Urban wildlife
gardening
Urban allium
Across the street here in west London there is a community garden. An oasis in a built-up area and a precious resource for the many people without their own outdoor space. There are swings and slides for the children, a pond, and a wealth of plants.
It’s also a place for me to come and do some macro photography. Walking through the other day, I noticed a clutch of allium bursting into life. These little lilac pom-poms – members of the onion family – are a delight to capture at close quarters. The lens revealed that these ones were still coming into their own. Enjoy a taste of nature and flowers in the city…
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Daisy dozen
A visit to my mother’s garden in Essex culminated in this. It was just one shot of an almost flawless daisy that set my mind in motion, reproducing it in numerous forms and piecing them together as if sewing a patchwork quilt.
Here are the individual tiles so you can study the colours and contrasts in further detail.
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Outdoor order
This is the flip side to my mother’s flower-filled garden in Essex, eastern England. It’s an architectural garden, built on neat lines and angles, from the solid railway sleepers to the little shed. Even some of the smaller objects reflect this order.
As a lover of symmetrical photography and the purity of its lines, this was a pleasing theme to develop over a couple of hot, sunny summer days there.
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Essex in bloom
It was time to take a break from London and see my mother who lives in Essex, a two-hour jaunt east from my part of the city.
This turned into two glorious days spent in her garden, newly landscaped with gravel, paving stones and raised beds of flowers fashioned from reclaimed railway sleepers. It’s bursting with roses, dahlias, marigolds, lavender and a host of garden favourites.
My trusty camera came with me, and working in the garden was restful and a pleasure, punctuated with numerous breaks from the strong summer sunshine. I found abstract, floral and architectural shots in this well-structured space – rich, rewarding and relaxing in equal measure.
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And to finish off, a candid photograph of this garden’s proud owner, my Mum, resting in her swing seat, probably enjoying a crossword puzzle or reading her Kindle. The fruits you deserve to savour at a mature stage in life…
