Author: nicholas romano

A quilt of moss and ferns blanketing a tree. Palm-sized stones worn smooth and round by the waves. The perfect imperfection of an overgrown forest path. We rely on nature to show us where to go with our designs. She hasn’t steered us wrong yet.

Japanese Portland Gardens are a place of peace and spectacular beauty. Yesterday my daughter and I took a tour with a very knowledgeable guide who is one of the 80 volunteers that help keep the gardens going.

I have always loved to be barefoot. The more dirt and mud the better. How amazingly soft the earth is, to feel the skin of Mother Nature and to think it is a constant, this thing we call earth. Hubris. We begin as a seed in the womb and we return to the earth. My […]

In the book Mourning has Broken, a Mom describes the deep heartbreak of losing her child. One day when she was out walking she noticed that she was finding pennies along this trail and somehow she knew it was him. She started to feel comforted and more at peace. I too have found pennies for […]

I am out visiting my daughter in rainy Portland, Oregon and yes moss is everywhere. This vibrant flowerless plant that grows in dense green clumps and adorns every crevice, wall, roof and sidewalk makes this city even more beautiful. In the damp Pacific Northwest moss is allowed to grow as your typical lawn and grass […]