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Simply..snow and the garden....

23/1/2015

16 Comments

 

I was loathe to leave this scene on Wednesday morning to go to Edinburgh (where it wasn't snowing at all!).
Picture
Picture
Picture

If you are interested in garden design don't miss the opportunity to photograph your garden if it snows! A dusting of the white stuff shows up form and texture in a way that nothing else does and encourages you to consider the composition of your view.

On this occasion I only managed to get a couple of quick shots from the bedroom window and through the front door. The last one I think shows how important a simple formal element can be in a design - here the oval clipped box provides a kind of full stop, or stabilising element, contrasting as it does with the tracery of looser forms..

If it snows again I shall try to get more shots to illustrate how useful it can be to take photographs..they can clarify tiny textures and bold, feathery, weeping, spiky, horizontal, grass-like - all the subtleties show up and you can see if you need more contrast to make the garden more interesting, or perhaps less to make it calmer depending on the effect you would like....

On the Kondo front (see yesterday) why don't we make a point of celebrating each achievement along the way? Madeleine is having a glass of champagne, I bought a bunch of roses...how will you celebrate?
16 Comments
Alison
23/1/2015 08:21:36 am

Hi Freda,

Thanks for providing commentary on the compositional elements that were driving the way you took these photos -- it's great to learn more about how you do it.

My Kondo celebration will be green juice (no fruit) from a raw food shop around the corner. It's fresh, delicious -- and best of all -- I don't have to spend 1/2 hour assembling everything to make it as I do at home. It's a treat, although very healthy, because it's insanely expensive.

I had another small Kondo victory today! I organized a drawer of underpinnings (I have a lot in different colours that I wear daily) the way she recommends with things standing on end - vertical storage rather than piling within the drawer. It does wonders by allowing me to see at one glance what is there and to pull out the item I want.

Reply
Freda
23/1/2015 07:35:03 pm

Sounds like two celebration treats might be called for. Enjoy!

Reply
elaine link
23/1/2015 03:56:53 pm

Your pictures have captured a beautifully eerie kind of light that only comes with winter and snow, the sculptures in the window set it off beautifully. Today is my day for going for afternoon tea with friends - a civilised way to spend a couple of hours.

Reply
Freda
23/1/2015 07:35:46 pm

Have a lovely time Elaine!

Reply
Swissrose link
23/1/2015 06:04:22 pm

I know just how you feel - it snowed in the mountains the morning I was leaving…!
Love how the snow accentuates aspects of our surroundings we don't necessarily take in without it.

Reply
Freda
23/1/2015 07:37:19 pm

How very frustrating! Will you be blogging about the mountain trip?

Reply
Penny L
23/1/2015 06:35:25 pm

I found a post on Thescentofwater.typepad.com that refers to Kondo which you may like to read. It made me smile.
I find it very hard to be disciplined and do things in the correct order and properly. I understand the theory behind it and that it would make life easier, but I am a very random person with the attention span of a fly , unless I am reading, or funnily enough doing the ironing! However, even though I would need Marie standing behind me in person berating me, I am still making more progress than usual and find the "does it spark joy?" such a good tool.
Can't quite decide what my reward will be ,but maybe if I see some flowers that spark joy this week I may just buy them!

Reply
Freda
23/1/2015 07:39:32 pm

I can only stick at it so long before it gets irksome! But the results are so good I keep going....I hope you find some beautiful flowers for joy Penny.

Reply
Alison
24/1/2015 12:38:42 am

Hi Penny,

I couldn't agree more about "does it spark joy?" being a good tool. I find it makes all the difference between hanging onto something and letting it go. And when I do it this way, I don't have pangs of regret later.

My suggestion is to try sticking to bringing all like items together (as much as you can without going crazy) and then doing the "does it spark joy?" for each of them. Hold the item, look at it, feel its essence and let your intuition tell you if it isn't immediately apparent. For anything other than the critical necessities (important personal documents and so on) it works a charm, I find.

Thanks for the post you mentioned. Will definitely have a look.

Reply
Alison
24/1/2015 01:29:01 am

I just read Thescentofwater.typepad.com. It really gets at why the Kondo approach works. Thank you.

Reply
Freda
24/1/2015 02:33:56 am

Me too - a nice site!

cath
24/1/2015 12:36:27 am

The fraction of yellow, of the gate, and what I think is the earth showing through the snow a bit are what makes this photograph really special to me. I've promised myself I could open the envelope with the next instalment for my course (Candlemas/Imbolc) this afternoon. Off to do that now.

Reply
Freda
24/1/2015 02:35:08 am

Enjoy! I'm glad you like the photograph..

Reply
Mise link
24/1/2015 02:07:10 am

I think I will celebrate by having a Cadbury's creme egg, as I feel Marie would not like me to accumulate too many of them, as I am wont to.

Reply
Freda
24/1/2015 02:37:25 am

Once a seasonal treat, wasn't it? Enjoy - the egg and the Kondo experience!

Reply
Sarah link
25/1/2015 03:52:38 am

Thank you for the tips on garden design. I love those snow covered branches from your window. Sarah x

Reply



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    An artist seeking a simpler life - (but not too simple!)

    All words and images copyright Freda Waldapfel 2010 - 2020

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