About
Planting in Baxter Park during Saanich’s Tree Appreciation Day
The website
Welcome to “life in the garden”, a website dedicated to photography, natural history, ecological literacy and, of course, gardening. The garden is a place where we experience beauty and abundance. The garden sustains us and provides space for solitude, reflection and renewal. In the garden we can reconnect with the natural world, with creator and with ourselves.
Gardening has often been understood as the conquest and subjugation of nature but this perspective needs to be challenged. Gardening must begin with an understanding and a deep appreciation of the natural world, along with a commitment to care for the earth and all of its citizens. (More on all of this in future blog posts.)
Burl
Like most people I wear many hats. I am an educator (recently retired) with over 30 years of experience in high school classrooms. I am a gardener, a photographer, a naturalist and a writer. I am a husband, a father and a grandfather. I have a BSc in Biology and in 2013 completed an MA in Environmental Education and Communication. Over the years I have been involved in a variety of food gardens, native plant gardens and habitat restoration projects.
My home gardens
We live on a typical city lot in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada), located within the traditional territories of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. Our family uses the south-facing front yard and much of our backyard to produce an abundance of healthy food. In these gardens you will find numerous varieties of apples, pears and grapes, as well as figs, berries, vegetables, pulses and herbs. The extensive use of indigenous plants maximizes wildlife values for birds, pollinators and other beneficial insects. I find native plant gardens to be infinitely more interesting than the sterile and predictable plantings you often see in urban neighborhoods.
My photography gear
Currently I am shooting with a Canon 5D Mk IV. My “go to” lenses are Canon’s excellent 100mm f2.8 macro and 24-70mm f2.8L zoom. I have invested in a high quality shooting platform and have no regrets — a sturdy BH 55 ball head with a panoramic clamp and L plate mounted on a tall carbon fiber tripod (TVC-24L Mk2) — all from Really Right Stuff.