On the last day of summer, an hour before sunset I found myself walking in Crichton gardens trying to compare how much they changed since my last visit. Also I was not over my obsession of the colour purple thus hoping to find some flowers that would fit the ‘brief’.
I saw some gorgeous Himalaian honeysuckle, lilac candles of veronica, half-open clusters of verbena, aromatic stems of salvia. My purple ‘craving’ was satisfied.
It was warm, but dried seeds caught in multiple spiderwebs on the berry-laden branches of berberis hinted the arrival of autumn.
I photographed tiny upright ferns near the water feature in the stone garden. I walked closer to the decorative blur fir tree I always admired from Glencaple Road. I touched the soft sprigs of arborvitae and breathed deeply the naturally perfumed evening air.
Nature photography purifies the soul. It’s not for the hasty. You have to remain calm and centred as you manually focus your lens to take a close up shot of a plant. I find the process quite therapeutic. Oddly enough, before our move to Dumfries the only flowers I ever photographed were wedding bouquets and buttonholes. Didn’t feel the need? Was our lives too hectic to appreciate the beauty around us?
I do not remember any heaven-on-fire sunsets in Jewellery Quarter. Surely they were there… But now I can watch sunsets every day from my bedroom window…
