Luton Hoo Arts Butanica – Preview

I was invited to the Preview of the Weekend’s exhibition of Botanical Illustration being held in The Conservatory within the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo.

I got there early to capture the build up of guests observing the works on display and discussing what they were seeing. I also took advantage of the opportunity to give another airing of CamRanger, by placing the iPad on the end of the bar so that others were able to see the images I was capturing shortly after I had taken them. This gave me an opportunity to discuss what exactly I was doing and how it was being achieved. It also gave me an idea as to whether shots were sufficiently sharp as I was shooting on the borderline of acceptability due to the low level of lighting overall and the high ISO I was having to use. Many of the shots were as low as a shutter speed of one-fifth of a second!

I certainly was not expecting to produce large prints from the shots considering I was using neither a tripod or flash and I was using ISO 2500 or greater to give me the best chance. I had some interest in CamRanger from some members of staff from Luton University which I am hoping to follow up in the future.

Luton Hoo Walled Garden – the Pollinators

The place was buzzing – and it was not only visitors taking a look around – the flowers were out in all their glory and the pollinators were hard at work, there were three distinct types of bees that I spotted, though I have no doubt there were more than that. There were wasps, there were hoverflies, various flies, and butterflies.

I soon learned that the white butterflies loved the purple flowers, and they spent more time on each flower head than I had generally come to expect, so for a change I was able to focus accurately in the time allowed!

Also there was a pleasant breeze so I was not drenched in sweat as I concentrated on getting the shots. I did have a distraction though somehow a tiny insect had got above the ground glass screen and whilst I was trying to focus on say, a bee, it was gently strolling across my field of view and in focus! I also spotted a melon leaf and flower trying to escape the greenhouse!

Another Muggy Day

This time I am in the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo. After a brief chat with Charlotte Phillips who is the leader of the project to restore the Gardens to their former Glory, I take a look at display of flowers within the garden that forms one half of the octagonal enclosing walls.

I have two cameras with me; the EOS 7D has the 100mm macro, and the 5D MkII has the 24-105mm, and both come into use depending on the distance from my subject and the angle of view, though ironically using the 7D which has the smaller chip, I sometimes swap to the zoom because the distance does not seem quite right compared to using it on the 5D MkII, but when I use the earlier 5D, the issue is the review screen is too small. I am just too fussy!

Walking around and often kneeling down means it is easy to work up a sweat, yet compared to the volunteers all around me, I must simply be unfit, as they are really toiling, pulling out weeds wheeling barrows and raking.

There are now three Mallard ducks that have taken residence; two males and one female, and I learned that apparently there were some eggs, that they had been incubating, but last week they were found to be cracked and the presumption is a fox possibly feasted on them. That is sad. Certainly they do not seem fazed by all the people around them, whereas the ducks I see on the reservoir are far more wary of human proximity.

Today was definitely not a day for a visit to the cactus greenhouse, so when I felt I had a good collection of images, I left and returned to my car which I had carefully parked in the shade, but before sitting inside I grabbed a rug from the boot to keep my cloth driving seat dry and fresh.

Floral Abundance at Luton Hoo's Walled Garden

I had not visited the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo for some while, so it was pleasant to see more new signage and the expanded area of the garden. The recent rains, and warm nights meant there were blooms in abundance, which meant that in some areas the younger plants that had seemed well-separated, had now become dense areas of overlapping species providing an artist's palette of extraordinary variety.

Although bright, it was very humid, and as I worked close in, the bees provided continuo as they serenaded through their favourite repertoire. One corner close to the greenhouses was particularly redolent of the scent of its flowers. Every once in a while a breeze would come, and the grasses would sway, but ironically they often occurred when I was trying to capture a single slender bloom, and I would be trying to hold still in an awkward stance and would find my glasses would steam up, and I'd have to break off just as the wind died back down!

I had arrived somewhat late and was probably on site for an hour, and as I finished shooting a few drops of rain desultorily fell, but stopped almost immediately.

Hardworking Volunteers at Luton Hoo

Volunteers at Luton Hoo's Walled Garden Project do not shy away from either hard or dirty work, and it is true regardless of sex or age. The stalwarts I came across this afternoon before taking photos in the warmth of the Conservatory Marquee, were in the case of two ladies – barely above ground as they were in the void outside the front of the Boiler room that gave onto the windows from the cellar, digging out the accumulated soil of decades and filling several loads for the wheelbarrow.

Round at the rear at the bottom of the stone steps to the boiler room itself one man was on his knees and the other standing, as they tried to unblock the drain sump of greasy sludge, once again, hardly an enjoyable task.

I did pay a visit to the restorers of the handcart, but they were tackling a different task – that of repairing the projector stand for the upcoming Art Exhibition, so the hand cart was put on the back burner!

The 2nd Open Art Exhibition at Luton Hoo

Preparations are well under way for this year’s Open Art Exhibition being held in the The Conservatory, a semi-permanent Marquee within the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo. The exhibition opens on the 18th March, and continues till 20th. Full details can be found at: http://www.lhwg.org.uk
I went along to the gardens and to the former Mushroom House, but there was less activity in these areas than normal, partly due to my somewhat late arrival, and also the weather was far from conducive. Work upon the Boiler-House drains was being undertaken by two keen lady volunteers at the front, where the grilles above what I soon realised were windows from the cellar, were being cleared of several wheelbarrow loads of soil and stones! At the rear two men were at work trying to clear a sump at the bottom of the stairs, of several years’ worth of oily sludge.
Out in the gardens a lone female was later to be seen tilling the soil with a hoe.

In the marquee were numerous people hanging paintings, assembling the bar area, up ladders attending to the spotlighting, whilst around the schools exhibits children, their parents and teachers were putting the finishing touches to their chefs d’oeuvres. I have tried to capture the overall picture of the displays and some of those beavering away to make the show a success.

I look forward to taking a closer look in the evening at the Preview to which I have been invited.

1st Visit to Walled Garden in 2010

The forecasters predicted sunshine, but they forgot to tell the clouds over Luton – as I started putting the cameras into the car, it was spitting with rain! Arriving at the Garden, it was immediately noticeable that changes were afoot, there was a much larger and far more permanent-looking marquee and that half of the Octagon had been further fenced off to make this area more exclusive, with lights placed to light the wall after dark.
The cold weather had noticeably had its effect on the plants; the snowdrops and crocuses were still out and no sign of flowers on the daffodils. Much of the brambles outside the wall were gone, and there were now areas of aluminium walkways.
The volunteers were repotting seedlings, digging, edging, erecting posts, burning, clearing weeds and mending fences.
The cart which last year was still having its woodwork restored was now undercoated and being painted, Keith is doing an excellent job and the restoration has so far taken a year. Dave was restoring the door their work area, which had been the mushroom shed.
By the Portakabin the car park was being resurfaced and levelled. Visitors in the coming year, who have visited before will certainly notice the changes.

Walled Garden's Summer Coming to a Close

After my trip to the Garden this Wednesday, I had another meeting of the Design Network Association to attend, which gave little time to get a gallery of the images up, so I concentrated on the easy shots of the Bee Feeding.

Now I have had more time to work on the more general shots, here they are, and after bemoaning the fact I had failed to find any dragonflies, Chris, another volunteer with a far keener eye suddenly spotted one among the laurels.

We then walked around to the Dairy and found some more. I was really grateful to have such an observant spotter, so this gallery should really be called 'Chris' Selection!'

Without a doubt there is always something different to find in the Walled Garden; this time it was berries, chestnuts, rotting vegetables and fruit with butterflies and wasps.

Cool September Sunday in the Walled Garden

After two really warm days on the Friday and Saturday when the Luton Hoo Walled Garden had a Research Day followed by an Artists Day, Sunday turned out cool, but that did not deter the crowds.

Sunday was well-attended, and I was able to meet up with my daughter and her twin girls, so they could savour the freedom of this venue. They very soon found themselves at a handicraft stall where they could colour up some cutouts and make flowers.

They got to see a jigsaw and lathe at work, and buy a few pieces for Christmas decorations. They also got to see some bees and a honeycomb.

They enjoyed jacket potatoes, beans and cheese with cold drinks, and we even managed to get them to run in opposite directions around the perimeter of the garden to give them some exercise!

Altogether it was a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon. My only regret was that I had been too tied up to visit on the Friday and Saturday.

Late Visit to Open Day

The Walled Garden hosted an Open Day in aid of two local charities – Keech Hospice and Grove House, but I was only able to arrive once the clouds had rolled in and many were considering leaving, though I did manage to capture some of the enjoyment being had by children jumping from bale to bale to the sounds of the Casino Royale Steel Band.

The music was not over loud yet carried well, allowing easy conversation amongst the groups in the marquee. Steel Band music is a very happy sound and seemed well-received, and the singer I heard had a very good voice, blending well with the tunes.

The two shots at the start of the gallery were actually taken the evening before when the sun broke through to the derelict building that can be seen along the tree-lined avenue to the Walled Garden, I have no idea what purpose it served, but I describe it as a bothy (sometime I must remember to ask just what it was!)

The flowers are largely coming to the end of their life this season, but I still managed to capture the beauty and colour of some, before I left the grounds.

Luton Hoo Walled Garden – High Summer

For a change, I managed to get up to the garden much earlier, which meant I was able to capture more of what was happening this Wednesday, the artists were sprinkled in every part of the garden and outside the wall to record the buildings and flowers in the bright sunlight.

I found a small group were taking a break in the cool of a walkway by a gate leading to the big house, now, the hotel – what they had not spotted, was that at the very end, silhouetted against a slightly lighter area, was a muntjac grazing quietly.

The volunteers were busy tying up the climbing plants, moving pumpkins away from the grass walks, and weeding, whilst the artists were sketching, drawing and painting, and occasionally moving to a new position.

A farm vehicle is being lovingly restored in one of the outbuildings, and it is definitely in the tradition of family heirlooms – by the time it is completed it will undoubtedly resemble the original, but like the knife that has had two new handles and three new blades!

Unlike the beehive itself, there was a general hive of activity all around the garden, with conversation drifting in the breeze.

It was indeed a very colourful scene, and I hope I have managed to capture it to advantage.

Windy in the Walled Garden

I arrived in Luton Hoo's Walled Garden reasonably early, and at first it seemed like a gentle breeze, but when trying to capture closeups of bees, ladybirds or aphids, it was a gale! Today was a day when using flash was helpful, but it was not always easy to keep a balance between the available exposure and so sometimes double-exposure occurred.

It was good to get in close on the bees, and the spiky plants they were pollinating lent an interesting contrast. The mating ladybirds should have been concentrating on their task of clearing aphids, but they had other things on their minds, so the aphids live on!

So, despite the wind, there are some quite interesting images in this gallery.

Sunshine & Showers

For once I was able to set off for the Luton Hoo Walled Garden this Wednesday earlier than one o'clock, but the journey did not seem promising weatherwise, as no sooner had I started the car, it began raining, and it got worse, but it did improve upon my arrival.

All the volunteers were sitting around inside the greenhouse, and for a moment I thought they were having an early lunch, and they all chose that moment to get up and leave! So much for my effect! – it had in fact been a short tea break.

I took a wander to see just what had progressed since my last visit and began taking photos, this time many were flash-assisted, though at times we had both sunshine and showers. Surprisingly, the variety and number of images I captured was good. I was able to get several interesting closeups of bees at work, and once again interesting patterns.

In the course of conversations I learnt that two volunteers had allotments in Coldharbour Lane, Harpenden, so at about three-thirty I set off there to view an enormous poppy and a strange tall unknown plant which would eventually have yellow flowers. At that moment the heavens opened, and we were caught in a very heavy downpour which persisted till our arrival at the allotments.

The second much smaller gallery shows what I managed to capture there.