Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
It’s often struck me how we treat our closest plant and animal companions – roses and dogs – in much the same way. We’ve sought them out and lavished love on them for thousands of years. Many of us are happiest when we live alongside them. They help us make our houses feel like homes.
We try to train them both: I dare say some of us have had more success training our roses. Continue reading “Why roses are like dogs”
Imagine buying a bunch of roses. Were it not for my picture, you’d probably have brought to mind hybrid tea roses – the ones with pretty buds on straight stems that are so widely available.
Breeders have been developing a new type of cut rose, inspired by old garden roses. Often mistaken for peonies, these blowsy beauties are almost like a new type of flower. Continue reading “Goosebump roses: garden style beauties for floristry”
Take advantage of the best light by taking pictures early or late in the day. I’ve heard garden photographers rave about the diffused light of misty mornings, but they’ll also tell you that the perfect light is surprisingly rare. Continue reading “Tips for photographing roses 7: the golden hour”
I’m sorry to have to say this, especially as we think of roses as beautiful flowers, but I believe that some varieties are just more photogenic than others. We know that it’s true of people: why would roses be any different?
Four times out of five if I pick a nice, open bloom of certain English Roses – I’m thinking of ‘Crown Princess Margareta’, ‘Wildeve’, ‘Constance Spry’, ‘Grace’ or ‘A Shropshire Lad’ – I’ll be able to get a shot I like, quite quickly, from a variety of angles. The individual roses don’t even need to be perfectly formed: a few stray petals just seem to add to the grace of the flower. Continue reading “Tips for photographing roses 6: not all roses are equal”
Susan Rushton 