Archives
“Hanging heavy with morning dew, a peony blossom among the leaves beams joyfully from the supporting foliage.” – Ed LehmingI couldn’t have asked for a nicer composition, already framed by the bright green leaves of my spiraea bush, these peony blossoms were a joy to behold. It had just rained and the already large and heavy blossoms would have been on the ground had it not been for the spiraea’s support.Those who… Read More
“It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.”― Kate Morton Now that the garden is starting to fill in, I find myself spending more time enjoying some of the simple blossoms that I often take for granted. Some of these, like the tiny lobelia often go unnoticed because they are so tiny, yet they add some beautiful… Read More
“Before my eyes was a sea of white stars, bright yellow anthers, and deep green foliage. With the warming air, summer can’t be far off now” – Ed Lehming The image that I selected today was made in my garden this afternoon. The subject: Star of Bethlehem, a beautiful perennial that I acquired a few years ago from my mother-in-law’s garden. When she downsized and moved to a condo I offered to… Read More
“Bright white blossoms greet me from the morning garden, as the sun warms the early June day with it’s own brightness.” – Ed Lehming The gardens are beginning to come alive. I enjoy this time of year, watching plants and flowers begin to thrive as the days warm up. It’s always nice to see that everything has survived yet another winter. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, spring here has been cool,… Read More
“It is in the shade that you look up at a tree and appreciate its efforts.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo The versatility and adaptability of nature is endless. Here, a small fern has found a place in the shade that allows it to grow, protected for the heat, and largely isolated from competing plants. I often see theses mini gardens, some filled with ferns, others with small trees or mushrooms. It seems that all… Read More
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” ― Maud Hart Lovelace I noticed, as I wrote this post, that I have not posted an image since May 31st. That’s what happens when you step away from something for too long; the time gets filled with other things. The discipline of posting every day has been a very fulfilling experience for me…. Read More
We have to know our place in the ecosystem of which we are a part, and this means living ‘consciously’: being aware of nature and how it affects us and how we, in turn, affect nature.” ― Sebastian Pole I am so pleased lately to see so many bees. For the past few years they have been scarce, especially honeybees. There are many pollinators out there, but honeybees have been exceptionally rare around… Read More
“If it comes, let it come. If it goes, it’s ok, let it go. Let things come and go. Don’t let anything disturb your peace. Stay calm and carry on.” ― Germany Kent “Nodding in the Garden” Here is my entry for Del Monte Y Mar’s Tuesdays of Texture Challenge Week 30 of 2017 I had no particular reason for making this image, other than it was peaceful. That’s often the way of it; I have… Read More
“Waiting for you is as delightful as waiting for sunset.” ― Kamand Kojouri Hey, will you look at that, a flower that is not pink for a change. The seasons are turning, and as my lovely peonies fade into memory, yellow has returned in full force. This flower, which we mistakenly named ‘moon flower’ when we first got it from my mother-in-law, who also called it that, because it opens at dusk…. Read More
“Everyday can be extraordinary And ripe, Like a flower burst, If the will is there.” ― Scott Hastie As a follow up to yesterday’s post, I revisited the bud I photographed the day before, titled “Opening Soon“. Well. it did open and I’m still amazed at how all this pomp and frill can fit inside such a small bud. The peony season is beginning to wind down and we had a torrential… Read More
“Ants always eat sweet food … but none of them haven’t diabetes ?” ― Ali Ghasaby Among the residents of peonies are, of course, ants. Ants of all sizes and shapes thrive on the sweet nectars the peonies offer from bud to blossom. It would be a rare occasion when I bring a peony blossom indoors that an ant does not emerge at some point. It’s a given. As I photographed my… Read More
“As I leave the garden I take with me a renewed view, And a quiet soul.” ― Jessica Coupe This lovely purple flowered plant was given to me by my grandmother many years ago and is well established in the garden. For years I called it Bee-Balm, being uncertain of what it really was. It always reminded me a bit of nettle or overgrown Creeping Charley. One of the joys of photography,… Read More
May you understand my love–because it is the only thing I have that is really mine, the only thing that I will be able to take with me into the next life. Please allow it to be courageous and pure; please make it capable of surviving the snares of the world.” ― Paulo Coelho A simple title that describes my first impressions of this single, rain speckled, white peony blossom. Yesterday rained… Read More
“It’s so curious: one can resist tears and ‘behave’ very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer… and everything collapses. ” ― Colette Here’s an assemblage of several of the peonies I’ve shared over the past few days, placed… Read More
A heavy sort of beauty, yet delicate to the eye. The peony welcomes the late spring sunshine, and bears the burden of its rains. Nourished, yet strained, she bows to the beginning of summer. – Ed Lehming The peonies keep coming, and despite the rains, they are holding up quite well. As I’ve said before, how they hold up their heavy flowers is a real marvel. As I clip blossoms to photograph… Read More
“Now a soft kiss – Aye, by that kiss, I vow an endless bliss.” ― John Keats What more can I say, I am enveloped in pink. It is the colour theme of the season, the transition from whites to pinks and purples. Our peonies, are redolent in pinks and magentas. The gardens, filled with pink ruffles, brilliant white ecstasy, and magenta glory. Nikon D800 Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro… Read More
“Everything passes. Joy. Pain. The moment of triumph; the sigh of despair. Nothing lasts forever – not even this.” ― Paul Stewart The ‘fancy’ pink peonies are blooming at last. The flowers this year are massive and I frankly have no idea how the weight of the blossoms is supported by some of the stalks. Were it not for surrounding vegetation and a fence, they would surely collapse under their own weight…. Read More
“The long roots of the peony strike deep into the past.” – Alice Coats Today I’m sharing a peony that I have many of and I don’t believe this is the first blossom either. Several blossoms opened a few days ago, so it’s hard to know. The plant itself came from abandoned (expropriated) farm near my home. The family who used to live there (Spangs) were close friends with my wife’s family… Read More
“Spiders are anti-social, keep pests under control, and mostly mind their own business, but they somehow summon fear in humans who are far more dangerous, deceitful and have hurt more people. Of the two I’m more suspicious about the latter.” ― Donna Lynn Hope Finding a ‘visitor’ should not have come as a surprise. As I was making photos of one of my peonies, a spider, variety unknown to me (I’m not… Read More
“She was pure, it was true, as he had never dreamed of purity; but cherries stained her lips.” ― Jack London In this year’s theme of ‘firsts’, here’s yet another. The first white peony made its appearance in my gardens this morning. These white peonies hold a special place in our family, having been passed do from my wife’s grandmother. It’s an interesting blossom, being a beautiful pure white, with a tiny… Read More
“Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, “What else could this mean?” ― Shannon L. Alder One of the great joys of macro photography is how it changes how you see things. Common flowers, or objects, take on a whole new look and feel when you get real close. Previously hidden details and textures emerge with clarity. The components of colour are… Read More
“If today is not your day, then be happy for this day shall never return. And if today is your day, then be happy now for this day shall never return.” ― Kamand Kojouri I wanted to revisit this first peony blossom today. The image is made from a slightly different angle. When I shoot in the studio, I almost always set the subject up intuitively and stick with that shot. A… Read More
“When nothing else subsists from the past, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered…the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls…bearing resiliently, on tiny and almost impalpable drops of their essence, the immense edifice of memory” ― Marcel Proust Peony, for me the queen of fragrance and memory. As I stepped outside today, following a brief rain shower, the perfume of this… Read More
“Firsts are best because they are beginnings.” ― Jenny Han The firsts keep coming. This time the first Clematis blossom, from our front flower bed. The first bloom has usually occurred around prom/graduation time, and has been prominent in many photos of our kids as they prepared for these events. Graduations and proms are becoming not so distant memories and now the first flower is simply there for us to enjoy and… Read More
“Was it the case that colours dimmed as the eye grew elderly? Or was it rather that in youth your excitement about the world transferred itself onto everything you saw and made it brighter?” ― Julian Barnes This blossom seems so appropriate as the late spring colour transition continues, with pinks becoming more purple and the introduction of oranges and reds. I had photographed this blossom a few days ago and set… Read More
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love—then make that day count!” ― Steve Maraboli As I sat, yesterday morning, sipping a coffee, on my back deck. I looked over my now lush garden. The rains have stopped, the temperatures are climbing and I can savour these moments, if only on weekends. One of my columbine… Read More
“Humans do artificial things But nature always hits back naturally !!!” ― Akshay Shinde I decided to give this one the studio treatment, to show all the complex textures apart from the ‘clump’ growing in my front garden. The Wood Anemone is a native plant and through a natural process, ended up growing my gardens. I enjoyed watching it flower a few years ago, till it started taking over the entire flower… Read More
“Mindfulness is not chasing the moment but sipping the nectar of the moment.” ― Amit Ray I noticed an interesting trend in my last few images, colours seem to have progressed from whites to pinks. It’s pretty obvious when I review my media library. The colour shift through the seasons has captured my attention over the past few years. I’d say I’m becoming a lot more observant as I spend time really paying… Read More
“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” ― Michael Pollan Many years ago, my mother brought me some columbine seed from her home in Vernon, BC. She referred to them as… Read More
“They say you start weaving clearer, sharper memories after you’ve been to a place at least twice. Because then the reflection is more of validation. Let the rush come to you and let your senses be flushed the first time. There will be time for reflection after you’ve had your fill.” ― Psyche Roxas-Mendoza For the past few days, I have been focussing my attention on the rhododendron in our backyard garden…. Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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