A Gardener’s Delight
Robin McBride of Lewisville, North Carolina loves tending her beautiful garden.
Enthusiasm, Joy, Wonder
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.
— Mirabel Osler
Robin McBride seems to find delight all around her — but most especially in her garden. There, she’s enraptured by the smallest of details involving the variety of flowers and plants growing under her watchful care.
I first met Robin when I photographed the Crochet Club at the Lewisville Library last fall. Robin is the instructor for that class, which meets every second Wednesday of the month at 4:00 PM. As enthusiastic as Robin is about crochet, she’s even more passionate about gardening.
The Secret Garden?
Last Saturday I found myself at Robin’s house on Reynolds Road in Lewisville, taking in the scope of her gradually expanding garden.
It’s possible that you’ve driven down Reynolds Road quite unaware of the existence of this little bit of botanical splendor. Currently, while most of Robin’s gardening handiwork is not yet visible from the road, she’s implementing a plan to adorn the front yard nearest to the road.
Robin McBride is planting new plants in her backyard.
Finding Her Roots
Robin’s family moved from New Jersey to the Winston-Salem area when she was 16. As a teenager, relocating to the South was not a particularly good experience for her. Most of the fashion and music trends Robin was accustomed to had not made their way this far south, and she, understandably, felt out of place. Upon graduating from high school, she eagerly left town.
For the next 30 years, Robin lived out West and up North, including about 15 years in Boston. She returned to Forsyth County seven years ago to be near her parents. Two years later, she married her husband Scott.
Now, Robin wholeheartedly loves living in the South. As if transformed, she’s settled and content with her life. And in the five years during which she and Scott have been married, Robin has slowly transformed their yard with her thoughtful planting of flowers, herbs and vegetables — and she envisions more. Much, much more!
Robin McBride in a wistful moment in her backyard garden in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Flower Photos Coming Up
Unfortunately, time ran out on me as I prepared this post, and I haven’t quite finished editing Robin’s flower gallery. For now, at least you’ve been properly introduced to quite an enthusiastic gardener, Mrs. Robin McBride. In the next post, you’ll get to see evidence of her lovely garden. Don’t miss it. See you next time!
MORE TO COME! Check out the interesting follow-up article to this post on Robin McBride and her beautiful garden, titled The Gift of a Garden.
You know I love your photos. I’m a point and click guy and minimal editing with iPhoto, Keynote or Flickr. I would love to see an article about how you get your photos to look the way they do. You have a unique style. I’m assuming you use Photoshop to some degree. How long does it take to prepare your photos?
Springtime greetings from up North! I enjoyed your article on Robin and wanted to say…It’s no surprise to me that you’ve found her to be an enthusiastic gardener.
While she lived up North, she transformed a weed- and debris-strewn yard into a wonderful and welcoming garden of delight from front to back!
I think of her as Mother Nature’s handmaiden on earth. Her love of flowers and all living creatures has been evident for years, and it’s nice to see she’s remained that way.
Massachusetts’ loss is Lewisville’s gain. It’s nice to see that she’s receiving the recognition that she deserves.
Greetings from the South, N. Giannangelo! So you’ve seen Robin’s handiwork, too! It’s nice to have gifted folks like her who can nurture beauty in our midst. Be sure to check back later for the follow-up post of the flower photos. I can’t wait to share them. Thanks so much writing.
Thank you, Steve. You know, you’re quite an ideas guy — always thinking of new things! That’s fantastic.
An article like that is a good idea. I’ll have to start making some notes toward that end.
I use a combination of techniques (depending on each photo), so there’s no straight-out formula that I use every time. The process includes using Lightroom and Photoshop, and sometimes Photomatix Pro (for the HDR look). Plus, I often also use plugins such as Photo Tools and Tiffen Dfx.
Sometimes the photos shape up quickly and other times they don’t. For instance, I spent several hours on the lead photo for this post because I shot it without using fill flash. (The subject’s face was noticeably shaded, and I was having trouble getting the camera’s built-in flash to work.) It took a bit of experimenting to get the photo to a stage that I was pleased with.
Thanks for the prodding, Steve!