I’ve not spent much time in the garden with the camera of late – although I’ve planted up six new blue ceramic pots on the steps up behind the house with winter annuals, and taken 33 cuttings of five different hybrid Phygelius to add to the cuttings of the wild one taken earlier – read more about that here. Walks in the garden have been about the dogs and about simply enjoying autumn: although the spectacular displays are mostly over, vignettes in richer colours remain. The above view is the first impression a visitor would get of the garden on entering from the new entrance at the head of the Rosemary Terrace.
I have also not really added to my stock of possible entries for the Gardening Gone Wild Picture This (pictures here) Contest. I posted about possible entries here, then took a few more shots the following day, none of which warranted either processing or sharing in more than these strips; they are simply too baroque; raindropped close-ups of vivid flowers.
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What I have done is look at my possible competition entries from the previous post, enlarging the screen to 200% and simply leaving a photo on screen to glance at over a period. And my favourite, the green leaves of Elephant Ears, has become progressively less interesting, the focus just slightly fuzzy. So I’ve looked at the others…
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The fallen leaves are good photos. Better entries. The azalea flowers are an obvious entry, sharp, pretty, striking with interesting backlighting through the flower on the filaments. But perhaps a little predictable. I like the red plane. The Japanese maple leaves? So-so.
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But the one I keep coming back to, looking deeper, enjoying the colours, exploring the composition, is the one I thought of as the also-ran:
So I go back to the photos in sequence as they came off the camera…
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I was surprised when I found this shot on the camera. But I remember being fascinated by the way the light was coming through the leaves, and leaf-shaped shadows were being cast on other leaves, and the layers of leaves behind leaves. Layering was perhaps the central theme of these three photos and the ones beyond them. And layering IS what I explore in this shot. Most of it is out of focus. But the texture of the Japanese Maple leaves are a constant, in and out of focus. And the colours are glorious with the soft green area off-setting the reds and browns. It becomes almost an abstract of autumn leaves on a maple. So I go back to the instructions… and the final statement is HAVE FUN!
Well this one is the most fun of all my shots. Decision taken. It is my entry!
Sequoia Gardens 
Jack, such an interesting, fun image to choose. Good luck in the competition. (It’s slightly bewildering to me in Europe, where Spring is in full swing, to see your photographs of Autumn, but a good reminder of the cycles of nature – a memory for me of what has been, and a promise of what is to come.)
Thank you, Jill! Being counter-seasonal I think gives us an advantage, because what we offer is so different from Northern Hemisphere bloggers… and we in turn benefit from all the very different situations up north!
Oh this is so beautiful and so soft. You’ve captured the light so well in those leaves.
Thank you, Rosie! But as you will see from my comment on your blog, i think your photo the best entry to date 😉
Hi Jack – enjoyed following your train of thought as you selected your image. Not easy to choose between green elephant, chocolate plane or wu-wei acer. I find tiers difficult to capture as something is always out of focus but them realised from your post that it should be – there is always movement.
Laura (aka puffball!)
p.s. the linear Rosemary Terrace should make visitors want to stay for a long time