Not surprisingly, it turns out that Pinterest and other social media may be making people depressed. All those glamorous gardens, amazing crafts, kitchens to die for--who doesn't feel inadequate when looking at all that fabulousness?

But here's the truth. Most of the garden and design porn out there is just that. It isn't reality, it is an idealized, airbrushed, Photoshopped version of what photographers, stylists, bloggers and writers see --it is not what is there.


I am totally complicit and guilty in this whitewashing of reality. Do I feel guilty? Well sometimes, but I also believe in beauty. I believe that seeing a photo of the perfect garden can create the feelings and deep resonance in our souls that great art can. I believe that a picture of an amazing bouquet or single blossom can be important. But here's the thing. As photographers, we only shoot the most perfect angles we can, the least blemished leaf or plant. We Photoshop out the telephone wires and unsightly branches and dead blossoms.

We repair spots on leaves and enhance color. Some have been known to duplicate flowers to fill in holes in a photo. All it takes is Photoshop.

So here's the thing, if you get depressed and feel like your gardens don't rate, turn off your computer and head outside. Smell your flowers, feel the textures and enjoy the what doesn't show in a photograph.

Or if you can't beat them, join them...

How to Take Great Garden Photos

Photos of Container Gardens