Cloudehill - The final Diggers Garden

Of the three Diggers Gardens, this one was my least favourite. Not that there's anything wrong with it (it's majestic), it just wasn't my style. It may have been tainted by the service (or lack thereof) at the cafe on the day.  It's not often I walk out of a place but one can only take being ignored for so long before giving up. 

It was not the best time of day to be taking photos on a bright sunny day. Too much contrast between shady and sunny areas ruled out a few photo options. The camera just doesn't cope with such extreme contrast (unless you're doing HDR).  I still managed to grab a few favourite shots before we headed to Sassafras and Miss Marples for a late lunch.  

St Erth - Diggers Club Garden

We arrived at St Erth just in time for coffee and cake before the cafe closed. It was a chilly day but the garden had a way of warming your soul. This is my favourite of the three diggers gardens. A little less stately than Heronswood and way less formal than Cloudehill. This one matches my personality perfectly. 

Ballarat Botanical Gardens

Going from Lambley Garden and Nursery and heading to St Erths garden, we stopped in ever so briefly at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens for Stew to check out the Begonias. He was smitten. Probably about the happiest I'd seen him so far. He was impressed with Heronswood, pleased with Lamley, but he was like a kid in a lolly shop with the Begonias. 
I was more impressed with the combination of reds and purples in the garden beds. I've been

Lambley Garden & Nursery

One of the best things about having visitors from out of town is finding out about places you've never heard of. Like Lambley Garden & Nursery, just out the other side of Ballarat. Big brother Stew being a gardener, he knew all the best spots and what a little gem this place this. The gardens are wonderful. Well worth the drive and a photographers paradise. 

Diggers Club Gardens - Heronswood

With my big brother Stew in Melbourne for a week, we did a garden visiting blitz. I'm now a member of Diggers club and we went to all three of the Victorian Diggers Gardens. Starting with Heronswood, in Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula. I was greeted with a swathe of my favourite flowers, Cosmos, before we even got in the gate. It just got better and better after that. Starting with a great nursery and shop and leading into the fabulous grounds and then onto the veggie patch. If you've never been it's well worth putting on your list of places to go. We spent so much time in the garden we missed the cafe but the views over the bay are enough to tempt me back. Not to mention the endless photo opportunities. They even have a training room so I might look into the possibility of running a photography workshop there. Let me know if you might be interested. 

Me, my Fuji, and the Melbourne Botanical Gardens

I'm loving my new Fujifilm X-T2 Mirrorless Camera. When I was a teenager I carried a compact camera with me everywhere but the slr is a bit heavy and bulky to do that. The iPhone has been a stand in for a few years but, while it's better than nothing, it is a bit limited. So I saved my pennies (tax return) and bought myself a birthday present last year. My first slr was a Fuji, so my choice was swayed slightly by nostalgia. It goes in my handbag and when I go for a walk I can whip it out any time I see a flower or garden I want to photograph. If I'm on a dedicated garden walk I'll take the Canon with the 100mm macro. I might save up for a macro for the fuji but I'm pretty happy with what I can get with the 18-55mm lens. 

I had a meeting on the other side of town last week and I walked back to the city afterwards via the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Good thing I had the fuji in my bag so I could snap a few photos along the way. 

My favourite pic of the day. See below for the 'before' shot. I had a class coming up on composition and design at RMIT and I wanted to add another example of 'filling the frame'. This one will do just nicely. I also like the lines and the colours. It just has nice 'feel' about it, don't ya reckon? I call it 'Shark Fin'. 
It's an Agave. I initially thought it was a kind of cactus (cacti?), so I can show you how to photograph it but I'm not too good at plant identification. That's why it's handy having a horticulturist in the family to correct me. He's my big brother and you can ask him questions too if you have any. Here's his blog. He'll be our bus driver and resident green thumb on the Carnival of Flowers tour. 

This is the 'before' shot of the one above it. A clump of agave with a playground on one side and the loo on the other.

Below are a few other shots from wandering through the gardens. And this was only a small section as I was passing through along one side, and it was the middle of the day, not exactly ideal for photography. I discovered a little Craft Cottage (no photos of it this time, the light was too harsh) and talked to the lovely folk about maybe running a photography group there.