Welcome to the world I see!

One does not 'take' a garden's picture so much as enter into a conversation with it.

Growing Conifers: The Complete Illustrated Gardening and Landscaping Guide

The hope of any portrait is to capture some telling essence of a subject's nature and soul.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet..." William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Does anyone ever ask the poet what pencil she used?

Some gardens manage to make their own way in the world.

Where food comes from...

First, we taste with our eyes...

imagery pared down to its simplest possibility...

I arose well before first light to make my way to Andrea's exquisite garden, nearly an hour to the north & east of here, hoping to begin shooting well before sunrise. Secretly I had hoped for an overcast morning that would give me more time before the sun climbed high enough to start casting harsh shadows, but the day dawned without a single cloud. Happily I had scouted this garden in first light a few weeks prior, needing to get a sense of its energy and how the light moved through its landscape before shooting in earnest, so I already had worked out a rough shot list and shooting order in my mind. Instead of presenting a problem, the sunrise became a nearly perfect accent to the morning. Here are a handful of glimpses that give a sense of the carefully thought out and executed rooms Andrea has created as a sanctuary for songbirds, butterflies and for her own carefully attuned soul. I love her sense of texture and color drama.