Last year my wild flowers, encouraged from existing wild species, from clearing evasive monster weeds, and removal of strangling meadow grasses, was in just five minutes destroyed by the hedge trimmer. Good intentions to keep the meadows tidy, but hang on a minute – outside my patch! My overgrown meadow, yet to become a garden… Continue reading The wild in wildflowers
The rain hasn’t stopped over the last few weeks. Intermittent bursts of sunshine have pushed their way in between the clouds, but not enough to avoid carrying a jacket, hat and umbrella and often hiding in doorways whilst the heavens thunder and crash. My big plan had been to have a long day up in… Continue reading Dogs in a storm
I find entering photographic competitions a double-edged sword. My partner says that if I do not win I will be sad and think I have failed – not so. I do believe there is a place for competitions. For one the winners photographs are hugely inspiring and wild flowers always feature as a category in… Continue reading IGPOTY – Why I was not International Garden Photographer Of The Year
A day off being lazy last week. I didn’t have my camera only my phone. I wanted to capture the hazy light of a day after rain and the carafe of red wine and the roses with their pretty blotched shades of yellow and pink. I added some graininess to keep the photo looking soft… Continue reading Wine and Roses
This is Sousa. She is an oriental dog and like all small dogs, noisy and very possessive of her bones. She lives at our home in Romania and spends the day chasing cats, bees and looking for mice in the huge woodpile we have. The bees in Romania make superb honey and this sign I… Continue reading Dogs and Bees and Weeds
I love floral photography but my other huge enjoyment is sketching, painting and writing children’s stories. At the moment I have four on the go, very different subjects and very different types of illustration. Two will be traditional watercolour, one collage and another more graphic, maybe via printing and stencil – not yet sure. In… Continue reading Doodle and sketches
I have been away from France for almost a year now. Pressing work in London meant abandoning the barn, photography and the sunshine for wet and windy England. Another few months in Romania making our pine syrups and now it is June and I am finally heading back to the meadows and cows and six… Continue reading A bike and a camera
During may and June of each year the Carpathian mountains in Romania blossom with wild flowers, pine and fir buds. This new growth is packed full of oil and when simmered slowly for a few hours with added sugar, fresh herbs and citrus fruits, creates a deliciously rich syrup, dark and tangy, aniseed and licorice,… Continue reading Ion Pine Cone Bud Syrups – syrup from the mountains
I photographed this fluffy fronded Dandelion last summer, growing on the verge of a narrow lane in Kent. It was the only one, and I loved its almost graphic quality in the lens, strong lines and whiteness against the green foliage behind. I have no idea what type it is and I have never seen… Continue reading Lions Teeth clock flowers
The journey to our home in France takes about nine hours from Calais and we make regular stops for mini picnics – crusty bread, chunks of brie, boiled eggs and coleslaw. French motor ways have lovely parking areas, where you can picnic and stop for a nap if you want before pushing on. This one… Continue reading French picnics
Sometimes hidden in the grasses in the meadows near where I live, you suddenly see a little bright splash of colour in the sunlight and with a little perseverance with the telephoto and depth of field you get these lovely little portraits of our many varied wild flowers. I have yet to name this one. … Continue reading Hidden in the fields
A French Creative Life 