Grace in the Garden

by Kelly

Well so if you happen to follow me on Instagram, you might recall that during the month of May I did a month-long photo series on my garden.  I even created my own hashtag for it -  #mayinmygarden – because I’m super clever like that.

I guess I’ve always loved gardens and flowers.  I can remember being a little girl and spending summers at my great-grandmother’s house.  I loved walking out back behind her house into the big garden where she had planted zinnias in between her rows of tomatoes and green beans.  I would pick a handful of zinnias and bring them inside to her.  And she would always make such a big fuss over them and find some little container to put them.

Once I got married and had my own home, I always enjoyed planting flowers in my flowerbeds.  And I would say this is when my own passion for gardening was ignited. 

Like it is with anything I enjoy, in the beginning I spent an enormous amount of time reading as much as I could about gardening.  Which I might add included learning both the common and Latin names of flowers.   And because I’m a total nerd, I even took a botany class at my local community college.   Hello my name is Kelly and I am an overachiever.

As much as the science fascinates me, the older I get, the more I appreciate the actual physical aspect of gardening.  For me, digging in the dirt is a major stress reliever.  I can totally take out my frustrations pulling weeds.  And I don’t know exactly how it happens, but very often if I am struggling with problem of any sort – mental, creative, emotional – just focusing on a simple garden task helps me to clear my thoughts and find solutions that I would not have otherwise been able to come up with.  Yes indeed….I do love gardening so much.

These days, gardening is still such a joy to me.  But it also serves another purpose…providing material (in the form of flowers of course) for my other favorite hobby – photography.

  

I think I can safely say that flowers are my favorite muse.  I love the endless variety and the many shapes and forms they take.  I adore the vibrant colors and often intoxicating scents.   And as a photographer, I find so much delight in the all the little details – the curve of a petal, the texture of the centers, the way the light bounces off the leaves.

 

I should tell you that I can lose all track of time photographing the flowers in my garden.  (Just ask my daughter.)  Being behind the lens and focusing on flowers really connects me to the present moment.  And appreciating the beauty and finding gratitude…well it all just brings me so much peace and joy.

We love hearing your thoughts…so please do share…what is your muse?  What brings you joy behind the lens?  And more importantly, have you ever burned your family’s dinner because you lost track of time photographing it?  Please tell me I’m not the only one.
  
Love, Kelly