Classical chinese garden design calls for spaces that engage all the senses - that allow one to experience nature not only by seeing, but by hearing, smelling and touching. In the torpor of late summer, once all the various rhythms of life and even thoughts slow down, I take advantage of the still moments, where I can simply enjoy sensation. I do this particularly well when on vacation. This summer, my travels took me to Sardinia - and if there is ever a landscape that engages all the senses - it is Italy's.

*[Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida]*

In Sardinia's villages alone, the scent of jasmine and citronella geranium seep through narrow, twisting allies, and plants root themselves in little chinks in the walls, gushing out from them in torrents of green which seem to explode all that architectural symmetry and perfection.

[cobblestone alleyway, Sardinia] — *[cobblestone alleyway, Sardinia]*

In the broader landscape, a hot wind rips through the silver foliage of derelict olive groves, and the yolk yellow flowers of wild fennel infuse the air with such a heady licorice scent, it's all you can do not to stop a moment, pick a stalk of finocchietta and bite into it as dry brush scratches at your legs.

It's these moments of stillness, when an intense heat, a sudden breeze or scent stop you, that are so important for us. Because they force us to catch our breath and remind us how, even in a place like New York, where stillness seems so impossible, it is so necessary.

Now that I've returned, I've made it my mission to spend a moment every day focusing on something natural, even if only for thirty seconds. The rustle of bamboo on a client's terrace, the scent of lavender, rosemary and mint, pinched between thumb and forefinger, the brush of Juniper against my wrist.

With so much distraction around us, we need to continually train ourselves to focus. But in order to do this we need to first clear the mind. I am so lucky to work with the natural world, because engaging with nature and reawakening the senses allows one to do this. And so I plan to take full advantage of my encounters with nature in the coming months, even if they occur in the studio. I'll return to work this fall, to the mania of event season with revived energy and concentration, treating each stem, each leaf I work with as a momentary mandala.

*[Fort Greene- Brooklyn Garden designed by Alex Abuza]*

In the meantime, I will benefit from these last days of summer, and spend as much time as possible in the out of doors, letting nature take over my senses, so that for just a moment, I am aware only of the feeling grass beneath my feet, the gentle lapping of water against a jetty, the scent of sweet autumn clematis as I pass it by. I'll pick some rosemary and smell it on my fingertips, taste a tomato that's only just been picked and still smells like the plant it came from. I'll simply stop doing. Stop making, and be. And then I will return to life as usual, only with renewed focus.

[top- mustang surrounded by olive trees, bottom- foraged arrangement designed by Alex Abuza]