Gardening Do's and Don'ts

IF you should ever do it again, take a week off before and after. LOL Congratulations, I'm glad it went well for you.

I surely hope all the people who came know how lucky they are to have been able to visit your garden in person. I bet it looks even more fabulous than ever now, and just in time for you to thoroughly enjoy the summer wandering your lovely paths. If you don't usually wander them (more intent on some task that needs to be done), now is the time to give yourself a big dose of slowing down to enjoy everything. You just accomplished enough work to last for a month at least.

Laurie!!! It's so nice to hear from you again! Congratulations on such a tremendous effort. You must surely feel a great sense of accomplishment.

You are truly a Queen who offers her subjects the opportunity to visit the palace. Well done Laurie! I suppose it would be too much to have you post your favorites on this site.

Thank you all, my loyal personages, Much good advice above: I will wander paths with camera and then update my tour thread - if for no other reason than to have a record that ONCE the garden WAS weeded.

I've been better this year about not trying to weed the whole yard in one day. Actually, didn't have a choice, it's too big, but I was in Indiana for a week helping daughter #2 move, and it's amazing how fast everything can grow, particularly the weeds. I'm trying to just do a couple of beds each day until I'm on a regular schedule again, but I'm very OCD, and want everything perfect at the same time.

Isn't gardening wonderful - it allows us to have the patience to wait and wait (double vernalization of seeds, slow growing plants that promise to be magnificent at some point in life), with the obsession of 'done NOW' (all weeds out!) - describes me right down to the ground. Irwells, at least you still show a measure of reality - well done.

You Are a QUEEN.
Stamped an approved

Oh my goodness Tills, stunning rose, but what a stunning photo - The swirl looks like you have caught it dancing! Save this one for the photo contest!

OOOOOhhhhhhhh! Beautiful!!!!

What DSLR camera is anyone using? I'm looking at the Canon 450D, (called the Rebel Xsi in US) and unless someone has real strong feelings against it, that's decided. HOWEVER, lens, what lens do you use? do you use a macro lens? Or just macro filters? Or a telephoto with a big f stop? ORRRRRRRR? this is endless - I've been thinking about this for a year and I can't get it sorted!!!!! Fed up with it!

Mine is a Canon PowerShot SD950IS. My first requirement is that it's point and shoot, fits in my pocket, and I don't have to change lenses. I've been pleased with this one so far. It's been even better since I figured out how to put in on the macro setting, and to turn off the flash! (wouldn't want to do anything like read the manual...)

Laurie I am sure in your perfectionist position you want an expensive and wonderful camera but with todays technology the hand held digitals make life so much better. I have a Cannon 10X that zooms digitally to 40X and I can get photos that are perfect. Now there are better macros and those I had before my sailboat sank but look into the simplicity of a small digital that fits into your pocket. Or have your minions carry your lenses. LOL
I was about 10 miles from this glacier and took a photo.

Laurie, There are so many good camera's out there no matter the make. But what you need to look at is the the size of the Zoom you want and the mega pixels. Also that takes a SD card and the software for your puter that can enhance you photos.
I love my new one, Its a Panasonic DMC-LZ7 ( almost like Reds) It has 6+optical zoom and 7.2 mega pixels and take a 4 G SD card, but a 2 G works just fine I can get almost 700 pics on a 2 G card. But there are bigger ones out there. It's just learning how to use them. (still learning)
The angle, the dangle then the lighting LOL

Hi Steve
Tills

Good information.

I am working with a Fuji point and press right now - and the photos it takes are good - but I don't feel I have great control (AND I did read the manual but I haven't gotten the hang of the macro). And I am not sure that it has the power that yours does, Steve. That is impressive for a pocket camera. I find I'm not all that happy with the autofocus - it is in focus, but I am yearning for a good split screen/grid that tells me I put it on the subject, and I arranged the focus. (But then when I bought my car I really hesitated changing from a standard transmission to letting the car do the work - I honestly wouldn't go back!) I learned on an old Miranda 35mm, and moved to a Minolta SRT 101 in my youf, and just can't seem to settle in with this Point and Press. (By the way, you do know what PhD stands for? Press Here Dummy).

Irwell, I also agree that the pocket size is nice, but I just don't find it very satisfying - something about it makes me just do quicky snaps. I never bother thinking about it - it feels like the difference between sending e-mails and writing a letter. I love letter, and I have t his fantasy that if I go back to the SLR format I might be more thoughtful of images - or not. With the big memory cards, who cares - I love rubbing out all the rubbish stuff.

And tills - you and....oh gosh, I've forgotten who was my other guardian angel - put me on to Picasa, and I love that software. It does wonderous things. I love the ease of twekking the image. Really works a treat.

Thank you all for input. I'm going to give the pockets another look.

I have an hp Photosmart R967 that cost $300, I think. It's 10m-pixels & I'm reasonably happy with it. My priorities were a large viewing screen & intuitively placed controls. But there is a flaw that I would suggest you look for: Something about the lens makes the image curve slightly around the edges, like it's convex. The might now matter for most photography, but since I am photo'ing straight-lined kimono & obi for ebay, it vexes me slightly.

I'm going to bookmark this page for options to look at when i am looking for a camera in the future. Good tips.

Now you'd think I would know better having posted about the inherent problem with green garden gloves a while back, but today I took a roll of green twine (it was cheap at a garage sale) out to the garden to put on my bean trellis, noticed something else that needed to be done, and then could not for the life of me find the twine. Agghhh.

Ok you guys forced me to buy a new camera with all of this camera talk! Went to Costco, and the clerk recommended the Panasonic Lumix ZS1 (on sale), 10 megapixels, 12x optical zoom, and 2.7 inch screen. My old Olympus was 3x zoom and an itty bitty screen.
I haven't taken it out of the package yet, will do that after I catch up on these forums!
Is this a decent camera? I can still return it!

So I will throw this out there in support of Irwells camera...I have an older version....Canon PowerShot SD630. I just love the fact that I can keep it in the pocket of my gardening pants, and it is handy at all times. I learned something this year that is in my opinion an absolute MUST with this camera for a gardener...I have always been good with the macro setting, but this year is the first time I have played with the foilage setting. It has a slower shutter speed, so you need more light to take a picture with it, but the colors are SOOOOO much truer in the photos. No more washed out flowers! Irwells......yours has this option.....if you only read this part of the manual you will be forever thankful!!! Anyone else with the point and shoots...take the time to at least explore the Macro and alternative exposure settings...easy and you will love the results!

Oh, MFH - I really want to suggest tying the string to your finger!!!! Okay, confession - I actually did tye the string to my beltloop, once - okay, maybe twice - okay, I stopped counting after the third time - to then wander off to just do something else for a minute - and then to find an entire ball of string trailing for 'miles' behind me. Probably the only time DH enjoyed going looking for me with a cuppa tea. It was everywhere (of course it was a new ball) - and took ages to rewind (a bit) untangle (amidst grrrrrings) wind, untangle, threaten, cut, retye, wind...........well. do you know they make string in RED? Nope, it would just get lost in the the penstemmons, or tyed to my trousers.

Julie I am with you any camera that carries in your pocket with 10mega and a 10X to 40X zoom macro and a manual button to change color tints, light exposure, wide angle, and all of this at a perfect picture I like. Laurie you are way past me in need to deal in the details.

Laurie, Thats to funny. Like leaving a breadcrumb trail LOL

I thought you like this.

Close up

And back a bit.

All this camera info is so great - since I dropped and killed my camera a few weeks ago. Thanks all!

Ahhhh, Tills, looks like our little friend Heuchera Cylindrica Brown finch. and a very nice zoom.

Yes it is She, and just loves her new home, as she is with some cousins.

Gosh that's a nice setting, Tills, and with a little guardian mouse to watch over all of it!

You've reminded me of 2 don'ts:

1) Never give permission for someone to harvest from your garden. "Sure, help yourself to some tomatoes, I have plenty." "Sure, you can have some perennials, since I'm moving." You will come home from the grocery store one day to find that the trailer-park friend of your neighbor's has cleaned out every tomato, pepper, onion, strawberry and cucumber that was ripe. Or that your good friend Deanna took the one heuchera (Peach Flambe) that you were planning to keep.

DO: Forbid all people to step foot on your property.

2) NEVER put your camera down in the garden, especially if it is a silver camera & you think you'll set it down for just a minute on the silver hitch of your Airstream trailers. By the time you find it again, many a rainfall will have come & gone.

DO: Tie a balloon to the camera before stepping out of the house.