Wildlife ponds are crucial to the garden eco-system and are a wonderful diverse world of carefully balanced flora, insect and amphibian life.

 

As a keen gardener, I love to watch the hypnotic world of the wildlife pond. To catch a glimpse of newts darting below waterlily leaves and witness Dragonflies up close, the sunlight caressing their intricate wings. 

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Do you feel inexplicably drawn to the calming sight of water? Do you sense how seeing patterns in nature calm and soothe you? Listen to this wonderful video by renowned Biophilic Designer Oliver Heath explaining fractal patterns. 

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These imperfect and repeating patterns that we see in Nature – for example, in leaf structure, branches, the repeating pattern of a waterlily's petals, veins on a leaf and the veins on a dragonfly'swing are called fractal patterns. The irregular, imperfect designs are rarely found in the man-madeenvironment which is dominated by squares and rectangles, but they’re everywhere in nature. 

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Humans are hard-wired to recognise these patterns. We experience stress-reduction that is triggered by a physiological resonance that occurs when the fractal structure of the eye matches that of the fractal image being viewed. Focusing on a fractal for a short amount of time can trigger brain activity which induces a state of “relaxed wakefulness.”

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When we see water, even droplets, we experience feelings of relaxation, reduced stress, and even boosted creativity. Whether it's a bubbling brook, a waterfall or a vast ocean, the visual stimulation of water can help to clear our mind and inspire thoughts.

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In Biophilic Design, colour can also increase feelings of wellness. The obvious colour here is green, but there have been many studies into colour psychology and here the different background colours also contribute to deep feelings of calm. 

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So if you are looking for a wallcovering, with a vertical repeat to increase feelings of wellbeing within your home - look no further!​​

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