God creates gardens.

Camassia Nature Preserve, The Nature Conservancy, Portland Oregon

Whether you consider God to be a benign Overseer, or Nature, or Gaia, or things Unexplained, the beauty we gardeners see in the plant world is magical – and greater than ourselves – and we are privileged to recognize it.

I was reminded of this during a summer visit to Camassia Nature Preserve in Portland Oregon.  Here is a Gallery from the trip.

The inspiration for my favorite gardens come from nature, honoring place and ecosystems. Is not that first photo, with a path leading around a rock ledge “raised bed” covered with Blue-eyed Mary and Buttercups, a perfect template for a garden ?

Can you just imagine a flowering alternative lawn with wildflowers and a few small trees, such as these Oregon White Oak, Quercus garryana to be perfect for a backyard garden ?

Mulched path trail through flowering meadow in Oak woodland clearing – Camassia Nature Preserve, The Nature Conservancy protected park, Portland Oregon

Sometimes in a public park or preserve, signs get in the way of imagining a perfect scene. The photographer wishes the markers and ‘Please Stay on the Trail’ signs had been placed with just a little more consideration for our framing.  ;-)

However, since PhotoShop has come along and given us the tools to alter photos, I find I no longer shy away from taking pictures that have a small “blemish”.

Before and After Slider

 

Is this manipulation fair?  Is it “real”? Would you really see the sign if you were there absorbing the wondrous landscape ?

I have long argued the camera always lies.  The photographer, as editor, always presents reality in a calculated manner to tell a story.  This seems no different.  There are two different stories that can be told with this image, one with the sign, one without.

The story of nature as a garden is best told without the sign.

Do you agree ?