Garden Photo of the Day

An Artistic View of the Garden

These photos will have you looking at ferns in a new way

Laura Snyder, in Ottawa, Ontario, sent in some beautifully artistic photos from her garden for us to enjoy:

I have just started doing garden maintenance this past year after spending the past five years getting to know our four-acre property and garden beds. These images are from the fern, birch, and lily of the valley patch out by the side door. The chicken coop is just beyond this, and the hens love scratching around in this spot.

Happy 2019 to you!

Laura captions this photo, “–26 at my door.” (That’s –14°F for those of us in the States.) It’s a good temperature for staying inside and looking at pictures!

New fronds of ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris, Zones 3–8) unfurl in this photo, which makes me want to run out and plant a big mass of ferns in a location where they’ll be backlit by the rising or setting sun. These almost look to be glowing.

These fern fronds are fully expanded, and every detail of their texture is emphasized in black and white. At first glance, I thought this was a picture of frost on a window! It’s amazing how the patterns in nature echo each other. Black-and-white photography can be artistic and beautiful, and it can also be a tool for garden design. Taking photos without color can help you look closely at the textures and shapes in your garden and see what is really working without being distracted by brightly colored flowers.

I love the way this photo of Laura’s ferns at the end of the season draws me in and encourages me to see beauty in an unexpected place.

Lily of the valley (Concallaria majalis, Zones 3–8) is a classic plant that’s easy to grow, and the rich scent of those flowers is the essence of spring.

A magical winter scene, with the warm light of the house beckoning.

 

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Comments

  1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

    So thrilled to have my photos featured: I am a professional photographer. Just wanted to make one correction - that is the chicken coop not our house in the last shot! ;)

  2. Quiltingmamma 01/22/2019

    Lovely images Laura. Our deep winters allow us time to reflect on the beauty of our past gardens. Maybe it also means I can have time again to comment and complement all the wonderful submissions.
    I like the tip of photographing in non-colour to assess the textures in our beds. Makes sense.

    1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

      Many thanks Quiltingmamma. I didn't think I'd get onto the blog so didn't send in many pics. or much of a write up. The magazine staff provided most of the text. Terribly cold here but I did manage to buy a package of seeds today.

  3. User avater
    meander_michaele 01/22/2019

    I particularly love the photo of the luminescent fern fronds...that's a shade of green of green that touches my soul and fills my heart with joy.

    1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

      Thank you so much! I realized after I sent the images in I had others like it but as the ferns had grown. We are lucky that this is one small part of our property.

  4. User avater
    treasuresmom 01/22/2019

    Great pics!

    1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

      Many thanks! I'm new to Fine Gardening :)

  5. arboretum 01/22/2019

    laura, what a talent are you; i haven't seen plant photos this moving --in a decade . aaron siskind would be most impressed. is it possible that you might pitch a book or calendar- to the likes of Timber Press etc?

    1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

      Thank you for your very kind feedback! You may enjoy having a peek at my website https://www.laurasnyderphotography.com/
      Best wishes!

  6. cheryl_c 01/22/2019

    Your photos are stunning, Laura, with the two unexpected ones (the black and white, and of the fern bed in winter) being the most intriguing. Thanks so much for sending them in, and please do send more soon.

    1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

      Thank you for your kind words Cheryl :) I will have a look in my photo library for another collection. Best wishes to you!

  7. nwphillygardener 01/22/2019

    Thanks, Laura. Photos can both help us share our garden highlights and insights. But it fascinates me how the act of taking pictures can teach much to gardeners and spur us to make improvements.
    Just as Laura suggests about the B/W photography showcasing textures, a camera seems to offer us opportunity to see if we have created a garden of well-composed scenes. We may recognize, through a camera lens, what are the distractions…. or we things get too fussy or when alignments need to be reinforced.

    PS - I often think more of us who grow Ostrich Fern should harvest some fiddleheads in spring as a special culinary treat… not a commercially popular crop but fun for the home gardener to sauté and enjoy.

    1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

      I've wondered if those ferns would be edible! You make a good point about assessing the success of a bed after seeing it in photos. The magazine composed 85% of the text in this article so I have to hand kudos over to them. Best wishes.

  8. btucker9675 01/22/2019

    Love the "impressionist watercolor" photo through the frozen pane of glass. Beautiful!

    1. LauraJaneS 01/22/2019

      Thank you! I've had some interesting winter shots with frost and glass. Best wishes your way.

  9. User avater
    KennethNguyen 01/23/2019

    nice

  10. User avater
    SamBaker 01/23/2019

    i like it

  11. User avater
    CynthiaDow 01/24/2019

    this is nice leaves

  12. User avater
    LouisJimenez 01/28/2019

    great

  13. User avater
    devinkoblas 01/28/2019

    beautiful leaves

  14. User avater
    MarkParker 02/02/2019

    wonderful leaves

  15. User avater
    JimmyCox 02/21/2019

    nice

  16. User avater
    KevinHuggins 03/02/2019

    amazing leaves

  17. User avater
    RonaldTague 03/08/2019

    wonderful

  18. User avater
    BenjaminShaw 04/15/2019

    Wow, it's amazing!

  19. User avater
    LauraWilliams 05/01/2019

    Beautiful!

  20. User avater
    JohnPrice6 05/15/2019

    marvelous!

  21. User avater
    ArmandLewis 05/16/2019

    elegant leaves

  22. User avater
    AnnaMartinez 06/03/2019

    Good one!

  23. User avater
    PatrickMclaren 08/14/2019

    its really interesting article.

  24. User avater
    RodgerMckinley 09/19/2019

    Cool!

  25. User avater
    AshlieDPerron 10/12/2019

    It's Beautiful!

  26. User avater
    JakeHouck 11/09/2019

    Too Good!

  27. User avater
    AnthonyBerg 11/20/2019

    Thanks for sharing these images.

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