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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Our End-of-the-Summer Garden

It's officially autumn and even if the leaves on the trees have not yet begun to change color in earnest, there is no question that summer in the garden is rapidly coming to a close.
 
"So what speaks to you in your garden? What are the colors and textures you want to remember?” That is the question posed by Gardening Gone Wild's newest "Picture This" contest judge, Christa Neu.

If you aren't familiar with the web site, GGW has a core group of gardening experts and photographers who bring us interesting and informative articles about all aspects of gardening and once a month, in addition to some pointers about photographing the garden, they feature a monthly photography contest.

Ms. Neu photographs for Organic Gardening Magazine, one of a very few magazines that Steve and I actually subscribe to in print and what's more, actually read from cover to over each month. Needless to say, I've long admired her work!

Ms. Neu challenges us to capture some of the last remaining images of the summer garden as it becomes the fall garden. Many things speak to me in the garden this time of year, and I set out with camera in hand to listen: to capture the beauty of the remaining summer blooms, even as the autumn flowers are peaking and preening. As a card artist who has had to take a brief hiatus from artwork, I am hoping to use some of these images in my artwork over the winter, keeping summer alive and sharing it in my vocation as well.

The violas have renewed vigor since the evening temperatures are cooler.

A blossom on the Meyer Lemon tree. It blooms in flushes throughout the year.

This yellow calibrachoa sent rivers of yellow blossoms cascading over the side of one of the potted lilacs all summer.

A bloom cluster from one of the trailing ivy geraniums. The throat of each blossom is swiped with burgundy.

This is not the most artistic photograph but it reminds me that we had one of our most successful kitchen and vegetable gardens ever this year.
Pee Gee Hydrangea, newly open white buds and older coppery ones.
Katie eating dogwood tree fruit.
Uh oh, Mom caught me eating her berries. Maybe if I smile she won't see the stem sticking out of my mouth.
Julia Child
Moondance

Steve's favorite rose, Mister Lincoln.

Choosing one image to enter into a contest is always hard for me, and I find that I never choose the one that everyone else thinks is best; so this time I am bowing to the consensus of  comments made about one of the photographs I posted for Donna's "Word for Wednesday" meme at Garden Walk Garden Talk and submitting this photograph of our anemones.


There is still time to submit photographs. Join in the fun and check out the other entries at the Gardening Gone Wild  blog page.

11 comments:

  1. Katie eats fruits! My dogs helps themselves to veggies, weeds and 'longan' which is a tropical fruit.

    My favorite photo is the first one. Wonder which one is your entry. I still don't see it at the gallery page.

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  2. Wonderful blooms. Katie is adorable and reminds me of my naughty ones.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  3. Love the picture of the anemones. Good luck. Your picture of the lemon blossom is beautiful, too. And Katie is adorable! I've been trying to take a good picture of my Mr. Lincoln, but for some reason they never turn out (red is hard for my camera to capture). Love the light in that picture. Very nice.

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  4. Hi Cathy - the photos are all great my favourites are the Anemone shot and the Meyer Lemon tree shot, but the winner has to be Katie of course - thatys a winning smile she's giving you :)

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  5. Thanks for showing such beautiful photo's. You are right, fall is here so this reminds me that it's time to plant my pansies, snapdragons, and petunia's for the winter.

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  6. Katie looks like the cat that caught the canary and is trying to hide it. Good luck on the GGW contest.

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  7. Still plenty great looking plants in your garden and of course Katies the bees knees. I have a page on my site (Your gardens) I am about to add a picture of your garden and link to your site, if you would like me to remove it just let me know.

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  8. Hello !!!
    Katie is so cute, I love her eyes.
    Nice series of flowers and colors. For my garden, it's the end, I have some flowers but it start to be cold the night. I am going to miss them, and to miss my time in my garden.
    Thanks a lot for your visit in my blog. Have a great day.
    Ellada.

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  9. One, thanks for stopping by. Katie eats anything and everything, which is not always "a good thing" LOL.

    Cher, thanks for coming by. Yes, she is a cutie alright. She's one of 4 and we love them all. ;)

    Holley, I have also struggled photoing Mr. Lincoln. I still don't think I got the true essence of those velvety red petals, but taking pictures of it when the sun is behind cloud cover helps.

    Christine, that winning smile spells trouble with that little girl LOL. Thanks for stopping by. We love our Meyer lemon - the fragrance is amazing.

    Paula Jo, so nice of you to visit! Our pansies didn't bolt this year and they are getting their second wind as we speak!

    GirlSprout, you hit the nail on the head! I need more luck with Katie than I do with the contest LOL.... she is too smart for her own good! As for the contest, I'm a rank amateur and will never place in it, but I always give it a try!

    Alistair, I told Steve what you said and he chuckled. The bees knees... that's a phrase we don't hear around here very often! And we are very honored that you are adding a link to us on your blog!

    Ellada, thanks for visiting our blog. I'm going to miss our gardens too. I would love autumn but for the fact that it means winter is coming!

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  10. Cathy and Steve,

    Katie is too cute! Besides her photo, my next favorite is the trailing ivy geraniums. Thanks for the info on GGW. I will check it out.

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  11. Brooke, thanks for linking to us! ;) Glad you like the post.

    L. Ambler, I hope you are able to get a photo posted for the contest before the deadline! I love the GGW web site. It's written by professional writers and photographers who impart incredible pearls. I've bought several of the authors' books (see our book list on the right) and every one has been better than the previous one,

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