Garden Photo of the Day

A Reimagined Garden

By: Kim Charles

Tom Fisher from New York State sees plants and gardens in a unique and inspirational way.

"Imagine. The word gets your mind running. Songs start playing, memories flood in and thoughts of all kinds flow forth. I love to garden as it inspires me to imagine. Every season I imagine what it might be next, what it could be, every morning I imagine what may have bloomed, what passer by my garden might inspire, what creature it might nourish.

My name is Tom Fisher, and I live in Lancaster, NY where we enjoy four seasons of gardens and I spend a lot of time in winter imagining what I can do next.

"Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. You are always living three, or indeed six, months hence. . . . To be content with the present, and not striving about the future, is fatal.”
– Alice Morse Earl

My camera phone has become as much a garden tool for me as the pruner and trowel capturing the beauty to take with me and to plant the seeds in my imagination of what my garden might be. When I look at my garden through my camera, I see it in different ways. I love to imagine what others see when they look at my garden as I imagine when I look at theirs. What do you imagine when you look at these photos? What do you imagine a garden should be?"

Have a garden you'd like to share? Email 5-10 high-resolution photos (there is no need to reduce photo sizing before sending–simply point, shoot and send the photos our way) and a brief story about your garden to [email protected]. Please include where your location!

Sending photos in separate emails to the GPOD email box is just fine.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

You don't have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

Follow us: @finegardening on Twitter | FineGardeningMagazine on Facebook | @finegardening on Instagram

 









View Comments

Comments

  1. frankgreenhalgh 10/04/2017

    G'day Tom - Your imagination is obviously working well for you based on your narrative and pics. In my case, a garden is a labour of love and should be a space to relax, contemplate, stimulate the senses and enjoy with others. Cheers from Oz

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      One of the only replies to answer one of my questions, kudos to you & thanks!

  2. sandyprowse 10/04/2017

    What fantastic photos! Wish I could see your garden in person. Thoroghly enjoyed your sentiments accompanying the photographs as well. Imagine indeed, food for thought. Helps us get through our long cold winters.

    Sandy Prowse
    Toronto Canada.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thank you. Toronto is not far from here you should come enjoy Buffalo's garden walk last weekend of every July. I'm not in the city but you'll find hundreds of fantastic gardens open to walk thru and enjoy. https://gardensbuffaloniagara.com/events/garden-walk-buffalo/

      1. Sunshine111 10/07/2017

        I did this walk A few years ago. Drove 500 miles from New Hampshire to enjoy it! It was worth it! ?

  3. tennisluv 10/04/2017

    Very artistic use of the plants in your garden, the photos you take of them, the tools that are available to enhance them, and your imagination to create unusual graphic presentations. You have an artist's eye and a gardener's green thumb.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thank you Sonya!

  4. user-7007498 10/04/2017

    Good morning, Tom. I love the editing you did with the photos. It makes us look at plants in very different ways. Very creative. Enjoyed your pictures. Well done.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thank you!

  5. Maggieat11 10/04/2017

    What a delight! I thoroughly enjoyed your imagination and creativity this morning. You certainly have a gift of insight and presentation. Thank you for sharing your talents with us today! Calendar-worthy!

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thank you, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed them! :)

  6. User avater
    meander_michaele 10/04/2017

    Hi, Tom, my eyes lit up reading the Alice Morse Earl quote that you included. I had just recently come across the first line of it and it really struck a chord. It is nice to know the additional lines. Some of the arrangements and framings of your plant material make me think of the amazing patterns on butterflies... where Mother Nature shows off her creativity. I really enjoyed your photos and echo Diane's request for additional ones.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thank you for your kind words. You mentioned butterflies and coincidently one just visited and I got this quick shot before reading your note. I was amazed at how nature so perfectly camouflaged this butterfly for the flowers it frequents.

      1. User avater
        meander_michaele 10/07/2017

        Delightful picture...glad you included it with your comment. Is that a zinnia that the butterfly is so contentedly nestled in? Also, I couldn't help but wonder if you plant additional new mums each spring and/or fall? or do have some reliable pincushion types that come back beautifully each year?

        1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

          Zinnia it is! They're a must have in the garden for butterflies & the humming birds love them too. In fact the butterflies are out by the dozen today! I have a lot of mums that come back year after year some are 3-5 years old or more and some quite large but I'm not great at pruning them to shape and also end up adding more every year.

  7. wittyone 10/04/2017

    Just call me simple-----the one I like best is the bee(s) on the coneflower landing strip .

    I've got to look up Alice Morse Earl she sounds like she knows a bit about gardening.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      That is my favorite as well. Thanks.

  8. user-7008735 10/04/2017

    Very cool, Tom! How do you get the kaleidoscope effect?

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      All the pictures are taken with a Samsung cell phone and it's photo app

      1. user-7008735 10/09/2017

        The kaleidoscopic ones remind me of the little trays with displays of flower petals, leaves, and fruit on the doorsteps of homes and shops of Bali, Indonesia 25 years ago. I hope they still prepare their offerings. Thanks for sharing your photos, Tom.

  9. Sunshine111 10/04/2017

    Wow! Fantastic! How do you do it? What a lovely surprise I've never seen anything like this.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thanks Lily, all with my old android cell phone you can do this too!

  10. user-4691082 10/04/2017

    Wow! All I can say is wow! I still can't figure out what the second and third photos are of...I know they are mums, but I'm trying to figure out the perspective. These all look like they should be part of the Epcot flower show! Great job!!!!

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      I've never been to the Epcot flower show but would love to go. You are right they are mums shot from above. The third shot is a hanging basket pure lucky shot as it was up so high I didn't get a good look myself to see the shot as I took it until I brought the phone back down.
      Sometimes I feel like I have a muse walking with me thru the garden telling me where, how & what to photograph. I guess that's part of the fun of the garden for me.

  11. user-7008421 10/04/2017

    Beautiful gardens, Tom! The geometry of flowers in bloom is really stunning...reminds me of mandalas or that old-fashioned toy that you looked through and turned the end to make an ever-changing display of geometric shapes. The beauty of nature in your garden is hard to beat!

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thank you. Now that's a fond memory of that toy viewer and the days when our imagination was a big part of play!

  12. sheila_schultz 10/04/2017

    Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder and there is no doubt your eye sees extraordinary beauty in your gardens. Your artistry behind the lens is fascinating.
    I, too, echo Diane's request for more photos of your gardens.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      I will have to work on taking good pictures of the broader garden. To me they are generally unimpressive. Meanwhile here's a picture that I just tool after this series was posted that I really like and hope you might enjoy as well.

  13. foxglove12 10/04/2017

    Very artistic! Love ❤️ the tomato photo.

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      Thank you!

  14. user-6536305 10/05/2017

    Don't know how you made the photos but truly beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

    1. user-7008303 10/07/2017

      All with an old Samsung s5 cell phone. Anyone can do it with just a little imagination!

  15. user-7008303 10/07/2017

    Thank you for your kind words and suggestion. I will have to work on my skills at taking broader shots to share. Here's one for now. Maybe more next submission

    1. Sunshine111 10/07/2017

      Gorgeous!

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Related Articles

The Latest