Clematis

What it feels like

You are physically here and mentally somewhere much better. The meeting is happening and you are three chapters into an imagined future where things have worked out. People have to say your name twice. You lose your keys, miss your stop, and read the same paragraph four times without taking any of it in. There is nothing unhappy about it, which is part of the appeal. The daydream is more pleasant than the afternoon, so you keep going back to it. The cost is that the actual day passes without you, and things that need your attention quietly pile up.

Signs you might need it

• People tell you that you were miles away
• You lose track of what someone just said
• You prefer thinking about the future to dealing with today
• You are drowsy, need a lot of sleep, and find waking up slow
• You are forgetful about practical things, keys, stops, appointments
• You feel faint or light headed easily

What it helps with

Your attention comes back into the room. The imagination stays, which is worth keeping, but it becomes something you use rather than somewhere you disappear to.

Not to be confused with

Honeysuckle, which drifts backwards into the past rather than forwards into a daydream. Wild Rose is flatter and more resigned, with no pleasant elsewhere to go to. Hornbeam is about reluctance rather than absence.