Photography Project – Green & Gorgeous

I have long been a fan of Green & Gorgeous’ beautiful wedding flowers so it was with great excitement that I travelled to visit them at an uncharacteristically (for me!) early hour one Friday morning.

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Green & Gorgeous are well known for their delightful flowers & arrangements for weddings all grown at their garden at Little Stoke, Oxfordshire. They grow a diverse range of flowers throughout the Spring, Summer & Autumn. These are then arranged in a wonderful garden and hedgerow style by Rachel really showing off the natural beauty of the blooms.

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I got there just as dawn had risen when the dew was still on the grass. Being a Friday morning all the team were busy picking & prepping the flowers ready for a busy wedding weekend. Well, almost all the team…..!

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I spent a wonderful few hours wandering around the garden capturing shots of the team, the garden & individual blooms. I was amazed how much was still in bloom in September & the dahlias in particular were beautiful.

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I have grown to love garden photography & am working hard on developing this side of my work. I also love taking pictures of people in their environment so this little project was right up my street.
G&GSept2015-LORD2075_129Green & Gorgeous work with the seasons to grow a large variety of beautiful flowers from old English favourites through to the wild and unexpected. Growing with the seasons the flowers they offer change as the months go by. They start in Spring with anemones, tulips & ranunculus, move onto Summer with roses, sweet peas, poppies & scabious before heading into Autumn with an array of dahlia, eucalyptus, fruit & berries. You can choose either DIY where if you want to try your hand at arranging some of the flowers yourself, but are not keen on the stress of making your own bouquet. G&G offer a buckets & bouquet service & you can choose how much or how little you want to do. Brides quite often choose to do the flowers such as table displays & pew ends & then Rachel can give a professional look to the most important elements. Or you can choose the full works where Rachel & her team take care of everything for you from table displays, pew ends, buttonholes & bouquets.

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They also have a Saturday morning shop selling vegetables, fruit, eggs, seeds and plants, mail order service & they run a variety of courses.

I really enjoyed my time at Green & Gorgeous & hope to return next year to get some more shots throughout the season.

Green and Gorgeous, The Bothy, Little Stoke, Wallingford, OX10 6AX

A lucky moment!

The herbaceous border at Waterperry Gardens looking rather splendid last year. Over 200 feet long it’s a really amazing sight from May to November and well worth a visit. It’s got to be one of the best herbaceous borders around! Here it is June time, a lovely view and a lucky moment as a black cat crossed my path!

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Snake’s Head Fritillary – Plant Photography Oxfordshire

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The snake’s head fritillary is Oxfordshire’s county flower, this one photographed at Waterperry Gardens in April this year. A beautiful and delicate cupped flower that grows to around 30cm in height from a bulb returning year after year. Spring certainly feels like it around the corner when these appear. I was up early one morning laying in the dew in the Fritillary meadow at Waterperry to capture this picture. A wonderful flower to photograph!

How did this come about? Garden Photography

How did I get into this I ask myself, then I realise it’s in my blood. Both Mum and Dad love their garden and from as long as I can remember they have spent every spare hour in their garden, growing vegetables for the family, flowers for the house and pot plants for our home and to give to friends! So expanding my photographic career into gardening photography doesn’t seem that much of a departure from my life, it almost seems like the natural progression.

Hands

I shot this of my Dad’s hands in the Summer whilst visiting them for the day. I love this picture and it sums up my Dad and my life growing up at home with them perfectly. Dad, hard at work preparing food for the family – the man never stops!

Dad and Me

My dear Dad and me this year on Father’s Day. Popped to see Mum and Dad before heading home to Oxfordshire, Mum had cooked a roast and then we headed out for the afternoon to some local gardens. When we got back to their house Dad dug some veg for a quick photo shoot I’m working on! Nothing is ever too much trouble for this man. Always there to help people as much as he can. His first selfie too! x

Beautiful Wisteria at Waterperry Gardens this Summer

I have been lucky to work at Waterperry Gardens for nearly 2 years and have photographed the gardens throughout the seasons for them, supplying images for promotional material and social media use. Here is the fabulous Wisteria tunnel in the formal garden. I was there together with several members of the public in awe of this spectacular sight. TW-Waterperry May 2015-ML015_003

Welcome to my new garden photography blog!

During 2014 and 2015 I have been doing more and more garden and plant based photography for local private gardens, nurseries as well as our own garden.  The work is not only enjoyable but highly rewarding as you watch a garden develop throughout the seasons. Here is an allium flower head about to bust into flower. I shot this whilst having lunch on our decking and I really like the image, it has been well received and will soon be available as a fine art greeting card. Keep a look out for my range of horticultural quality greeting cards!  A5_LANDSCAPE