Taking pictures gives one the chance to mull on a moment that would otherwise be too fleeting to register. It's amazing how often Mark and I "see" things in a photograph for the first time. Take a shot from a low angle or an odd location — a view that would rarely be noticed — and suddenly you find you've captured the essence of your garden vision.
We've been watching this clump of bamboo all winter as it bleached from green to a washed-out tan. Today we were crouched under the adjacent spruces in search of the spring ephemerals that grow there. No sight of them; instead we looked up to discover the winter-burned bamboo no longer pale but glowing. The sunlight streaming through the trees also lit up the tiny Iris reticulata while casting the nearby rocks into deep shadow.
A new angle and new juxtapositions. In a split second, new relationships were revealed between things we thought we knew well.
It is amazing how looking at your garden from an angle different from your usual sight line will give you a whole different picture.
Posted by: Lisa at Greeenbow | Friday, April 17, 2009 at 08:56 PM
Yes, if you enter your garden from a different direction than the usual, the same is true. I thought I was the only one who explored the garden like that. :) The other day I was removing some deadwood from the Japanese maple that required me to be beneath it with the light streaming through the red leaves. It was a whole different story making a chore a delight.
Donna
Posted by: MNGarden | Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Lisa and Donna — I really like having paths where I can go in different directions and see things differently. A couple of times Mark has taken photos where I could hardly tell it was our garden.
Posted by: LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD | Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 04:12 PM