Dharma in the Garden

This Week

So far I have been:

enjoying the sight of spring bulbs starting to push their way above ground; removing the moss which has covered most of the brick edging surrounding the lawn; discovering Cruickshank Botanical Gardens and I ♥ Art in the city of Aberdeen (both hidden gems); photographing trees (again!); thinking of taking up crochet (and I ♥ Art do classes!); choosing plants for pollinators (I so want the garden to contain only plants, shrubs and flowers which attract bees, butterflies and insects); reading The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo; wearing red (a colour which has been long absent from my wardrobe); receiving a parcel of skincare goodies from Liz Earle; waiting for the arrival of two new art books - Unfurling by Misty Mawn and Art at the Speed of Life by Pam Carriker; voting to retain the beautiful Union Terrace Garden in the heart of Aberdeen; finishing my evening class in acrylic painting (loved every minute, could do another four weeks).

A tranquil oasis with trees, waterfalls and bridges, where ducks swim, children play and dogs are walked. Located in a quiet residential area, the noises of everyday life won't disturb you here. There are plenty of quiet spots where you can sit and contemplate, water and birdsong the only soundtrack to your dreams.

The bridges and winding pathways guide you over and around a deep pool which is fed from above by a small waterfall which gurgles and gushes over rocks and stones.

This garden paradise is only a brief walk from our home - we are truly blessed!  Today it was sparkling in the sunshine, a kaleidescope of colours.  The water was like a mill pond creating the most beautiful reflections.

Sketchbook and pencils remained in my bag as the camera was definitely the favoured medium for capturing all this vibrancy. 

The name of this paradise is Johnston Gardens.  More images can be found in this album.

 My efforts (so far) with my new Canon Ixus 130.

I'm loving the colour accent function on this camera where you can highlight one colour while leaving the rest of the image black and white.

And there definitely was a painting in that photograph!

I have tried to capture the shadows that were created by the very strong sunlight. The initial result was actually pretty insipid so I added watercolours straight from their tubes and worked them with a palette knife to create the leaf shapes.

"The tulips stand arrayed. Here infantry wheels out into the sunlight." Amy Lowell

Small but beautifully formed

My new camera is here! Still getting to grips with the basics but am excited about all the quirky things this little digital device can do and the fact that it is small enough to carry around in my pocket.  Have already seen the results using both the fish-eye effect and miniature effect (you knew I was sold Jen B when you showed me what it could do and of course you were lucky that I let you keep it!) but I'm also loving the colour accent and colour swap modes which I can't wait to try out.

Meanwhile, remembering to walk before I can run, I grabbed a few simple shots today to get the feel of it.

This is one of the entrances to Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen.  I love the design of these gates and it's clear to see that with just a little care and attention they would look beautiful again.

This is Tulip 'Madonna' again. I can't resist taking photographs of it.

Liking the black shadows and the background. Could be a painting in this one...

However, I've still got a 176 page manual to read so won't be running anytime soon!

The warmest day of the year so far.  The garden is now so full of life and at its most perfect. I love this time of year.

This is Tulip 'Madonna' - isn't she beautiful? 

The apple blossom will never be more perfect than it is right now.  Expecting a bumper crop of delicious apples this year.

The pots of spring bulbs have been moved from their winter position at the side of the shed to the front of the shed so I can now see their glory from the kitchen window. Sharp sand has been scattered round the hostas to deter the slugs and snails. I've tried to keep the rambling rose from rambling too much or I won't get through the garden gate!  Plants in clay and terracotta pots have been given a large drink of water and books and magazines in the summer house have been re-arranged and weeded respectively. I'm off to put my feet up and read more Wilkie Collins.

Today was a very different day from our normal Saturday, full of lots of interesting people and experiences with a couple of purchases thrown in.  A chance meeting in a city garden, a yummy lunch with a friend I haven't seen in a while and who hubby got to meet for the first time, a long walk which my body definitely needed plus a spot of leafleting for a good cause.

The good cause is Friends of Union Terrace Gardens.  These gardens in the heart of our city are the subject of much debate and controversy at the moment which I won't go into here because this is not the place for such matters. Suffice it to say that various 'Friends' were gathering in the city centre today to do a mass leafleting and we went along to give our support.  On our way to the gathering we just had to stop off in the gardens and enjoy the sunshine.

On our way out of the gardens we passed an older man sitting on one of the benches and hubby noticed that this man had a small sketchbook. He asked if he could see what he was drawing and we spent time chatting to this lovely man about his sketches and about the gardens. He was 89, partially sighted, with impaired hearing but he still enjoyed sitting in the gardens making little pencil sketches. He liked using oil and soft pastels but wasn't so keen on watercolours. He was a joy to talk to and he kindly gave me two of his sketches.

I hope we have the pleasure of meeting him again soon.

It was a surprise to find my art buddy Freda leafleting with the 'Friends'. Hubby also got involved handing out leaflets while I visited the local Jessops with the intention of buying the Canon Ixus 130. No luck unfortunately as I was told it had been discontinued.  Back at the gathering we met and chatted to lots of interesting people and membership numbers have increased as a result. After good food and conversation at The Coffee House with Freda I purchased a couple of art books from the Collins 30 Minute Series (one on pastels and one on watercolours) at a bargain price and we just about managed to make it home before the rain started.  I'm also happy to say that I've just found an online supplier of the Canon Ixus 130 and so await delivery of my shiny new toy.

ACID Project

Yesterday was the first day of my digital photography class and my fears of being the only female among a group of retired men were completely unfounded - only three males and seven females! We spent the morning in Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens with our cameras and then back to the art gallery to manipulate the photographs using Photoshop CS.  The idea was to use the software to create sepia or black & white images as the gallery currently has an exhibition of Victorian photography which we had looked at earlier in the morning to get some inspiration. Photoshop CS is all very new to me so I had a bit of play with it.  My playing around resulted in an image which I liked so much that I decided to share it with the group at the end of the day instead of using the sepia one.  The colours being so strong and vibrant, I referred to it as my 'acid' picture.  

I have been so inspired by my 'happy accident' that today I created three more 'acid' images and have decided to make it a long term project.  I do have a slight difficulty in that I don't have Photoshop CS (nor the funds to buy it!) and it does give me greater control of hue and saturation. However, I am undaunted as Paint is good enough meantime and can produce some impressive results (although the colours are not quite so intense).   

I am calling the project ACID (Aberdeen. Colour. Imagination. Drama) and I can't wait to add more exciting and vibrant images to the collection.

Inside Out Explorers

Well the Inside Out e-Course has now finished and I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms!  Missing my daily dose of reflection and creative fun.  I would love to do another one but time, money and a digital photography course have put paid to that plan. 

Anyway, Shannon (our inspirational guru and course organiser) has put together a montage of all the course participants' creative efforts from the four weeks and you can see this on YouTube

The new bird feeder in our garden is really becoming a star attraction for birds.  We had a pair of robins at the weekend, which is quite unusual as they are normally solitary birds.  Lots of sparrows of course and our little blue tits who have taken up residence again in tree at the bottom of the garden.  However, there was one bird that we can't identify.  It had a red, black and white striped head, a black and white spotted body and a yellow tail.  So far a search of the internet has failed to provide the answer. I do hope it comes back so I can get another look   Although it is proving quite difficult to get pictures of our feathered friends.  Either I can't get close enough or they are never around when I have the camera in my hand.  But we are awaiting a new camera which has a very powerful zoom lens so I will be able to happily snap away without them knowing from the bedroom window.

A Summer Place

Today's Horoscope

"Although you can be so intently focused on the minute details of your immediate environment, the astrological month of Taurus opens your vistas of thought and imagination. Today, however, with the Moon in your 10th House of Career, it's crucial for you to make an effort to push beyond your own self-limiting boundaries. Widen your vision in a practical manner so you can eagerly open the door when opportunity knocks."

This is very appropriate considering the current situation here in my office.  We are living on the knive edge at the moment and not sure which way things will go.  Before I read the above this morning, a few of us were discussing the way things are and how we probably need forced change in order to jolt us out of our current environments.  We moan and complain but we put up with our lot because it's safe and it's what we know.  I think this is true for the majority of people.  Unless change forces us out of a situation, we are happy just to stay put and accept our lot.  But if our work is a huge chunk of our lives (we spend more time at work than we do with our families), why are we putting up with something that makes us so miserable? 

The last few years have seen me taking steps to change my working life so that it incorporates some or all of my interests. Progress hasn't been as fast as I would have liked but moving from full-time to part-time working is one change that has definitely had a huge impact on my life (for the better!).  I'm still heading in the right direction as far as my plans are concerned, although I now accept that things don't always happen when we want them to.  Life can change at any time and we never know what is just around the corner.  I'm definitely going to be prepared for when the opportunity comes knocking.

Dharma Creation

In the beginning...

Dharma in the Garden is being created.  Watch this space!