At the close of a June showing of my floral art prints, two women asked if – as part of my work – I’d be interested in photographing some exceptional flowers in their family gardens ~ rhododendrons in the Pacific Northwest and zinnias in San Jose. Yes, I’d love to!
Meghan extended her offer again by email:
I met you last month when you spoke at our Interior Designers Guild meeting in Santa Clara. At that time I told you about my father’s zinnia beds. Well, with all of this hot weather, they have bloomed beautifully and look gorgeous. If you are interested in coming and taking a look at them and/or photographing them, we would love to show them off! They are quite stunning. I think you would find it worth the trip.
A couple of days later I climbed into my spunky Toyota pickup and navigated from Santa Cruz over Highway 17 onto the backcountry roads of San Jose. Meghan met me at the door with a smile, introduced me to her mom, her two lively kids, and later, when he arrived from work, her dad, the green thumb. She walked me out to see the beds and she was right: the zinnias were quite stunning! From a peek into his well-supplied potting shed, it was evident that her father is a seasoned gardener!
Purple Zinnia ~ rt ~ was snapped that sunny afternoon.
Thank you, Meghan and your family, for sharing beauty.
Meghan Mills-Hood is an interior designer with Christopher Anne Design Group in Silicon Valley.
Hyakunichisou ("zinnia" in Japanese) and butterfly, © Takiko Takeda Yalichev, 2008. Thank you for sharing beauty from Chiba, Japan!
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Those photos turned out beautiful. I am the one with the folks that live in Washington and have 3 acres of rhododendrons. If you would like to contact them, let me know and I’ll forward their information to you.
Thank you, Debra! I appreciate your sharing beauty as well. Your folks’ 3 acres must be spectacular. Please do send the information. There is a possibility we will take a trip north in the not too distant future.