The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

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I’ve been a “hardcore” gardener for about twelve years now. 
“Hardcore” meaning I eat, sleep and drink all things plants and dirt. 
I’m not sure if I’m more amazed that it’s been that long or that it has been that short of a stretch of time. It seems like it all started a long time ago yet it has gone so damn fast. Sorry, I am consumed with time and my age of late, as the big 40 approaches. But enough about me …
… actually, more about me. What I now find fascinating about my gardening self (narcissism anyone?) is that I never took as much as one photo of any of my gardens until I started this blog a little over two years ago. What was I thinking? That is ten years of my history that can never be recovered. The world is missing out.  
OK, truth is, most of those old garden photos would make me cringe in embarrassment. I still remember planting a bunch of Verbena in a perfect line, like a group of soldiers, thinking “This gardening thing isn’t as difficult as everyone makes it out to be”. If I had documented my early gardening days, I could have easily lead a class on how not to create a visually stimulating garden. 
So what’s my point for today? I’m not really sure … I actually have forgotten as I type this. Oh yeah, I wanted to talk about how obsessively photographing my garden has allowed me to enjoy it in ways I never imagined. 
My dopey friend had recently asked me “Seriously, haven’t you run out of photo opportunities in your garden at this point?”. I may have agreed with him before I started this blog but now I clearly realize you can never run out of photo ops. Plants are changing/evolving week by week or even day by day and that alone gives you an unlimited pool of photo options. 
What I’ve also realized now, more than ever, is that when taking into account unique and different viewpoints/angles at which a garden can be photographed, the garden gains so much more “depth”. These viewpoints/angles not typically viewed by “Joe Passerby” have opened the door to so much more and keep me coming back for more.      
So though we are technically still in early spring, there is no shortage of interesting and captivating plant activity. Even if I have to lay on my stomach or climb a tree to view it. Here are some recent samples:                                      
Spring bulbs at their peak, emerging perennial foliage and evergreens fully recovered from the winter, look good as I walk up my front walkway (actually as I lay down on my front walkway):   

Creeping phlox just coming into bloom and falling over a copper colored stone I dug up on my property a few years back (taken while holding on to a tree with one leg):

Color me crazy, but I love the simple contrast of vibrant green foliage and a textured stone (some how taken while lying on my side and avoiding squashing multiple plants):

Loving the temporary color contrast between the Catmint and Astilbe foliage (which will change to a deep green in a few weeks). Skillfully snapped while performing a full blown squat:

When I step out of my garage, this is what I see directly to my right (photographed with one foot in the garage while in a yoga pose). I love how the Calamagrostis ‘El Dorado’ grasses shine so early in the spring. I need more “cool season” grasses. Also love observing the foliage change from bronze to bright green/chartreuse on the Thuja ‘Rheingold’:  

I’m knee deep in a blue foliage obsession right now and for whatever reason, I like this blue juniper as a backdrop to the Leucojums (snapped from deep in my garage). Also loving that the juniper is not quite hiding the propane tank behind it. Nice touch of orange, eh?:

Have a great weekend and garden your ass off!

John

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8 Responses

  1. So true on the photos. I do have some photos of our garden when I started here because I wanted to show how the trees grew each year. I have those and a few ‘wow’ flower photos. Now, I have it all!
    I laughed at your yoga pose comment. I do yoga and when I’m out photographing in odd positions like you noted, I often think, “yoga for gardeners!” Ha!
    I wondered what the orange was. Great lily of the valley shot. Mine are too tucked in to get them in decent light.
    Have a great gardening weekend.

  2. Love it…and so true! I find it endlessly fascinating (and challenging) to find new ways to photograph the garden…the benefit, as you mentioned, is that I end up “seeing” the garden differently as well. I wholly agree about cool-season grasses, after discovering just how much I love Calamagrostis last year, I’m adding more and more…it’s so nice to see those hummocks of foliage at this time of year, before the Panicums and Pennisetums are even thinking of stirring.

  3. So nice to see the color in your garden. Here the nights are still in the low 20’s and I have stupidly never planted a single bulb. Sigh. At least I get to enjoy everyone else’s…..

  6. I love these pictures, especially the first one. I planted daffodils in a row like a big dork. I love what you did with yours. I can always rearrange next year. I’ll get this right by the time I’m 150 years old.

  8. Would love to be gardening my ass off this weekend, but the weather is saying different. So it’s just looking at beautiful pictures of gardens and dreaming of sunny days.

    I’m laughing at your highjinks trying to get the right angle – I have more muddy knees and bums trying to get “that perfect shot”.

    Have a great weekend diggin around.

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