Winter has arrived and the first Friday in June is celebrated as National Doughnut Day. This all started in World War 1 when America entered the war. The Salvation Army sent a fact-finding mission to France to see how they could help the war effort. And what did they come up with? Doughnuts. Well, as the story goes, their soldiers required writing supplies, stamps, and a clothes mending service. But most of all their boys needed some mothering, so they hit on the idea of providing them with freshly baked doughnuts! And of course, they loved these treats. Now it's a fund raiser for the Salvation Army so they can continue their good work.

I listened to an interview with an architect decades ago about his doughnut theory that has stuck with me. The architect was saying that our homes were like doughnuts. Weird, definitely, but that is probably why it has stuck with me. In the past, the home was like the hole in the doughnut, and the doughnut itself was the outdoor space, the backyard where children played, with a vegie garden and a few fruit trees. Now the doughnut itself is the home. as the home takes up most of the suburban  block.

What if we could expand this doughnut theory to suburban development. The aim of the developer is to get as many building blocks as possible. But what if the hole in the doughnut is the communal space, a natural parkland for the housing estate, where children can play, explore, enjoy nature, kick a football and ride their bikes safely. Where each house has a view and use of natural parkland, rather than a streetscape. This communal parkland then becomes a connection with the whole estate, a connection with all the people living there, and a connection with nature.

When we consider the needs of children and nature, we get a different answer. This makes for a peaceful and beautiful place to live, with a feeling of space, calm and well-being. Isn't that what's life's all about. Well, I think so.

Why do we feel so good in nature? Why does spending time in nature make us feel so peaceful and serene? And why do so many of us want to spend time in places of natural beauty?

The human brain is an amazing instrument, and we have within it, what is called mirror neurons. These mirror neurons allow us to learn through a feedback system, such as someone smiling, we smile in response, or when someone yawns, we yawn too. These mirror neurons dissolve the barrier between people, so you can feel their pain, their happiness, their emotions. More importantly, these mirror neurons allow us to have empathy for others.

When we spend time in nature, we feel calm and peaceful, because nature is actually mirroring back to us, what is already within us. We don't have to get anything, buy anything or inhale anything; peace and serenity is our resting place, our centre of gravity, our home. And the miracle of nature, reflects our true calm, serene self, back to us.

The clothes we wear are like signposts, signaling clues about our personality; blending in or standing out, the fabrics we like, our colour palette, our style. And leaves are the plants clothes. They are signposts signaling clues about the plant's personality, why they grow where they grow, and do what they do. Their style choices give us clues to their personality.

When a plant flowers, they stand out from the pedestrian backdrop of green, we recognise them, hello you, good to see you again. But most of the year they aren't flowering, however, the fabric of their clothes tells us about that plant, rough or smooth, big and bold, soft and fleshy, spiky or friendly. Their clothes give us clues about how they like to live, the suburb they hang out in and who their mates are.

If we crush a leaf between our fingers, the scent will give us extra information about the plant, and with edible plants, the aroma will give us a clue to the taste. The picture above is of Sassafrass, and the leaves of this tree have a heavenly cinnamon nutmeg aroma. Walking in a Sassafrass forest is a treat for the senses.

When the leaves are small, thin and harsh, their clothes are indicating they spend much of their time in hot, dry conditions, and have adapted well, to this sun-drenched lifestyle. If their leaves are soft and fleshy, they live in the luxury of a fancy moist suburb, and don't like to venture out into the cold. And if the leaves are spiky and prickly, they are difficult characters, you don't want to mess with them, this is a bad neighbourhood. 

But just as we misjudge people, there are always exceptions, and this makes them very interesting characters. It opens a whole pandora's box of why and how questions, such as, why does this delicate plant live in this harsh environment and how does it survive? Why is this plant surviving with its toes in salt water, and how does it still manage to look so beautiful, with its purple pom-pom flowers. 

When we feel the fabric of the leaves and take notice, we get so much information about the life of plants. And plants like people, are only being true to their character, their lifestyle, and their community, by expressing themselves through their wardrobe choices.