Technobiophilia

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I've decided to merge all my different websites into one. The domain name will be http://www.suethomas.net  but it will be hosted at Wordpress. Technobiophilia.com will point to part of it. It will take a while to move everything over but I would be grateful if you would re-subscribe at the new blog. Thank you!

Growing things to gaze at from the keyboard

As my digital life has expanded, so my physical life has reduced, and that certainly includes the opportunity to grow things. Once I had a huge vegetable garden with fruit trees and bushes which together gave up a scrumptious harvest every year, but as I moved house my gardens got smaller and smaller until now I have only a balcony which, although it has wonderful views of the sea, is not conducive to anything that cannot stand strong salty winds and bright sunshine. I've never been brilliant at gardening and have largely depended on the resilience of my plants to defend themselves against my clumsy tending, but I still enjoy messing around with pots and soil, so what to do? I'm going to follow the lead of others in these apartments and buy a hardy seaside plant or two, but they're not very colourful. 

So for my first summer here, I've decided to grow stuff anyway, just for the pleasure of it. I'll probably have to give most of the plants away because there's nowhere to put them, but I am going to try and raise some on the treacherous balcony and a few more inside.

Of course, one problem with favouring a digital life and getting rid of so many possessions in the process is that it's harder to keep things for re-use. I no longer have a shedful of handy plant pots and seed trays, but rather than buy new when I don't have the room to store them year-to-year I'm going back to my old habits from when I first started gardening, and collecting yoghurt pots etc as well as re-using baskets such as the one here, which once housed a flowery gift. I'm going for just four plants, Morning Glory, Calendula, Black-eyed Susie and Nasturtiums, none of which are exactly known for withstanding seaside balconies. So, we'll see. Can I grow a lovely view to gaze at when I look up from my keyboard?

Excerpt from the Preface, Technobiophilia

"This book is for anyone who uses the internet, from beginners to the obsessed. It is also, you may be surprised to learn, for nature lovers everywhere. But rest assured: I am not going to tell you to turn off your computer and go outside, which may be what you are expecting. Instead, I plan to demonstrate the ways in which nature intertwines with the wired life to provide unexpected benefits such as an improved attention span, a rested mind, and enhanced creativity. I will show that the natural world has been woven into the internet since its earliest beginnings and that there need not be an either/or choice between technology and well-being." September 2013