Just the other day I received an email from a friend who happens to be a long time customer.  She was thinking fall was fast approaching and wanted to share some photos of summer in her garden with her friends. And this collection of more than 200 photos was quite inspiring. What a beautiful record of what was happening in her garden among other places. Most of the photos are intensely up close with bold color and dynamic compositions that make you think, ‘what is taking place in my garden on a small scale?, what do I overlook when I walk past my garden with just a glance?, what delicate world am I missing?’.

Immediately Susie’s collection of images made me want to jump up out of my chair, grab my camera and head out to my garden. So I ask all you other gardeners out there, ‘How do you record you garden?’. Might it be with a brush and some paint, written words, sculpted clay, photographs, maybe even a melody, or a simple drawing.  Creativity is part of being a gardener, we want to capture all the beauty that nature is and put it in our garden to cultivate and grow and brighten our surroundings. And of course our gardens are art in and of themselves. But there are many moments in our garden’s life that only last a day or even a minute and how do you save that moment and collect the history of you garden.

So I asked Susie, “How often and for how long do you take photos of your garden?”  Her reply was, “I probably take them a couple times a week, usually in the morning when the sun’s just coming up.  I go outside to fill the bird feeders and grab a handful of catnip for the cats…..then something grabs me.  One morning I was out there in my nightgown for two hours.  Luckily, our backyard is private.”  Then I asked Susie, “Why do you take photos as opposed to say painting or something else?” And very simply Susie states, “It’s another extension of my art.  It’s fun.  It’s immediate feedback for an artist.  Taking the picture, downloading it and seeing it on the computer screen all in a very short period of time.  Also, I learned from my mom to notice the unnoticeable.  Take the time to look….plus I Love Nature!”

All too often a flower is what catches my attention first, and if I give myself enough time I began to look at the leaves, the form, texture and color, the bark, the seed, and finally the insect or the bird. ‘Look at that hole the bug ate in my leaf, and look what I can see through it.’ or ‘Look at the edge of the leaf curled up and brown.’ ‘Look at the seed pod caught in the wind waiting to go some far away place and begin anew.’  Susie just exudes creativity in all she does. I look at her extremely up close photos and imagine whole new worlds where penta stamens tower over me and flower buds smile at Susie.

 One way in which we at Theinemans, along with some of our customers, creatively record our garden is through cement leaf casting. The gentle cup of a hosta leaf or the broad sleek shape of a banana leaf is permanently caught in cement. That new form might then hold just the slightest bit of water that a butterfly will approach and drink from. Or maybe dirt from your garden will color each tiny crease of cement a rich brown.

I asked Susie in what other ways did her garden inspire her, and this is what she had to say. “I have learned alot about bees.  Not by doing anything but taking pictures of them.  There are basically three types in my garden.  Two of the three seem indifferent to my being there.  The third type chases me.  Even if I’m taking pictures of one of the other bees…and spiders.  I’ve always been arachnaphobic, but they shouldn’t scare us.  They serve their purpose in the garden just like the bees.  I like leaving things as is.  I’ve watched several big bumblebees die.  Just fall off the flower.  I’m not sure if that’s natural or not, but I felt connected to them at that moment.  It was the first time I understand why people keep journals…of personal experiences.  It caught me off guard.  Not wanting to be overly dramatic, it changed me a little.  I saw the perspective of my own life.”

Below is a link to Susie’s photos. They really are stunning and beautiful. She says when she choses a photo to post she looks for color and composition, not necessarily clarity or focus. Please take some time and check them out.

www.flickr.com/photos/susiespixmix/sets/72157602062022392/

We at Theinemans encourage you to act on that inspiration you feel, spend some time in your garden and find your own unique way of recording the beauty you see.