I have spent a lot of time this summer photographing the great and the good of the gardening world, and have discovered that spending time in their world has decreased my stress levels tenfold. A typical shoot with a grower involves cups of tea, often cake, and a long natter about their lives and families as if we had known each other for years. It’s been an absolute privilege to end up with many of them as friends, and my world is a more fragrant place because of it. I have cut flowers in my house from their plots, home grown vegetables in my fridge and hand made jam in my cupboard, all from spending time with such talented, green fingered people. Some really exciting commissions have sprung from these shoots and I am extremely grateful to the people who gave their time to be photographed so readily. So I raise my mug to the community of gardeners and growers in the South West, for reminding me to stop and smell the flowers (but to also watch out for bees!).
