Grow your own!

I just brought the fantastic "Harvest" by Meredith Kirton, a beautifully designed book which would inspire ANYONE to get into growing your own! She is actually from Australia so options such as mango's and lychees are definitely not an option, but there is plenty more to enjoy! Her equally beautiful blog can be found here. On our plot currently, we've been enjoying blackberries, deformed (but tasty!) potatoes and the remaining load of courgettes - which have found themselves in healthy muffins this week -i'm currently reaching 6 days of eating NO junk what so ever...so having nice books to read is great inspiration/distraction!)

Here are some recent photographs from my Grandad's garden, there is plenty to be looking after here, let alone the 31 varieties growing at the allotment!!

Here's a recent haul of good scrummy fruit&veg...look out for those mutant potatoes!

Hope you're all having a good week!

Katie

"Blooming Britain" Photographs by Julie Henry and Debbie Bragg

 

Today I was lucky enough to assist Julie Henry and Debbie Bragg with their "Blooming Britain" exhibition at RHS Wisley. I had never actually visited the site before, so what better time to go!

I first met Debbie and Julie last year at their exhibit at The West End Centre in Aldershot. I had contacted them to say how much I enjoyed their series of the Rushmoor in Bloom competition, (I said I'd never seen photo's of Aldershot looking so lovely!) and offered to help with any further developments, and luckily, after being granted funding from the British Arts Council, they were able to visit RHS competition gardens around the Britain, and present these great photographs, including a selection of weatherproof outdoor prints! (For the tech geeks: Lambda c-type digital prints mounted on PVC with a outdoor crystal wrap!)

"Striving for the pastoral idyll is one of the country's most popular pastimes. For this new body of work, Henry/Bragg have turned the spotlight onto competitive amateur gardeners who enter their local RHS Britain in Bloom campaign. Blooming Britain is an enquiry into the dynamics between public display and the gardeners social standing: gardens are a blank canvas for peoples stories and imaginations"

It was great to meet some of the gardeners featured in the photographs, and I think everyone had a really lovely time at the Q&A session, the rain even held off for a while! I was even given a very snazzy Uniqlo "Pansy" t shirt especially for the occasion! It drew quite a few admiring glances!

Hope you enjoy seeing the show!

The exhibit was held in the beautiful 'Glass House' which was only opened in 2007.

The outdoor work was shown in "The Arboretum" facing back towards the Glass House, look! Sun!

"Church Road 1 - Mrs Deadman, Thundersley, Essex"

"Dobson Court 1, Hilda Heydon, Newton Heath, Manchester"

"Cable Street, Jane Sill, Tower Hamlets, London"

"Parkfields 2, Pat Johnson, Thundersley, Essex" - Julie Henry and Debbie Bragg with Pat Johnson

"Church Road 2, Mrs Deadman, Thundersley, Essex"

"Burnbank Street, Mr Macdonald Baird, Darvel, Scotland" - "I usually try to mix it up each year, a bit of colour for everyone, so to speak!"

Thanks to Debbie and Julie for letting me help! I recommend a day out to Wisley for all! Exhibition open until the 30th of June.

Katie

All my favourite things

Photographer Unknown.


Simple, but so beautiful. This work breaks my heart.

It's a very simple idea, one that my own Dad practices...every season of every year, he takes a picture of the front of the house and then one of the back garden. We make fun of this little tradition, but I bet in the future, I will treasure them.

As i wrote in my 'Plein Air' project Critical Appraisal, the countryside is often seen as the perfect place for retirement, which seems curious when we consider how lush natural surroundings can constantly remind us of the passing of time, the changing of seasons, endless regeneration.

Flowers in particular, are capable for inducing such feelings of repose. The Victorians invented their own language of flowers, enabling shy, retiring (or rather, stiff upper lipped!) people of the era to leave secret messages for others. Even the recognizable scent of a particular flower, plant or perhaps a scented handkerchief sent its own unique message.

As the V&A archive states:

"There was a great vogue in the 19th century for images that depicted idealised rustic or seasonal settings. This is often interpreted as an escapist response to the upheavals of urbanisation and industrialisation. Many Victorian artists also specialised in sentimental interpretations of the historical past, producing works that were emotionally resonant but rarely true to period. The concept of one's personal past also formed part of visual imagery, with a focus on the more poignant life events: birth, childhood, marriage and death."

Another great reference to floriography, are etchings by Victorian writer/illustrator Jane Loudon. She was to Victorian gardening what Mrs Beeton was to cookery! Her beautifully illustrated books on gardening and plant identification sold in their thousands and women all over the country were enthused enough by them to take up gardening as a hobby. Her greatest work 'Encyclopaedia of Gardening' was a collaboration with her husband. They began to work together on John's books and in their own extensive garden.


Jane Loudon (1807-1858)
‘The Ladies’ Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals’


Jane Loudon (1807-1858)
'The Ladies' Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals'


Jane Loudon (1807-1858)
'The Ladies' Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals'

Jane Loudon's influence is difficult to exaggerate. She made gardening accessible and managed to communicate her own enthusiasm in a very practical, useful way. Through her books, gardening came to be regarded as a recreational activity for everyone.

For anyone interested in reading into the Victorians themes of nature, i recommend "The Victorian Flower Oracle: The Language of Nature"

Perhaps, spending your time creating a beautiful garden at your family home is a similar message of love and devotion? Even in these photographs set during winter, the path is kept swept clean, and the flower beds kept tidy. Even in the last image of the gentleman standing alone, he leaves a space on the path for her.

Perhaps living in a more rural environment enables the understanding of this relationship between humans and the natural world, and brings a sense of satisfaction. It constantly allows you to recognise the omnipotence of the natural world, being surrounded by such burgeoning life acts as a reminder to enjoy every moment.