by Leigh
Do we have any gardeners here among us? There is something so therapeutic about spending time in my yard pruning the roses, cutting back the grasses, trimming off the old seed pods on the Crape Myrtles. It's watching the transformation from dead and unruly to clean and ready. Ready for new additions to the garden. Ready for vegetables and fruits to be planted. The thing about a garden is that it's never really finished. It's an adventure and offers things you can and can't control. There are new beds to cultivate, new outdoor room spaces to create, new plants to try and heirloom plants that bring back memories every time they bloom.
Working in the garden sparks creativity. Nothing is really permanent as plants can be changed out or transplanted to new places from year to year. Each year can be a new experiment in color combinations. It's like starting with a blank canvas every year. Nothing makes me happier than to walk into my local garden center and to be blinded by color. But it's easy to be overwhelmed with choices, so sometimes I have to step back and consider what I'm trying to accomplish in my space. Then I search for the plant with the right texture, foliage, or bloom color to make it happen.
And the photographer in me loves to walk out my back door to find inspiration. My garden feeds my photography passion! I encourage you to find a small space in your yard…it could even be a group of container and create your own photography muse and then share your photos in our Facebook or Flickr group. I bet there are a lot of green thumbs in this group!
12 comments:
Yes, and yes.....I have the front garden beds all ready and have a few perennials I planted last year in my annual bed that are already nearly 10 inches!! We are hoping to get a veggie and herb garden planted this year too. One for us and one for the butterflies (wink wink). Already have a black swallowtail caterpillar that hatched yesterday on some bronze fennel I got....happy dance! It usually take me several trips to the nursery to decide what I'm going to plant.....
Although I'm not really the family gardener {my hubby does that}. we do plan together. And it is a never-ending project {just like photography}. Right now we're still at the 'dead and unruly' stage but any day now, the family gardener will get out there and start pruning the things he missed last fall. And I may help. But, oh, yes! When things start to bloom ... well, that makes my camera happy, too!
You know, once more it's a learning curve for me. I always thought I had a "Black Thumb." But a few year ago I moved a plant because of a house project. It had been on it's last legs, and then all of a sudden it was robust! That led me to start playing and moving things and my yard was great last year. I certainly would not say it's a passion - to me it feels like vacuuming outside - but I do love the results. Since I spend May to October on my deck, I get a lot of joy from it at that end.
This is the time of year when I envy folks in the south. Your temps are getting warmer and the danger of freezing is over. You can start gardening. Up here in western pa.
, ninty mikes south of Buffalo it will still be frosting up until Memorial Day. That means no gardens or annuals until then. It's a short growing season. So we really enjoy it while we can. Usually in April we can begin to clear out our flower beds and work outside. Can't wait.
I not sure which I love the most…gardening or photographing!! They both seem to feed my soul, however, everything is still pretty dormant from our LONG winter, but Im ready! Thanks for sharing and have a beautiful growing season, both inside and out!
I gardened first. Then, I started a garden blog. So, I needed good photos. That made me work harder to learn photography.
It's ongoing and never 'done'...the garden OR the photography lessons.
So, yes....gardening and photography, go hand in hand.
Ain't it GREAT?
Well stated Leigh! I too am a gardener and love what my garden teaches me about the cycle of life - sow seeds, plant, weed, harvest, compost. Then begin again. That's life!
Gardening is my middle name, right after photography....I love the feel of digging in the dirt and the satisfaction of seeing a garden come to life. But unfortunately it will still be awhile before that activity returns to my corner of the world.
I feel like I'm in the minority, but I don't do much gardening. I have a couple of shade gardens with Azaleas and hostas. These two plants pretty much take care of themselves. I so dislike the hot humid summer months that I have no desire to be out in the heat in the garden. If someone would come up with a winter garden, I'd be delighted!
Not much of a gardener here either. I used to love having houseplants but once children arrived, I used to say if it didn't scream to be fed, it got ignored. But I love having pots of flowers and plants outside when possible. Our winters are too cold and our summers too hot for much to last year round so I keep having to replant things in the pots I have. But they sure go a long way toward brightening the landscape, both at home and around town where they are growing. I have to admit that a lot of the things I do plant are planted solely for the purpose of taking pictures of them! I have three pots of poppies right now and am loving capturing them in all their glory.
Your garden is so beautiful and the plants are amazing. I am also a gardener and I grow vegitables using garden beds. Thank you so much for posting this article.
Raised Gardening Beds
I imagine your gardens are gorgeous and with an abundance of beauty to photograph. As far as gardening, I don't do too much of it these days with the Texas heat, but in days past when I lived in NY, my garden was beautiful! This may sound funny, but…I miss the scent of the rich soil, the feeling of the cold dirt and planting young flowers, bulbs, etc. {sigh}
Post a Comment
Thank you for sharing part of your day with us. If for any reason you are unable to leave a comment here on this post, please leave your comment on our Facebook page or in our Flickr discussion group. We love hearing from you!