Orchids in the Chilterns

I am lucky to have a client with wildflower meadows, woodland and SSSI areas in the Chilterns. This sumer he asked me to record the wild orchids that grow on his land.

Here are a few of my favourite images. These are all tiny flower heads so a macro lens and tripod are essential for the job and the hope of as little wind as possible due to working with such slow shutter speeds!

Bee Orchid

Bee Orchid in grasses – such beautiful detail!

Pyramidal Orchid

Pyramidal Orchid

Butterfly Orchid

Butterfly Orchid

Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid

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