages.  The subject matter is delved into just enough to mask a crap train journey and make those 15 minutes vanish into the ether.
This is one of the first gardening blogs I stumbled across, it took me ages to realise just how small the space is which just goes to show how fabulous any space can be.  This blogger also mentions the front garden too which is equisite.

I look forward to finding new sources of inspiration in the years to come that can collectively contribute to a better quality of life as these all do.

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