Despite the rains, the garden thrives. The cactus took it badly, but the wood fungus is really ornamental.
Garden Delights
Tag Archives: garden
Alfresco Dining
Dinner time for the King Parrots, helping themselves to the tomatoes.
The garden, Dangar Island, Australia
Swallowtail
This lovely creature was in the garden the other day. The internet claims it’s called a Dingy Swallowtail… ‘gloomy and drab’? The more flamboyant Swallowtails must glow in the dark.
A Frame Is A Container For Ideas
The Daily Prompt doesnt grab me today, so I’ll have another go at the Weekly Challenge….. containers.
A frame is just a container for ideas. When we line up a photo we’re creating a container for the image we have in mind.
The idea of ‘borrowed scenery’ is often used in Japanese gardens. It’s skillful framing. Even a small garden can contain a grand vista. It can be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
I couldnt find a suitable photo from Japan. The great Sengan-En garden in Kagoshima brilliant frames Sakura, an active volcano. I cant think of a more dramatic sight. Sadly, when I was there the day was overcast. I got the frame, but not the vision inside. I will go back one day.
This is from Les Jardins de Marqueyssac in the Dordogne, France. The designer has captured one of the other great fortresses that dominate the valley. I think it’s Castelnaud.
Click to enlarge
Weekly Photo Challenge: Juxtaposition
Hidden in the parsley, a small treasure trove. Something to contemplate while enjoying the tranquility of the garden.
This is from a beautiful garden on the Hawkesbury River, NSW,Australia.
Haphazard
Photographers, artists, poets: show us HAPHAZARD. a Daily Prompt
I dont think anything is truly random, there’s always a pattern somewhere. At least, we are apt to see patterns in everything, clouds, fallen leaves, running water and so on. Any assemblage has come together as a result of forces somewhere, whether it be wind and tide or even humans dumping their garbage. As I’ve blogged before, it can make for great photo opportunities. This is from a street market in Brussels.
A couple of photos from a Japanese garden. They’re so manicured, I cant believe that anything is left to chance. Looking at it another way, we’re left with the chance of seeing whatever we want, patterns, messages or calligraphy.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Masterpiece
I’ve chosen some photos of masterpieces from Japan for this week’s challenge.
Japanese formal gardens are a photographer’s dream. Every view is already composed for you. There’s a mastery in framing, using reflections, rocks and carefully shaped bushes and trees. The gardens can often use outside features… ‘borrowed views’ to quote a current tv gardener. In Kagoshima the garden frames a volcano.
The gardens are tended meticulously every day. Perfection is a constant challenge.
Japanese gardens can be quite small, but they can still show you infinity. They are masterpieces of beauty, created for meditation and restful thoughts.
These photos are mainly from the Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa. It is a magical place.
Soil
My neighbour is out digging
I can smell the soil from here
From the damp winter’s darkness
He pulls mould and last year’s leaves.
He’s out in the field
But the air is clean
The scent comes in on
The wind in my window.
He plants every year
But it’s under the trees,
Not enough sun
To make a prize of these.
Myself, I’ve grown
Better beans.
It makes a calendar for his life
And probably now for me
With my vast new kitchen garden,
A single pot of parsely seeds.
The Ambitious Drifter 
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