Never disappointing, the Alpine House at RHS Wisley. Particularly colourful in these early months as you can see. Rhubarb-pinks, bright yellows, true blues, glaucous greens, cochineal reds, zebra-striped purples and arctic whites – and packing a punch for such diminutive little stars. And this only January 14th (they were photographed on my visit yesterday morning).
Sunk into the sand of the two raised beds, they are regularly changed as new specimens come to their best and so the display is never the same. I was using a macro lens only this time around and a fixed f4 aperture to create a very narrow depth of field (I stuck to this wherever I was here, in the woodland gardens or the Glasshouse) and to experiment with the possibilities.
I haven’t retouched any of these images though I probably should have, just a little, to correct some overexposure and enhance the contrast. And they were all taken hand-held, without a tripod. I really must use a tripod sometime or other, and a quiet Alpine House is as good a place as any. I should be able to get in much closer and still retain the sharpness, especially if I use a remote shutter doo-dah as well. Perhaps next time.
If you wanted to time travel a little, here’s a link to my past adventures in colour in this particular Alpine House – well worth a look I’d say!
https://teddingtongardener.com/?s=alpine+house+wisley
and of course, a delve into the Telegraph archive –
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/how-to-grow/how-to-grow-alpine-plants-at-home/ (Francine Raymond)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/11485937/Its-a-myth-that-alpine-plants-are-difficult-to-grow.html (Tom Petherwick)
Finally, a list of all the Alpine Garden Society Shows in 2017. Go and see for yourselves and talk to the experts.
http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/shows/dates-and-venues/
The Teddington Gardener 