Learn to Paint
One of the best ways to appreciate nature and garden design is to learn to draw and to paint. It doesn’t matter how good you are, the point is the joy you’ll derive from it. To get yourself started perhaps you might like to take one of the wonderful classes available at most schools for continuing education. Painting and drawing from nature trains the eye to see and appreciate beauty, and to paint in a garden is close to heaven.

Paint While Traveling
Next time you travel, why not try carrying along a notebook containing good watercolor paper (I recommend Arches cold press) and a small paint set? (The Windsor Newton compact travel box is ideal.) Grumbacher makes a collapsible paint brush with a screw-on handle. (Number 8, sable is a good choice.) Add a pencil, an eraser, a pencil sharpener; wrap the kit in a paint rag secured with a rubber band, and the whole thing will fit in your purse or knapsack.)

When oil painting, put in the darks first and work from dark to light. Work all over the canvas, not just one spot at a time. When painting in watercolors it’s the opposite: go from light to dark. This is not the only way to work, but it’s a helpful rule to follow before you learn when to break it.
When painting watercolors I usually begin with the sky. It often helps to hold the paper upside down. You can leave white paper for clouds or paint dark clouds into moist sky with a mixture of burnt sienna and Ultra Marine. It’s fun to practice sky techniques at home. (Allow the sky to dry thoroughly before painting trees or objects over or next to it.)

And here’s a mundane tip, but worth remembering: Buy good paint brushes; wash them after use, shake them out and smooth to a point with finger tips. Lay them flat on a table to dry, then stand them upright in a jar. If you never soak the hairs of your watercolor brushes in water, they will last for years, perhaps for a lifetime.