New Camera, and Vignettes from the CDLV Gardens

Well, I did it! With the help of Scott, I finally made a decision and I have a new camera! I went with the Canon Rebel T3i, and while I still have a lot of learning to do, I couldn't help myself! My house is a mess, filled with half finished projects, so I headed out to the garden. Some of you might remember the story of Earl, my garden keeper above. He's still here, looking handsome as always!

The camera is really wonderful and user friendly. So far, I'm in love! Each of the settings is easy to use and the auto focus is far superior to the Sony A200 I replaced. Taken with the macro, from my 18-55mm lens, I snapped this shot of a little CDLV garden visitor. I really love the bright yellow against the purple of the coneflower. I also bought a zoom lens, 75-300mm, with an image stabilizer, I wonder what the photo would have looked like with that lens instead of this one?

And there you go! I couldn't contain my curiosity! I took this shot from about 8 feet away! And while I will take better pictures once I understand the standard settings and how they compare to custom settings for every situation - I like that the camera is easy enough to just pick up and start snapping! 

Back with the 18-55mm and out under the pergola, I have several terracotta pots, and when I saw this rusty iron acanthus crown I knew it'd be perfect back there. 

I introduced a lot of wicker and basketry into the yard this year. I am loving the texture of it against the iron accents, the color of the aged and limed terracotta, and the plants just seem to pop against them. 

I stopped planting annuals in the ground of the garden last year. I really did it because I wasn't sure where I had planted bulbs the fall prior, but I grew quite fond of the pots buried in the creeping jenny. So this year, I planted a few of the smaller pots with begonias, and voila! Interest and texture, color and low maintenance! My kind of garden! 

I can't get over how fast the grass is growing! I mow every three days! I picked up the low, wide terracotta pots at Brimfield this year. Love them! 

And this year I put a fountain back in. A few people commented that the garden didn't seem the same without the sound from a water feature, so I pulled this one up from the basement (literally!) But instead of doing the brick radial from before (a really pain with upkeep) I decided I'd plant a round garden of low growing perennials ... more on that later! 

But I thought I'd check in, let you know what's happening around here! What's going on in your neck of the woods?