Another sketchbook spread and a garden visit

Last Sunday we paid a visit to the botanical gardens at Dawyck, just down the road from us. Not that the weather was great for visiting but I particularly wanted to see a photographic exhibition which was on show there. However, once we had arrived the sun came out so we also ventured outside and followed the "Scottish Rare Plant Trail". Most of the rare plants were either not yet in flower or had finished flowering but nevertheless we enjoyed the exercise.

There was remarkable little colour on view in the gardens apart of course from green in all its many hues, tints and shades. But that did not mean there was nothing to photograph as the pots in this garden are magnificent, full of interesting shapes and beautifully weathered, so they received the full attention of my camera, as you can see just above.

One of the photographs became the focus for another spread in my Sketchbook. I teamed it up with a collaged background for which I used scavenged paper bags, rubbings of doilies and bleaching of back papers. I also scavenged a saying I saw on one of the postcards I bought in Dawyck and it read: "If nothing ever changed there would be no butterflies". It was printed out on my Dymo writer. The butterflies on this spread come from old scrap, an old French dictionary and from scavenged postage stamps. The background on the right hand side is also a paper bag. It was the one in which all my bought postcards were wrapped by the Dawyck shop.

I'm really enjoying being a part of The Sketchbook Project and if you want more gorgeous inspiration go and have a look at this blogpost by my wonderful friend Lenna who has also made a start in her sketchbook although of course hers "is not a sketchbook"! Mind you, neither is mine but my actual theme is: I'm a Scavenger.