It's so hard to see the beauty in our own gardens. Sometimes we're just too critical. I haven't shown much of my own garden lately. I'm just so sick of trying to make sure my pictures are framed or cropped so as to not show the bad.
I know how you feel. I keep thinking I have to redesign everything so it's picture perfect but the pollinators are thrilled that I let the wild asters take over.
Tammy we should all be easier on ourselves about our gardens and our pictures ... another "do as I say, not what I do " ?? haha I really love that last picture ... what is that plant ? Joy
I am definitely too hard on myself when it comes to my garden. The last pic is of talinum 'Jewels of Opar'. It's very easy to grow from seed and has really cool little flower balls that pop open to reveal those pink flowers. I really like it.
PS ... I see you have one of the Kodiak shrubs going in ... I am looking for Kodiak Orange (where I would put it is another story) I also read that "red" blurb on the sidebar and had a great laugh because that is what I do too ... glad I am not alone ! LOL Joy
Your photos and garden look great to me. Nevertheless, I agree with your conclusion (pithily expressed, I might add). How come Gomphrena grows so well for you but mine always looks pathetic? Huh?
Gomphrena want lots of sun and moist well draining soil with a bit of fertilizer. I grow mine from seed so they're not treated with growth retardants. I wish you lived closer so I could share my extra seedlings with you. :o) I love that you used the word 'pithily'. Being direct and just saying what needs to be said is the best sometimes.
Being direct is best, unless you want to avoid telling the truth. Or lying. I also wish we lived closer! Think of all the plants we would exchange! And I would use 'pithily' at every opportunity.
We have come to believe that photographs tells the truth and are accurate, but they just aren't. I am always amazed at the difference I get from one setting to the next. I guess you must be back to school. A busy time I am sure!
Photos can lie, for sure! I've been back for 2 1/2 weeks but no one cried when they couldn't get their lockers open - neither teachers or students. ;o)
Oh my gosh, I'm dealing with this right now! Some areas of the garden or nature look so beautiful, but try as I might I just can't capture them on camera--and that's OK! Sometimes I dream, though, of a "camera" that could duplicate what I see when I blink my eyes. Wouldn't that be cool?! But your plants look beautiful and healthy as ever! Look for some blogger love in my next post--up today or tomorrow. :)
Exciting! I've taken pic after pic to try to capture some areas of the garden and they're always pathetic. Seeing them in person is so much better. :o)
I'd be really happy with that mass of Gomphrena outside my door, Tammy, regardless of the time of day! As to photos, I snap a lot and consign a healthy percentage to the trash. Even working within the so-called "golden hours" surrounding sunrise and sunset hasn't reliably produced the desired results. Photos under cloud cover are clearer but lack the sparkle that comes when you just happen to catch the light at the right angle.
My garden looks shameful right now - so bad I don't even want to take photos of it - all I can say is thank goodness for the fruit trees at least there is some colour in the apples.
I have a section of my garden I call the Dumpster Fire because it's such a wreck. I let one of my plants run loose and it took over, nearly suffocating several others. Another plant wasn't cut back and it fell over like a huge pile of spaghetti. But I've gone it and cleaned it up and need to keep a sharper eye on my beautiful thug next year.
I went to hear a talk last night by a florist who owns a cut flower garden. She said that she is unable to get good enough photos of her beautiful flower garden and arrangements, so she pays a professional to take photos for her. Needless to say, most of the photos which accompanied her talk were superb, but the ones which really captured the history and soul of the place were taken by her or her family on a dull winter day, and were a little blurry. I suspect that if I were to ask everyone who attended the talk which photos they remember, these would certainly be among them. Sometimes perfection is simply not necessary.
Your garden looks just right to me. As I get older I don't stress too much about everything looking good ALL the time. Take me as you find me is my new mantra....if you have a problem with that well then hustle on your way.
This post and the comments are a breath of fresh air to me. Sometimes I try too hard to take good photos, and then it's no longer enjoyable. So - what matters is the sharing. It's a wonderful community we're all part of. And that last photo is heart meltingly lovely.
I love photos where bloggers forget their wheelbarrows are showing. Their washing on the line, or a child' s toy or abandoned gardening glove. I love to see glimpses of everyday life. Our gardens not just sterile show pieces they are where we live. I don' t want to see perfection like in a magazine on a blog. I like to catch glimpses of blogging friends' personalities and everyday lives.
I do, too. Blogs with photos that always look like a magazine spread make me a bit suspicious unless I know the gardener personally. Blogging is all about connecting with other people and photos that seem more real make the gardener more real.
Good point, Tammy. Too often I use close-ups, because they always turn out the best. But the longer shots--imperfections and all--really give a better idea of what our gardens look like. Besides the garden tools I forget to put away and the dog toys scattered here and there, there are always a few weeds in my photos as well:)
Hi Tammy, I freely admit to carefully selected close-ups when the light is a certain way or far-shots where the imperfections are too small to see. There are many areas of the garden that are too awful and embarassing to be put online.
It took me a couple minutes to realize all the pictures were of the same grouping, angle and lighting sure do make a difference! Love the gomphrena. I grow the red and thought I as happy, but now the other colors are looking pretty good as well :)
So true, so very, very true... And having just shared some very selective shots of my front garden, which is otherwise full of nasty surprises, thank you for making me smile so wryly! And that's a lovely combo by the way, whatever the lighting conditions...
I got a new camera and can't wait to use it in the garden like you. However, it will take me all winter to figure out how to use it, and then I will probably reach for my old one without the brain. (I do video though.) Ray
Tammy, you are a great photographer! Your posts are always entertaining and interesting. What's really bugging me is that, here it is 8 o'clock in the evening and it's dark already! How are we supposed to get good photos? Sheesh!
Thanks! The camera gets all the credit. :o) I actually took some pics in the semi-dark the other day and was shocked they turned out so well. I do miss the extra sunshine but what I really miss is rain!!
Gosh, what a wonderful thought, my father used to say, if you can think it, it will happen. Most sci-fi has materialised! I'm sure one day our eyes will record everything....make sure you are the first to patent it!!!
I see beauty in all the tangled bushes in my garden because they not only have lovely flowers and leaves and cutie-pie plants but also houses bees and butterflies, crickets and what-nots. Unfortunately I can never capture that beauty through lens.
That last comment really resonated with me, Tammy - I have a section of our walkway that is practically impassible because of a tangle of some huge, 3' tall blooms (that I have yet to identify - I'm sure you are not surprised by that ;) ) and every time I walk by it, I am amazed at the activity that I see all around it. My husbands request that I cut them back is going to have to wait until our first frost.
I fell off the Garden Blog ferris wheel 2 years ago (can't believe it's been that long), enticed by Instagram and Pinterest. On a whim I jumped back on the Blogosphere ride and started visiting my favorite Garden Bloggers. It was a thrill to see you still so active and creative as ever. I'll be blog surfing for hours, but it will be SO worth it! (Gardening is still natural rush, the photos just got put up on in a different part of the internet world...) ...now time to play catch up! - Shyrlene
Everything looks lovely to me Tammy and your last photo is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It took a lot of blurry shots to get that one!
DeleteI think they look lovely - it's a really happy composition
ReplyDeleteThanks. Happy plantings are the best. :o)
DeleteAnd we are all so biased anyway, both for good and for ill, about our own homes....what matters is that we SHARE. Bless the bloggers! We do share.
ReplyDeleteI love the sense of community that blogging gives. All that sharing has made me a better gardener. :o)
DeleteIt's so hard to see the beauty in our own gardens. Sometimes we're just too critical. I haven't shown much of my own garden lately. I'm just so sick of trying to make sure my pictures are framed or cropped so as to not show the bad.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. I keep thinking I have to redesign everything so it's picture perfect but the pollinators are thrilled that I let the wild asters take over.
DeleteTammy we should all be easier on ourselves about our gardens and our pictures ... another "do as I say, not what I do " ?? haha
ReplyDeleteI really love that last picture ... what is that plant ?
Joy
I am definitely too hard on myself when it comes to my garden. The last pic is of talinum 'Jewels of Opar'. It's very easy to grow from seed and has really cool little flower balls that pop open to reveal those pink flowers. I really like it.
DeletePS ... I see you have one of the Kodiak shrubs going in ... I am looking for Kodiak Orange (where I would put it is another story)
ReplyDeleteI also read that "red" blurb on the sidebar and had a great laugh because that is what I do too ... glad I am not alone ! LOL
Joy
I have no problem admitting my mistakes. No one's perfect. I love the Kodiak Black. I stuck it in a really tough spot and it's doing well.
DeleteAll of your photos and the gardens vignettes they showcase are just what they should be--beautiful and real. And that last photo? Stunning!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Real is all you'll ever get on my blog. :o)
DeleteSo true, but it is the minds eye that counts, as we can edit all we like in our mind, and there it is perfection!
ReplyDeleteI did edit out the rust covered dwarf hollyhocks below the bird house that look like hot poop on a stick. Live and learn on that one!
DeleteYour photos and garden look great to me. Nevertheless, I agree with your conclusion (pithily expressed, I might add). How come Gomphrena grows so well for you but mine always looks pathetic? Huh?
ReplyDeleteGomphrena want lots of sun and moist well draining soil with a bit of fertilizer. I grow mine from seed so they're not treated with growth retardants. I wish you lived closer so I could share my extra seedlings with you. :o) I love that you used the word 'pithily'. Being direct and just saying what needs to be said is the best sometimes.
DeleteBeing direct is best, unless you want to avoid telling the truth. Or lying. I also wish we lived closer! Think of all the plants we would exchange! And I would use 'pithily' at every opportunity.
DeleteWe have come to believe that photographs tells the truth and are accurate, but they just aren't. I am always amazed at the difference I get from one setting to the next.
ReplyDeleteI guess you must be back to school. A busy time I am sure!
Photos can lie, for sure! I've been back for 2 1/2 weeks but no one cried when they couldn't get their lockers open - neither teachers or students. ;o)
DeleteOh my gosh, I'm dealing with this right now! Some areas of the garden or nature look so beautiful, but try as I might I just can't capture them on camera--and that's OK! Sometimes I dream, though, of a "camera" that could duplicate what I see when I blink my eyes. Wouldn't that be cool?! But your plants look beautiful and healthy as ever! Look for some blogger love in my next post--up today or tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteExciting! I've taken pic after pic to try to capture some areas of the garden and they're always pathetic. Seeing them in person is so much better. :o)
DeleteI'd much rather see warts and all. More alive somehow.
ReplyDeleteI agree. My garden is pretty warty!
DeleteSo true!
ReplyDeleteI've seen gardens that are so perfect they look fake. It was pretty weird, actually.
DeleteHave you ever followed a professional photographer around? They take TONS of photos in order to get that one perfect shot.
ReplyDeleteIt took a lot of photos just to get that last shot!
Deleteand it was worth it!
DeleteI'd be really happy with that mass of Gomphrena outside my door, Tammy, regardless of the time of day! As to photos, I snap a lot and consign a healthy percentage to the trash. Even working within the so-called "golden hours" surrounding sunrise and sunset hasn't reliably produced the desired results. Photos under cloud cover are clearer but lack the sparkle that comes when you just happen to catch the light at the right angle.
ReplyDeleteThe light is never the same, at least not with my camera. But sometimes those amazing moments are so fleeting, I wish I could capture what I see.
DeleteMy garden looks shameful right now - so bad I don't even want to take photos of it - all I can say is thank goodness for the fruit trees at least there is some colour in the apples.
ReplyDeleteI have a section of my garden I call the Dumpster Fire because it's such a wreck. I let one of my plants run loose and it took over, nearly suffocating several others. Another plant wasn't cut back and it fell over like a huge pile of spaghetti. But I've gone it and cleaned it up and need to keep a sharper eye on my beautiful thug next year.
DeleteTo me your garden is very colorful, Tammy. The last photo is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nadezda! :o)
DeleteI went to hear a talk last night by a florist who owns a cut flower garden. She said that she is unable to get good enough photos of her beautiful flower garden and arrangements, so she pays a professional to take photos for her. Needless to say, most of the photos which accompanied her talk were superb, but the ones which really captured the history and soul of the place were taken by her or her family on a dull winter day, and were a little blurry. I suspect that if I were to ask everyone who attended the talk which photos they remember, these would certainly be among them. Sometimes perfection is simply not necessary.
ReplyDeleteSome pictures are so perfect they feel a bit soulless. I like the ones that show the reality of a garden.
DeleteYour garden looks just right to me. As I get older I don't stress too much about everything looking good ALL the time. Take me as you find me is my new mantra....if you have a problem with that well then hustle on your way.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way! :o)
DeleteThis post and the comments are a breath of fresh air to me. Sometimes I try too hard to take good photos, and then it's no longer enjoyable. So - what matters is the sharing. It's a wonderful community we're all part of. And that last photo is heart meltingly lovely.
ReplyDeleteWhen writing about or photographing the garden start to feel like work, I stop. It's about feeling joy and peace not competition or perfection.
DeleteI do not like too neatly manicured gardens. They are for me on the show, and not for themselves. Everyone should have as it likes. Regards.
ReplyDeleteGardens that feel real are more appealing to me, too. :o)
DeleteJust beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI love photos where bloggers forget their wheelbarrows are showing. Their washing on the line, or a child' s toy or abandoned gardening glove. I love to see glimpses of everyday life. Our gardens not just sterile show pieces they are where we live. I don' t want to see perfection like in a magazine on a blog. I like to catch glimpses of blogging friends' personalities and everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteI do, too. Blogs with photos that always look like a magazine spread make me a bit suspicious unless I know the gardener personally. Blogging is all about connecting with other people and photos that seem more real make the gardener more real.
DeleteGood point, Tammy. Too often I use close-ups, because they always turn out the best. But the longer shots--imperfections and all--really give a better idea of what our gardens look like. Besides the garden tools I forget to put away and the dog toys scattered here and there, there are always a few weeds in my photos as well:)
ReplyDeleteI just try for photos that don't include a pile of dog poop. ;o)
DeleteHi Tammy, I freely admit to carefully selected close-ups when the light is a certain way or far-shots where the imperfections are too small to see. There are many areas of the garden that are too awful and embarassing to be put online.
ReplyDeleteI have a disaster area I'll be showcasing next week or so. Prepare to be horrified.
DeleteIt took me a couple minutes to realize all the pictures were of the same grouping, angle and lighting sure do make a difference!
ReplyDeleteLove the gomphrena. I grow the red and thought I as happy, but now the other colors are looking pretty good as well :)
I love every shade of gomphrena. :o) It's just such a cool plant.
DeleteSo true ! I always use close ups or Macro when the garden needs weeding or mowing. Photography is so selective!
ReplyDeleteIt can definitely be misleading. Sometimes we just have to set our pride aside and show everything, warts and all.
DeleteSo true, so very, very true... And having just shared some very selective shots of my front garden, which is otherwise full of nasty surprises, thank you for making me smile so wryly! And that's a lovely combo by the way, whatever the lighting conditions...
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. I love that combo so much I'm planting it again next year. :o)
DeleteI got a new camera and can't wait to use it in the garden like you. However, it will take me all winter to figure out how to use it, and then I will probably reach for my old one without the brain. (I do video though.)
ReplyDeleteRay
My camera is very basic but basic works well for me. I'm not much of a photographer. :o)
DeleteTammy, you are a great photographer! Your posts are always entertaining and interesting. What's really bugging me is that, here it is 8 o'clock in the evening and it's dark already! How are we supposed to get good photos? Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteThanks! The camera gets all the credit. :o) I actually took some pics in the semi-dark the other day and was shocked they turned out so well. I do miss the extra sunshine but what I really miss is rain!!
DeleteYour pics are lovely, especially the last one! I feel the same though, the camera can never portray what we actually see.xxx
ReplyDeleteI wish we could take pictures with our eyes. Just blink and each amazing moment would be recorded on film. :o)
DeleteGosh, what a wonderful thought, my father used to say, if you can think it, it will happen. Most sci-fi has materialised! I'm sure one day our eyes will record everything....make sure you are the first to patent it!!!
DeleteI have learned this year to see beyond the clutter, the weeds etc and see the beauty that is there...wonderful lesson for all of us Tammy!
ReplyDeleteI'm always relearning this lesson. :o)
DeleteI see beauty in all the tangled bushes in my garden because they not only have lovely flowers and leaves and cutie-pie plants but also houses bees and butterflies, crickets and what-nots. Unfortunately I can never capture that beauty through lens.
ReplyDeleteA garden without wildlife isn't much of a garden to me. I'd rather see a messy garden full of life than a sterile plant museum.
DeleteThat last comment really resonated with me, Tammy - I have a section of our walkway that is practically impassible because of a tangle of some huge, 3' tall blooms (that I have yet to identify - I'm sure you are not surprised by that ;) ) and every time I walk by it, I am amazed at the activity that I see all around it. My husbands request that I cut them back is going to have to wait until our first frost.
ReplyDeleteThe pollinators will thank you! :o)
DeleteI fell off the Garden Blog ferris wheel 2 years ago (can't believe it's been that long), enticed by Instagram and Pinterest. On a whim I jumped back on the Blogosphere ride and started visiting my favorite Garden Bloggers. It was a thrill to see you still so active and creative as ever. I'll be blog surfing for hours, but it will be SO worth it! (Gardening is still natural rush, the photos just got put up on in a different part of the internet world...) ...now time to play catch up! - Shyrlene
ReplyDeleteSometimes, you just document the area in a photo and don't worry about the light. Looks good though either way!
ReplyDelete