Share Some Local Autumn Colour

I recently sent out a newsletter featuring the Woodland Trust’s Top Ten Woods for Autumn colour. I hoped it would inspire families to get out into the woods this half term. The list certainly got me yearning for a helping of autumn colour. If I am lucky this week I may get to visit one of those woods on the list Stourhead, not really a wood but a landscape garden.


However I feel I have been really lucky already. On Thursday I visited one of my regular haunts, RHS garden Wisley in Surrey with a group of gardening chums.


 

Its wide range of deciduous shrubs and trees give visitors a lovely selection of autumn colours and vistas. Also unlike some gardens, I have recently visited, the herbaceous borders remain intact ensuring that structure is retained through the garden.

I have been pondering as to why I enjoyed my walk around  such a well visited local garden much more than anticipated.  There is no doubt that the journey there is like visiting an old friend, conferring a level of certainty and comfort. However this time these feelings were tinged with surprise and delight when I saw familiar spots lit up in a different light and colour. 

 

But it may be that the word 'friend' is the key here.  Walking around the gardens with like-minded people and sharing expressions of delight when colourful and beautiful foliage was spotted was a truly enjoyable experience.  Was the sense of well-being I felt at the end of the day due to the walk in the fresh air, stunning vistas or chats with friends?  I'll never know that main cause, but it was the perfect combination.

But it may be that the word 'friend' is the key here.  Walking around the gardens with like-minded people and sharing expressions of delight when colourful and beautiful foliage was spotted was a truly enjoyable experience.  Was the sense of well-being I felt at the end of the day due to the walk in the fresh air, stunning vistas or chats with friends?  I'll never know that main cause, but it was the perfect combination.

This coming week we will be out on family walks in the woods and perhaps that visit to Stourhead.  We had a fantastic time there last year.  It will no doubt be a different sort of shared experience!  Hope you also manage to get out and see the autumn colours close to you.  You may not have to travel far.

Creative Business Photography Workshop



On Friday I was in seventh heaven. Why? Because I was in a walled garden, having a go at photography, with a lovely bunch of ladies. I attended a creative photography workshop run by Vicki Knights at the Medicine Garden in Cobham.


If you are a regular reader of this blog or my Kidsinthegarden website you will know that there is still much room for improvement in my photos. We were given a really good grounding in the basics of lifestyle product photography, which in my case covers kids outdoor toys, children’s gardening gifts and, of course, plants and flowers.

I loved every minute of it. Its great to learn new things.  We were given loads of hints and tips from adjusting exposure to what to do post production. As a result of the workshop I am beginning to look at light in a very different way and consider how it will affect my shot. I am also far more aware of the composition of my photo. I now feel far less intimidated by the technicalities of my camera.

I hope you like the photos I took on the day. Please watch out for more changes. I will be working hard in the next couple of weeks. I have to, for we have been given homework!

Photography and Savill Gardens

I have recently realised that you can’t write a website and a blog about gardens without getting into photography. A trip to Savill Gardens in Windsor Great Park last week with a photographer friend provided the perfect opportunity to have a plant photography tutorial. I hope we will all benefit from any improvement. One of the photos below is taken by my friend, Brigitte Flock. See if you can spot which one.

Go to Savill Gardens this time of year to see the hostas, trees, new rose garden and stunning perennial borders.

I am attending the Hampton Court Flower Show on Monday 4 July so I will be practising my new skills then.  You can usually pick up good tips for child-friendly gardens at the show.  I shall be especially looking out for the Playful Garden.  Where plants are fun to look at, feel and smell especially if they are upside down!   So watch this space to find out more.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

I visited the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London today. The photos were fantastic and inspiring. The sort of thing most of us can only dream about taking.

What is most impressive is the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. The winner of the under 10 years category, taken in a 'backyard' in Finland, is an exquisite greenfinch. The reflections on the breast of the greenfinch make the photo. The overall winner 'Clash of the Yellowhammers' taken in Perthshire garden demonstrates real talent. You can see the photo, along with others from the competition on the Museum's website www.nhm.ac.uk

The whole thing has certainly opened my eyes as to how children could be inspired by the outdoors simply by taking pictures. A camera is definitely a tool that should not be overlooked. and opens up all sorts of possbilitites. Projects on documenting a day, seasons, year in the life of a garden or the life cycle of a plant all spring to mind.

BTW the museum's wildlife garden - an oasis in that part of London - is currently closed for the winter, but reopens on April 1 and is worth a visit.