Summer Stroll

by Leigh

It's not officially summer quite yet, but it sure feels like it in my neck of the woods!  The cooler days of spring have past and anytime spent outside now is either early in the morning or late in the evening.  If you dare go out in the middle of the day you better be near a pool to cool off!  I've found myself waking up earlier in the morning so I can spend more time outside before the afternoon heat forces me back in.  The other morning I took a stroll through one of my favorite yards....where I grew up.  My parents have lived here since I was six and the backyard was a dream for my six year old self.  Even now at forty-something the backyard is still one of my favorite places to be and it has become my own test garden for various landscape design ideas.  I pretty much have free reign back there and I'm always trying new and different things.  Landscapes are ever evolving.  I don't think you're ever *finished* with your yard.  No sooner than you think it's right where you want it....an ice storm comes through and takes out mature trees.  The areas that were always perfectly shaded nooks are now full sun exposure so I move some plants around, create new areas and planting perennials that I was never able to before.  Beds become mature and some plants thrive while others just peter out allowing for new design, new ideas, new plants.  Along the sidewalk above we ended up with an area that stayed very wet.  The Boxwoods and Roses quickly died from having "wet feet".  Then I decided to try a decorative gravel and some containers, but it was kind of blah.  Then I remembered one of my favorite plants....Horsetail Reed Grass.  It can be tricky because it likes to spread...quickly and is considered invasive.  It also likes to stay wet and will grow in ponds.  This particular area is bordered by concrete on all sides and stays wet....Horsetail Reed ended up being the perfect solution and looks super cool around the curved sidewalk.

A boring, old shed needed to be dressed up a bit.  A simple wrought iron window basket was the thing to give it a pop of color and bring it back to life.  Virginia Creeper climbs up the sides and helps the shed to blend in a bit more.

Soft Mexican Feather Grass is planted along a back sidewalk.  Even from the patio the grass offers a nice visual with it's gentle movement in the wind.  It's one of those plants that begs to be touched and I can't pass by it without running my fingers through the soft blades.

The shady areas are full of perennials such as Hydrangeas, Hostas and these dainty Autumn Ferns.  They thrive in the understory of the mature trees and really show off in the late afternoon when the sun shines through them.  They continue to grow and spread and even pop up in areas that I didn't intend for them to be, but at some point you have to let go of the reigns and see where the plants lead you.  I can design and plan all I want...but the ultimate plan is designed by mother nature herself.

Tranquility

By Cathy

Come take a stroll with me through a lovely Japanese garden where we'll find tranquility in the midst of a busy world. Our stroll will be serene, gentle, meditative, and natural. Japanese gardens bring together aspects of nature in harmonious landscaping.

The garden we’re strolling through is a promenade garden which is meant to be seen one landscape at a time. Think about a scroll of painted landscapes. As you slowly unroll the scroll more beauty is revealed. The pathways through the garden lead us from one landscape to another and beckon us to explore around the corner. Along the pathways we cross bridges which symbolize the path to paradise and immortality.

We want to be sure and cross the zigzag bridge which is believed to protect us from evil spirits in the garden. The myth says that evil spirits can only travel in a straight line, so the bridge traps them, allowing us to escape to safety.

Each plant and tree in the garden is chosen for its seasonal colors or religious symbolism. Nothing is left to chance. Trees are carefully trimmed to make them look more ancient, to provide beautiful scenes, and to prevent them from blocking other views of the garden. Shade sections rely on subtle color contrast and bold textural differences to create interest.

A rustic tea houses is hidden in its own little garden. Views of the garden are framed in open windows and doors, making the garden and the tea house become one.

Japanese stone lanterns, according to tradition, were added to tea gardens by the first great tea masters. Now most of them are used purely for decoration.

Notice the rocks and stones placed throughout the garden. They are chosen for their age and color creating a sense of balance and strength. A rough, vertical rock may represent a mountain. Smooth flat rocks represent the earth and are often used as stepping stones. Sand and gravel represent a beach or flowing river. Rocks are arranged in careful compositions with three rocks being the most common. The tallest rock represents heaven, the shortest rock is the earth, and the medium-sized rock is humanity. Throughout the garden rocks are placed seemingly at random locations to suggest spontaneity, but their placement is carefully chosen.

As we go deeper into the garden we hear the sound of moving water. We are led to a beautiful cascade, which represents in miniature form Japan’s famous mountain waterfalls. The cascade faces toward the moon and is designed to capture the moon’s reflection on the water. As we leave the cascade we can follow the water channel to other pools. The sound of moving water adds to the soothing nature of the garden.

The ponds and streams are carefully placed to attract good fortune.The water enters the garden from the east or southeast and flows toward the west. The Japanese believe that water flowing from east to west carries away evil and the owner of the garden will be healthy and have a long life.

I wish I could express in words what I was feeling as I walked through this beautiful garden of tranquility, but I can’t!  J. Carter Brown expressed it very well when he said, “No one will understand a Japanese garden until you’ve walked through one, and you hear the crunch underfoot, and you smell it, and you experience it over time. Now there’s no photograph or any movie that can give you that experience.” His words are so true.

Thank you for joining me as I wandered through the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden in Springfield Missouri. I hope you were able to feel some of it’s tranquility.

ARAT, Hrummph!

by Carol

Last Thursday Cathy wrote a beautiful introduction to our new month's theme - "Shadows". I chose that theme with exactly the thoughts in mind that Cathy expressed so perfectly. The groundhog and his shadow inspired me to choose the theme for February, but I too had thoughts of Peter Pan in mind as I considered it. So I am going to use my space here today to throw out one more thought about January's theme (which ironically was chosen by Cathy!) - 'Branches.'

In the latest issue of Lenswork, Editor Brooks Jensen has written a thoughtful piece that ties directly in to my personal approach to photography. He tells of being slighted at a social event by a city gallery owner for continuing to publish landscapes, pronounced as if it were a dirty word. Jensen introduced to me the acronym ARAT, which stands for "Another Rock, Another Tree." It has risen to popularity as part of a general denigration of landscape photography as boring. It goes without saying that Jensen does not agree with that thinking, but he uses it as a teaching moment.

If you are a nature photographer, he asks you to think about how many rocks and trees you walk past every day. Why did you not choose to photograph each one? What was it that drew you to the one out of hundreds that you did photograph? If landscape photography has become banal, perhaps we are not translating what we personally feel as we look at that tree well enough to make the viewer share it.  He puts it like this:

"Isn't it obvious that a magnificent tree and a photograph of a magnificent tree are two different things......We are asking a lot from a two-dimensional, small-scale, media based reproduction {if we want a viewer to} have the same experience we have when photographing the real thing."

That's where all this ties in to my love of contemplative photography. Whether you are photographing trees and branches as we did here last month, or the shadows we are going to feature this month - or whatever your particular focal interest, it is our goal to show our viewer what drew us to that particular moment in time. What spoke to you? What exactly are you sharing? What did you see that someone else might have walked right past? How can you translate the feelings you felt standing under that tree?

The answer is attention. Truly Look (with a capital L) at the detail that called to you and make art from it. Add your personal vision in. (I am reminded of a post Leigh wrote here years ago about a tree in Oklahoma being photographed by many different people)

"Art is something you make, not merely record...I can easily visualize a book of 50 photographs of artwork, each unique, each wonderful, each insightful, each inspiring, all of which use trees (or rocks) as their subject, but whose content is far greater."
                                           Brooks Jensen

I have so greatly enjoyed this past month's gallery of trees and branches and I am looking forward to seeking the shadows with you this month. We are all so grateful for your continued collaboration here at FOL. Our Flickr and Instagram galleries are just chuck full of your wonderful talent! Its a pleasure to share the beauty of the world with you all!

A Walk Through My Garden

by Leigh

May is killing me.  Seriously…every.single.day there is some sort of activity or game or meeting or concert, etc…  I guess that's how the end of the school year will always be, but pair that with May being my busiest season at work and well….I end up like this…frazzled.  So when I realized at 2:00 Monday that this was my day to post I immediately panicked!  What in the world could I write about besides being frazzled and then it dawned on me. I should write about what I know best and that's landscaping.  Here's a small glimpse at what's blooming in my Oklahoma zone 7 yard right now.

Let's start with one of my favorite perennials.  This is May Night Salvia which blooms early spring and into summer with these beautiful purple spikes that the bees just love!  Behind it is Saybrook Gold Juniper, my go to evergreen for foliage color, which really makes the purple pop even more.

One of my favorite annuals to plant and photograph….Dahlias.  I never tire of them and they come in so many amazing colors and various ruffled bloom types.

See I told you the bees love Salvia!

I love to plant succulents in containers on my outside table.  They can really take the hot afternoon sun without requiring a lot of water plus they are fun to photograph while I'm enjoying an evening glass of wine. I prefer to hand water everything so I can keep an eye on my plants instead of relying on my sprinkler system.  It's so easy to set it and forget it when it comes to sprinkler systems, but each plant deserves our attention to check in and see how it's doing.

Coreopsis.  Another favorite long blooming perennial.  It seems the hotter it gets the more it blooms and it grows bigger each and every year without me doing a thing.

I enjoy switching out the planting in my containers season to season and playing around with various colors and textures.  This green glazed pot has golden Million Bells which look like miniature petunias without the deadheading.  Also mixed in is Mexican Heather with it's dainty purple blooms, but don't let the size of it's blooms trick you…this is one tough annual!  Also a little Dusty Miller for some cool color and texture.

Mandevillea is another one of my go to annuals for containers.  This tropical blooms in hot pink, light pink and a deep red.  I prefer pinks myself :)  In front of that is an annual that is so new to me that I have completely forgotten it's name!  So if this pretty little white and purple flower looks familiar to anyone please let me know.

Luckily I have some free child labor to help me with all the watering. This year she has really shown an interest in learning about the flowers and helping me to plant.  I see a summer job in her near future!

Thank you for coming along with me for a walk in my backyard.  I hope you enjoyed it!