Monday 15 October 2012

We Visit RHS Wisley ...


Hello there! Many "Thanks" for your comments on my last post and "Welcome" to my new followers!

On Thursday I went to my third Beginners Photography Class. We learnt how different aperture settings can create a different image. The tutor also explained depth of field and why some parts of an image are blurred when the rest isn't. I wanted to know why when I take a photo of one of our cats, most of the cat is in focus but the feet are blurred. See previous post and photos of our cat, Ruby. All I need to do is set the aperture at a higher number - I will try this out some time this week!

On Saturday, it had promised sunshine and scattered showers and that is precisely what we had. Not wanting to stay indoors and not daunted by a bit of rain, despite KP having the snuffles - we made our way down the A3 towards RHS Wisley in Surrey.

I had thought that I might try taking a few photos on the manual setting but old habits die hard and I found it easier to slip the camera back into auto. The OH and KP always do everything at a galloping trot and they probably (although they don't say it) get annoyed with me dragging my heels.


For some apparent reason the photos have not been displayed in the order that I took them so if you have been to Wisley you may think that I took an arduous route around the site. Also, for some reason, the computer has randomly decided to delete 2,000 of my photos. I can't find them anywhere and I hadn't printed any of them off! The OH, forever the optimist, says "They'll be there somewhere!" I'm not so sure - being a glass half-empty sort of person!


Towards the end of our visit we went to the Rose Garden. It began to rain. I was surprised that many of the roses were still in bloom although many looked a bit jaded and at the end of their life cycle for this year - it is mid October though and they have done remarkably well to have lasted this long. I made a mental note to visit next year at the height of Summer to see the roses in their full glory.


I liked the effect of the raindrops on the flowers.


There were many colours.


The raindrops look like crystals on this red rose.


I loved the inner yellow against the maroon. The colours of my old school jumper (which I used to hate!)


The outskirts of the Rose Garden.


Many of the trees were holding on to their green leaves but every now and again you would catch a glimpse of gold and russet tones.


We wandered towards the Vegetable Garden.


And The Orchard.


We espied some grapes.


And some raspberries - which I was very tempted to try!


I liked the many different colours on these leaves.


Looking Autumnal.


I loved the vivid colour of these flowers.


We came to the Glasshouse.


Which is surrounded by various grass type bushes and plants.


The glass house is vast and houses many exotic plants.


Many brightly coloured flowers.


Including this passion flower.


And many different orchids.


Some fabulous trailing flowers.


We came across a pond with its own hippo!


We saw some stunning hibiscus.


I loved the pale pink of this one.


 Does anyone know what this is - I loved the colour of the flower, its shape and the variegated leaves.


Is this the same flower variety?


We came across the waterfall.


And KP decided that this bell shaped flower looked like a pixies hat!


Delicate pinks.


And then another similar flower to the two above - are they Chinese lanterns? Does anybody know? I should have looked at the labels dotted around the place but was too busy snapping away. I almost fell over a pram taking this photo - how could I have done that! It's hardly a small object!


After our trip inside the glasshouse we grabbed some lunch at the cafe - just a sandwich but fresh and delicious.


The grounds here are fabulous. This photo is a bit blurred - I'll have to ask the tutor whether this is camera shake or just that the auto setting doesn't like trying to focus on too many things all at once. It's probably something that could be rectified on manual with a higher aperture - what we got taught on Thursday and he'll think me a complete nincompoop!


Moorhen.


I loved the colour of the leaves.


Autumnal hues.


We came across a bear sculpture.


And another sculpture.


The Japanese Anemones were still going strong. The ones in our garden are devoid of any flower!


The Walled Garden. This should have been the first photo but it is the last!

There is a great shop and Garden Centre attached with which you could easily part with a lot of money. We were restrained and purchased some pansies for the pots in our garden. I was tempted by some stunning orchids but kept my money in my purse - they were priced at £9.99 for a fairly large plant. I regretted the decision not to buy when on the way home we stopped at Waitrose for a food shop and saw smaller orchids priced at £12.99!

On Sunday, we visited Hobbycraft - not to get anything for me but so that KP could buy things for her school project to make a cell - not the type that holds prisoners but either a human or plant one! She has opted to do a plant cell - we had to purchase paints, brushes, glues and other bits. When we got home the green paint that had been purchased was utilised to paint a box green - it's a start.

Last week I managed to kill the kettle so we had to have a new one. To be fair it had been on its last legs for a few months - it was leaking and water and electrics don't mix, so it was a good thing that it just died quietly and didn't go with a bang! A few weeks back I dropped the iron and broke that. The OH purchased a new one and I've only gone and dropped that one too! It still seems to be working but it does seem to be leaking some water! There is a bit of a theme going on here, I think.

Anyhow, I must dash, things to do and all that.

Until next time,

June.


25 comments:

  1. What a fabulous glass house and great colours! There are roses still blooming the garden here. I snapped a nice on a few days ago for my 365 project but most of them are bot looking so good now!

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  2. Glad you have been out and about June!
    Making the most of these lovely autumnal days...
    The Roses are beautiful ,ours didn't do much at all this year!
    Could almost smell these!
    We must have had the same colour school sweaters! hehe..
    Love Maria x

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  3. Dear June.
    You are getting better and better. These photos of the park and nursery are stunning.. You have captured the flowers so well. They are beautiful.
    I am not at all good at naming flowers.. I agree .. my mother used to call the reddish flower.. "chinese lantern"
    they are lovely.
    Please may i ask what camera you use. I am starting to think, that i need a new camera. My focus is very limited.
    The glass house is so different.
    KP is looking good and growing fast.
    nice post June.
    Happy monday
    val

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  4. There are some fabulous photos there, how lovely to be learning photography, one day I would like to. x

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  5. What a treat to stop by and see such a lovely variety of beautiful photos. Loved the one of your daughter with her pretty hat ;) Great post, enjoyed it very much, thank you.

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  6. Hello,
    Beautiful post and a great blog.
    Love the flowers.

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  7. Beautiful photographs. I have never been to RHS Wisley, but there is an RHS garden at Harlow Carr in Harrogate which is fab. I havent been in autumn though, just spring and summer.The added attraction for us is Bettys' cafe which is fantastic.

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  8. Absolutely stunning photos! I love all the floral and leafy ones, so rich in colour and detail.
    The hippo is just wonderful and I love KP with her new 'hat'!
    I have never like orchids, something about the fussiness of the looking after they need just annoys me!
    Lisa x

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  9. I haven't been to Wisely for years but visiting the show vegetable gardens years ago was the start of my love of growing veg! Your photos are lovely. One simple tip I remember from ages ago is to think of the aperture numbers as people in a queue! The smaller the number, the less in focus. I tend to leave mine on aperture priority and experiment :) xx

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  10. Just Beautiful! What a selection of pretty flowers, you sure capture them so well. I agree with KP the bell shaped flowers do look like little pixie hats :)
    Magie x

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  11. Wonderful photos and what a selection of plants. Our local RHS garden is Harlow Carr, but we haven't been this year. Hope you manage to find your lost photos.

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  12. Your photos are stunning. I love the colours in them. Wisley looks a fascinating place to visit. You certainly got lots of practice with your camera for your photo course. I hope you find those lost photos lurking on your computer:)

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  13. A lovely outing June despite the weather. Love all the pics, the glass house is huge.
    So much to see, I'm sure you could've spent twice as long there looking at everything.
    Nice to have these places on your doorstep.

    Claire :}

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  14. I did a post on Wisley a few days ago, we went on their freebie day.
    The flowers you did not know the name of are Abutilon - common name Chinese bell flower.
    Lovely photos of your trip there.

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  15. I've never heard of anyone killing their kettle - there is always a first time for everything. I admire your photos and am a bit jealous that you are taking a photography class. I guess I could bit the bullet and take a class too. I do love the very first and last photo the best along with the leaves with a purple hue and of KP with the pixie hat.

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  16. I love Wisley - I bet it looks amazing at this time of year though your pictures have captured it beautifully.

    Nina x

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  17. These photos are fantastic, especially your close ups of flowers - clear, with a nice back ground blur. I've never been to Wisley but it looks lovely. x

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  18. Oh June I do hope you somehow manage to get your photos back, just this morning I was saying to my husband that digital cameras are all very well but sometimes I miss having photos printed on paper instead of stored in the computer and that reminded me I need to make a backup copy just in case.

    Your photos are beautiful, such lovely Autumn colours. My 2 favourites are the red rose with the rain drops and the one with KP and her pixxie hat.

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  19. Delightful photos from a lovely place. sounds like your course is very good - I really should do one - have ( had ) a lovely camera & don't know how to use it ! Husband has found a replacement cheaper than repairs - wasn't covered on insurance

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  20. Thanks for your comment about picasa, poor you! I must admit I hate picasa and will not use it for my photos at all, I learnt the hard way once and lost quite a few photos. I now use windows for storing on pc and also have an external hard drive for all my photos, just in case!! I use photoscape and photoshop elements for most of the editing. Unfortunately we have no choice but to use picasa for the blog photos....grrrrrr! I've been all through mine in the pwa and put them into seperate albums for each blog post, a bit of a pain but it helps me now to know whats going on and hopefully avoid unnecessary deleting! xx

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  21. June - your photos are simply stunning! I can't pick a favourite because they are all so very lovely. Well done you!

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  22. I don't know how I missed this post your photographs of your trip to Wisley are fantastic.I love the colours and raindrops.
    Sarah x

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  23. wonderful shots. You are skilled. Love Wisley and thought about going on a photo course there myself, dates permitting. What a coincidence if I had and met you (and maybe didn't know you are who you are, blog-wise). Helen, Darcy and Bingley xxx

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  24. What a lot of lovely varied shots. I love the 'pixie hat' over your daughter's head! I just adore visiting houses and especially their gorgeous gardens!

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