Not to be confused with gardening at night, this is merely a photographic glimpse taken by night. I’d been keeping an eye on Jupiter to the south during the week and tracking the International Space Station. The nights have been cold and the sky clear. Venus is visible just before dawn. Yes, you’ve guessed that I’m a night owl.
In any event, ar aon nós, I noticed that the light of the kitchen and conservatory shone just enough light to allow me to attempt a few shots of nearby plants and planets.
At the risk of knowing I may be misquoted, here’s my tuppence worth:
The garden is a sanctuary. For some it’s walking barefoot; for others it’s growing food. We bring gardening into our hearts differently. I’m appreciating it after sunset.
Páraig: The Three Hairs Garden
Here are a few bobs & bits from another frosty week here on the SE Irish coast. Frosty until Wednesday, followed by a temperature rise and deluges of rain. Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations, for hosting Six on Saturday. Rules is here.
Venus
Taken at dawn facing south, Venus is the star of the sky. Actually, it’s a planet, not a star. I’ve just confused myself. Venus is the second planet from the sun. Here, it shines through the almost-bare Crabapple tree.
Just below it and to the right is Spica, one of the twenty brightest stars in the Northern sky. You may not be able to see it, but it’s there, just 250 million light years away. It may be eclipsed by a tiny apple.
Moon
Taken last week, just after the Full Moon. In the foreground is a tall bamboo. It will crack the pot shortly, I’m informed. It grows beneath a large Acer and does a decent job of filling the empty space, caused by me not pruning it for many years. The bamboo needs to have a saucer underneath from early spring until Halloween, otherwise it would not retain enough water. In winter, when the Acer is bare, the bamboo comes into its own.
Cordyline
Taken at 11.30pm, this is one of several Cordylines, surrounded by pots of common ivy. I have topped up the large pot with a two-centimetre layer of coffee grounds. Next week I intend planting three or four polyanthus here. Watch this empty space.
Lomandra
I love the algae on the terracotta pot, in which the annual Begonias are still alive. On the left is Lomandra longifolia, and Lysmachia flowing over the edge.
Carex
Slightly out of focus, the Carex buchannii (Firefox or perhaps Red Rooster) is beneath the bamboo. It seems content there. Also, despite several frosty nights, the nasturtium is hanging in there. I am fortunate to have a sheltered garden.
Vacant Chair
I don’t know why this seat is where it is. I haven’t sat on it yet this year, as it is overshadowed by the Fuchsia. Access from the front is restricted too. I do like looking at it as I pass by, and I do think night photography does it justice.
Pop over to Jim’s Site to discover more Six-on-Saturday updates. Until next time, I hope you get to enjoy some time in the garden.
P.
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What a creative and beautiful perspective.
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Gracias, mi amigo. Can’t think why I hadn’t thought of this before!
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Thank you, I don’t know the stars and planets well. Judging by the odd items that appear in my garden in the mornings, all sorts of shenanigans go on in my garden at night. Currently there is a shoe and a toy which looks like a lemon. The culprit (Phil the fox) wandered by in day light this week, until the new neighbours moved in a year ago, he was always in my garden having a nap while I pottered around.
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I suppose live-and-let-live springs to mind.
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This is a great point of view. Other than going out to chase raccoons away from the chickens I don’t tend to take a nice gander of things outdoors (in the dark anyway).
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Thank you Tracy. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it until now!
Keep on top of them raccoons or you’ll have no eggs for breakfast. 😜
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This a lovely idea for a post! I must experiment by torchlight too ;) Sadly, I find it frustrating when I stargaze these days. Now that my eyesight isn’t as sharp as it was, I find the constellations are less recognizable, because the fainter stars blur out.
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I take it you are thus unable to see Spica? 😜
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That’s a new garden perspective, Páraig. Love your planet shot with the crab apple in the foreground.
I have a bamboo in a pot too, but have never placed a saucer under it. Perhaps that’s why it always looks so miserable in summer? I’ll have to remember to do that in spring!
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I had that bamboo for two summers without the saucer and nearly lost it. Roots are so dense that when I watered it from the top it would just go straight out the bottom. The saucer came away only today.
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I too love the sculpture in your garden which could be a chair, and all the blog got me smiling, certainly outside the box thinking but in the garden too.
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Many thanks, Noelle. We all get a bit of inspiration from one another.
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That was a nice change to see a garden by night. I am unfamiliar with most of the stars but I do like to watch the moon. How lucky you are to have such sheltered spots that your summer begonias and nasturtiums are still hanging on!
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Glad you liked it, Cathy. Begonias etc still going. Almost no colour, but not dead.
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