Odd socks

We were blessed with fantastic weather for our early summer photoshoot this week.  With Gloucestershire head gardener Anton Blackie, ex Highrove gardener Nicola Hope MHort, nursery owner Rosie Hardy, and social media expert Tom Coleman all turning up at 11:00am it gave me time to give the lawns a quick once-over and the beds and borders a final tickle and tweak.

Once everyone had arrived and coffee and pastries had been consumed we set off to the showroom where our outfits for the day were lined up on rails from left to right - the order for the day.  Not only did we want to show the summer wear in a realistic garden environment but we also wanted real gardeners doing what real gardeners do at this time of year - staking, tying in, dead heading, and mowing-  just some of the work we carried out in our box fresh attire.

With art directors, photographers, assistants, and catering help it’s surprising how many bodies are required to carry out a day’s shoot.  There are times of intense activity, changeovers, periods of waiting, and of course moments of great fun usually involving hose pipes and zip-off trousers.

We now wait with excitement to see the images captured throughout the day.  Lessons learnt?  Yes.  Don’t be tempted to make the garden too tidy because it’s useful to have a range of tasks to work on while the photographer shoots.  One other lesson - don’t get dressed in the dark.  I ended up with odd socks.  Perfectly fine for most of the day when long trousers are worn but rather obvious when the shorts come out.  Thankfully I’m assured that photographers can do the most amazing things with Photoshop.  My socks will match after all!