Dec 30 2020 - Garden Stories of the Year

 

There are lots of 'best of' lists in newspapers this time of year.  It's the end of the year, so looking back, summarizing, choosing the best are the standard activities.   Britain's best garden was declared for 2020 and it is Marie and Tony Newton's garden in Walsall, England.  The story and pictures are HERE.   Retired medical doctor Tony Newton and his wife Marie have nestled 3,000 plants and flowers, including 450 azaleas, 120 Japanese maples and 15 blue star junipers into a one-quarter-acre plot of land.   This aerial view demonstrates the sheer volume of plants in their plot compared to their neighbours.  That's a lot of Japanese Maples that I see.     While this story is excellent, it really can't compete with the next one:  photographer builds adorable tiny log cabins for his backyard to keep mouse families safe from cats.  The story and pictures are HERE.     A meditative moment of koi fish is our image today.   They seem to be floating somewhere - like our hope that 2020 floats away ... far away.  Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Spiders In the News

There are a lot of holes in the ground in Colorado and someone lives there.  We were warned about rattlesnakes as well. We have far less to worry about here - black widow, yellow sac and brown recluse spiders are our worries, and black widows are very seldom seen. We do see lots of spiders, though. There are 39 species found in Ontario at the www.spiders.uswebsite.  There seem to be jumping, crab, fishing, and spitting spiders. There's even an Ant Mimic Spider.  I was wondering about dock spiders - a large spider that lives on docks in cottage country.  They are considered a fishing spider - the cottagetips.com site tells us they can swim above and below water, catch fish and walk on water.  There are a few videos of spiders on news cameras during the weather report  - you can see them here. Today we're looking at one of the water lily gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens along with a Koi abstract image.

Green on Wednesday

I found a website that describes the cultural meanings of colours. The site is http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/cultural-color.html. We tend to know the associations of green - a very popularly used colour in Western societies.  lucky color in most western cultures spring, new birth, regeneration nature and environmental awareness  color for 'go' at traffic lights Saint Patrick's Day  Christmas combined with red jealousy greed We would include money for western cultures too.  But then I came across the entry for Thailand. Green is the colour of the day for Wednesday. There is a colour for each day: Sunday - red Monday - yellow or cream Tuesday - pink Wednesday - green Thursday - orange or brown Friday - light blue Saturday - purple or black What happens in a society where there is a colour for each day?  The colours for the King and Queen of Thailand are significant, and the population wears yellow for the King and blue for the Queen on their birthdays. Political controversy is expressed in yellow shirts by the Alliance for Democracy.  Those opposing this group wear red shirts.  Those who want to be neutral wear pink shirts.  For the photographer, this is a visual feasts. There's more information on colours in Thailand here.

The Colours of Koi

A little more on Koi today with information from the site: http://feng-shui.lovetoknow.com/What_Do_Koi_Fish_Symbolize Many of the attributes of the koi symbolize several lessons and even trials individuals often encounter in life. The koi fish has a powerful and energetic life force, demonstrated by its ability to swim against currents and even travel upstream. Some of the characteristics associated with the koi include: Good fortune Success Prosperity Longevity Courage Ambition Perseverance The fish's coloring also has something to do with its symbolism. Certain colors represent certain aspects or outcomes in life. Kohaku - This koi has a white body with red spots and symbolizes success in your career. Kumonryu - There are two main variations of this koi. One variation is a koi with a white body and black spots and the other is an all black body. This Kumonryu koi symbolizes life changes and transformations. Ogon - This solid, silver colored koi symbolically represents success in business and wealth. Kuchibeni - This white and red patterned koi is often referred to as the "lipstick" fish, because the red coloring around its mouth makes it appear as though the fish is wearing lipstick. Kuchibeni koi represents love and long lasting relationships. Yamabuki - The Yamabuki koi is gold in coloring and symbolizes riches and wealth.

Koi, The Living Art

Koi, The Living Art  The Marie Selby Botanical Garden is located in Sarasota.  The Selby fortune was made in oil, and became part of Texaco.  This garden is located overlooking the water, so has extensive water views and is a wonderful walking garden.  It is well-known for its significant collections of gesnariads, cycads, and orchids.  It is a research facility and has preserved plants in its collections as well. My interest during this trip is to gather as many Koi images as I can. I've been to the garden each day, and am lucky to be able to sit on a bench at the water pond and pool to take pictures.  This is a large collection of Koi and they are large in size - about a foot long each of them.  There is a waterfall that flows into the pool.  The Chinese tradition says that if a Koi can make the final leap up the waterfall, it will be transformed into a Dragon. It is likely that you can see the fascination with Koi.  Their movements in the water make beautiful displays of their tails and fins and are ever-changing.

Colour Combinations

Colour Combinations I thought these two images had a similar composition and colours.  The first comes from the Beamsville Fairgrounds and displays the scratches and rust on another transport truck.  We saw the earlier pictures in the shocking red. Of course, the second is of Koi swimming.  These were at the Portland Japanese Garden a few years ago.  I didn't know how to eliminate all the background elements in the water then.  When I saw it this week, I realized it could be an interesting picture.  I was drawn to the metallic colouring and shine that contrasted with the oranges.  This picture will join the series 'Koi, The Living Art'. I've included the Redbubble pictures of the series.

Koi, The Living Art

This portfolio on Redbubble and Fine Art America explores the beautiful lines of Koi.  These are the new additions today.

Finding Koi who will swim slowly turns out to be simple.  Botanic gardens generally have ponds in their conservatories where the Koi are used to people visiting every day.

Koi, The Living Art

Today's theme is Koi, the Living Art.  Here is a selection of images taken over the last few years.

Koi, The Living Art…Circle of Life

Hi everyone,

It seems to take hundreds of images to get one good one of Koi.  They swim this way and that and get in each other's way.  And then, at one moment, a perfect circle is formed.  So it seems to always be worth the hundreds and hundreds of shots.  

Koi, The Living Art

These are more images in the Series - "Koi, The Living Art".  These were taken at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario.

Koi The Living Art

Hi everyone,
I was in the conservatory at the Royal Botanical Gardens recently.  The conditions were perfect with perfect light on the Koi swimming in the pond.  The Koi there are very comfortable with people, making photography very easy.  The two images show the pond as it is with the perfect black water.  The second is an interpreted image showcasing the Koi as the Living Art.