"Wanderlust" with Diana Yen

Diana Yen is a cookbook author, food stylist, and creative who brings an artist’s eye and to everything she touches. Known for her evocative storytelling and recipes that celebrate seasonality and place, Diana finds her inspiration in moments outdoors—where ingredients, memories, and landscapes intertwine. In this Hour in Nature, she reflects on the practice of wandering without destination, the meditative beauty of forest bathing, and how she blurs the boundaries between home and the natural world.

1. What’s your favorite thing to do in nature?

To wander without a destination or timeline. Whether along a forest trail or a quiet stretch of coastline, I love letting nature guide me. There’s something sacred in simply noticing: the curve of a leaf, the golden light on fields of wheat, the birds chattering in the trees.

2. How does spending time in nature influence your mental health? Can you think of a specific experience where this effect was particularly strong?

I’m drawn to Shinrin-yoku—the art of forest bathing—where the quiet presence of trees invites my senses to soften and open. It’s not about doing, but simply being. Sometimes I bring a blank page and trace the shadows of leaves and branches with charcoal, which helps me feel calm and focused.

3. How do you bring nature into your home?

I like to blur the line between indoors and out—bringing yard clippings like big branches to use as arrangements, placing bowls of seasonal produce on my countertops, and leaving windows open so fresh air can drift in. The essential oils in Koala Eco’s Room Spray make me feel like I’m walking through a citrus grove.

4. What are your fondest memories of spending time in nature?

Lazy summer days by the creek in Ojai, listening to the water rush by, plunging into the cold clear flow, and eating ripe stone fruit in the sun while lost in a book. It’s the simple moments like these that stay with me the most, the quiet rhythms of nature unfolding around me and grounding me in peace.