Haarkon

Originally from Sheffield, Magnus and India leave town on a regular basis now, to new and remote locations where they work as photographers. They enjoy immensely the enormous amount of freedom that comes from freelancing, as well as the time made possible on these travels for their own projects. This is how their now famous blog Haarkon came to be, accompanied by an Instagram account full of greenery and garden inspiration that over hundred thousand people turn to each day.

How did your greenhouse tour start?

Magnus: Our greenhouse tour started a while before we decided to share it; we've been visiting gardens and greenhouses for years but only recently made an online home for it all on the Haarkon website. We kind of 'fell into' it really; choosing to visit initially in order to kill a few spare hours and then slowly but surely the greenhouses have become our goal destination. Each one has its own personality be it through the architecture, what kind of plants they hold or how the inhabitants are cared for.

How much do you actually travel?

Magnus: Alot! We work on photographic commissions all over the country and sometimes beyond - we spend a lot of time in our car or walking unfamiliar streets but we really enjoy it. Seeing a place with new eyes is always exciting but equally we enjoy re-visiting somewhere we've been before so we can find something we missed the first time. Being freelance means that we live quite a flexible lifestyle but we get to do it together so it's really interesting.

How do you choose your destinations?

Magnus: Our work determines quite a lot; if a client needs something specific then that will dictate where we end up but when we get to choose for ourselves we do a bit of research and see where we fancy. There's normally a place that we've seen alot of on social media and that whets our appetite to see it for ourselves. Finding a nearby greenhouse is always quit high up on our agenda - and if not we like to hunt out green space if we can.

Which sources do you use to research the most exciting green houses?

Magnus: Instagram is a huge help for us; we feel as though we're a part of a community and like to ask others for recommendations. It's one thing to see where a tourist board wants you to spend your time but we really value word of mouth - that's the true test. We like to make sure that we geo-tag our pictures so others can follow in our footsteps and really appreciate when others do the same, it makes life easier when hunting for somewhere to spend few hours or to get a great coffee. Of course we Google as much as we can and plan itineraries; making sure we're realistic about what we can fit into a day without compromising our level of enjoyment. We take the research quite seriously as we never know if we'll get the chance to return and we hate the idea of missing something.