Picture-Perfect Garden

By Cheryl Richter, Lincoln, Nebraska

My husband laughs when he sees images of my garden in magazines. He says it looks like our yard is a gardener's paradise.

The truth is my garden is too big for me to maintain picture-perfectly all of the time. But as a garden photographer, I have learned a few secrets so that there is something pleasing to the eye—and camera—all season long.

Seasons of Change

My yard awakens in spring ablaze with color from the bulbs I planted in previous autumns. The first crocus to bloom in the spring reassures me that the long Nebraska winter will soon come to an end.

I plant groups of the same variety of tulips or daffodils together and border the edges with grape hyacinths. This gives a blast of color that's attractive in person...and on film.

Perennials such as cushion spurge, bleeding heart and pasque flowers add to the show, blooming at the same time as the spring bulbs (like the calla lily at right). My redbud and pink and white flowering crabapple trees burst into bloom at this time, too.

As the spring bulbs fade, other perennials awaken from their winter sleep. My front yard has a lot of shade, so I have many hostas and other plants that provide interesting foliage but few blooms. To compensate for that, I border the beds with annuals.

I look for flowers that require only partial sun and have colorful leaves. Coleus and tuberous begonias are favorites of mine because they provide bold color even when they aren't flowering, and they don't require a lot of upkeep like deadheading.

In early May, I select annual and tropical plants to fill my containers. Caladiums are wonderful plants for container gardens, and they're easy to grow from tubers. By the end of May, my faithful old peonies are blooming. I plant blue baptisia between them because the beautiful blue spikes contrast wonderfully with the magentas and pinks of the petals.

In my backyard annual garden, I plant pansies, where they will flourish until the heat of the summer defeats them. Then in early June, I fill the area around the pansies with annual combinations of petunias, salvias, melampodiums and periwinkles.

The remainder of the summer, my garden is like an artist's ever-changing canvas as perennial plants come and go. Annuals mature and the occasional bloom from last year's seed magically appears, providing an exclamation point and asserting nature's will to survive. Many times, these volunteer plants provide some of the most interesting photographic compositions.

After the heat of summer, autumn's cool nights bring asters and mums to join the show of fall color in the trees. Grasses around my water garden become golden and feathery. Another season has run its cycle.

I make notes of the successes and the failures, plant next spring's bulbs, move a few perennials and prepare for the cold of the coming winter. My camera doesn't get a break, though. Sparkling snow provides interesting photo opportunities as it emphasizes the structural details of the garden.

A Moment in Time

Combining the art of gardening and photography has proven to be a great source of joy and fulfillment to me. Each year, I discover a new secret in my garden.

I have learned to plant perennials that bloom at the same time together. I use three to five of the same plant in one spot for maximum impact. I have lots of containers because they are easy to care for and I can move them as the light changes and some garden plants quit blooming. I also border perennial beds with annuals and lots of colorful foliage plants—coleus, caladium, begonias, Persian shield and sweet potato vine.

Creating flower gardens with eye-catching focal points and a continuous succession of blooms has provided me with photographic subjects right outside my door. Every morning and every evening, there is something new to catch my eye.

Photography is about capturing moments in time. Even in a garden, the wonders of nature can be fleeting. That's why I have to make sure I'm always ready with my camera...and garden trowel in hand.