I photograph many of my plants using the pond as a background
(or a foreground as in this case) simply because the water compliments whatever I am trying to capture. Shown is one of my two "Pink Diamond" Hydrangea trees that I have planted around the pond. This tree in particular offers a waterfall of blooms...my other tree has struggled and has stayed small, yet still offers a few blooms. I really need to move the smaller tree because of the soil conditions, I believe. We just have hard clay and every garden spot has to amended, which has been costly through the years...and really, my garden soil is still far from perfect. I used to have 5 quite large gardens besides what I have now...they all had to be moved due to an addition to the cabin, construction of the pond and the pond itself. A couple of beds were just a fighting battle due to constant moisture, so I am moving plants little by little around the pond. When we first bought our property here, I remember sitting in my office with my husband and a couple of co-workers. My husband mentioned that after we built our cabin, we were going to put in a pond...one of the girls asked how big it was going to be. Well, I answered, "oh something small ....about 15ft. by 15ft." My husband almost choked, laughed and said, "you've got to be kidding me!!!" I pictured a small fishless pond with a small waterfall and plants around the edges(something to take a dip in!) He pictured a small lake with bass and bluegill! He got his pond -1/4 acre (and fish! - no dipping for me!), but I have my waterfall. I have to say, I now am so glad we did it his way! Also shown is an up close view of the "pink Diamond"... as fall nears, the blooms undergo a metamorphosis, they change to a rich pink/mauve color. As I mentioned earlier, we have alot of moisture here- we have a huge three way watershed leading to the pond, due to being surrounded by three very large hills on our property. I have lost many, many plants...even though I thought that I could amend the situation - wrong!! I used to have quite a few Scabiosa in pinks, whites, blues, and yellow. Now all I have are three of the purple left. We'd have to re-do many areas into raised beds..anymore ...we just aren't up to that. So, here is a photo of my one bloom I have! Shown next is another Hibiscus in rose pink...most of the blooms were the dessert of THOSE Japanese beetles. Finally, there is the tried and true...geraniums. I haven't a clue of how to properly take a photo, and I'm sure a few of you are experts and look at these photos and say to yourselves ...that background shouldn't be black...I don't know how it should look...but, I really like the dark background...just as it turns out! Basically, I started this blog as a diary for myself...and for family to see what moves me.
(or a foreground as in this case) simply because the water compliments whatever I am trying to capture. Shown is one of my two "Pink Diamond" Hydrangea trees that I have planted around the pond. This tree in particular offers a waterfall of blooms...my other tree has struggled and has stayed small, yet still offers a few blooms. I really need to move the smaller tree because of the soil conditions, I believe. We just have hard clay and every garden spot has to amended, which has been costly through the years...and really, my garden soil is still far from perfect. I used to have 5 quite large gardens besides what I have now...they all had to be moved due to an addition to the cabin, construction of the pond and the pond itself. A couple of beds were just a fighting battle due to constant moisture, so I am moving plants little by little around the pond. When we first bought our property here, I remember sitting in my office with my husband and a couple of co-workers. My husband mentioned that after we built our cabin, we were going to put in a pond...one of the girls asked how big it was going to be. Well, I answered, "oh something small ....about 15ft. by 15ft." My husband almost choked, laughed and said, "you've got to be kidding me!!!" I pictured a small fishless pond with a small waterfall and plants around the edges(something to take a dip in!) He pictured a small lake with bass and bluegill! He got his pond -1/4 acre (and fish! - no dipping for me!), but I have my waterfall. I have to say, I now am so glad we did it his way! Also shown is an up close view of the "pink Diamond"... as fall nears, the blooms undergo a metamorphosis, they change to a rich pink/mauve color. As I mentioned earlier, we have alot of moisture here- we have a huge three way watershed leading to the pond, due to being surrounded by three very large hills on our property. I have lost many, many plants...even though I thought that I could amend the situation - wrong!! I used to have quite a few Scabiosa in pinks, whites, blues, and yellow. Now all I have are three of the purple left. We'd have to re-do many areas into raised beds..anymore ...we just aren't up to that. So, here is a photo of my one bloom I have! Shown next is another Hibiscus in rose pink...most of the blooms were the dessert of THOSE Japanese beetles. Finally, there is the tried and true...geraniums. I haven't a clue of how to properly take a photo, and I'm sure a few of you are experts and look at these photos and say to yourselves ...that background shouldn't be black...I don't know how it should look...but, I really like the dark background...just as it turns out! Basically, I started this blog as a diary for myself...and for family to see what moves me.
3 comments:
Most people say they wish they had built their pond bigger. Starting out big was probably a good thing.
Donna
Hi Dragonfly. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Unfortunately, I was so mesmerized by the orange hibiscus I forgot to grab the cultivar name! It's definitely a Hibiscus rosa-sinensis cultivar which are not hardy in a zone 5. They are zone 8-9. Too bad hey! It's a rough life for us colder zone folks!
Hey I have an awesome picture of a dragonfly I took that is dying to be seen by the world! If you would like to see it and consider using it on your blog send an e-mail to me at thehunkygardener@gmail.com and I will send it to you.
Nice pictures by the way and I love the toad!
Nature is God and God is nature. He (God) put it all here including you and I. We are made in His image and likeness. That is the creative nature of God to give life. Jesus said "I came so that you could have life more abundantly". What life? Spirit life and when you do your eyes are opened and you see everything through the eyes of God. Seek and you shall find.
Thank you for sharing the beauty of the earth with us!
Nancy
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