Reflecting - Chojeon Tractional Pond, Sacheon

 Daisy has been ramping up her photography skills, so one afternoon we took a walk to get some material. We started with Cheuy posing by the azaelas. At first she was all smiles.

Like a most of my artistic projects, the idea was so much cuter in my head that real life. Dropping petals and catching a creative shot mid-air turned out not so cute. No more smiles from Chuey.

We moved on to easier, non-moving material.

The sky was the perfect mix of blue and clouds. The reflections on Pruggio Pond were amazing.

An afternoon filled with several of my favorite things--pictures, beautiful skies, Chuey and my Daisy.

[May 2]

Stop And Smell The Flowers - Seomi Garden, Namhae

A day of nothing but flowers was on the top of our To Do List as we headed to Namhae.

Seomi Garden is a quaint little place nestled into Godong Mountain with nothing else around.

Lotte, Chris & Kate

Seomi is a European-style garden situated on a Darangin rice field overlooking Hallyeo Marine Park. Nine small gardens are divided into individual 'rooms' by creatively using natural elements like bushes, trees and artistic gates.

A man named Cha Myung-ho is the master gardener behind Seomi. He was born in Seoul and never had a garden until moving out of the city. Once he got his first one, he was bit by the gardening bug. He learned as much as he could about the practice.

He first visited Namhae in 2006 and fell in love with the island. It was then that he worked at a botanical garden to learn even more, along with taking European trips to learn about gardening from different continents.

In 2009 he began the process of transforming 15,000 square meters (3.7 acres) of rice paddies on Mount Godong into his own unique garden by planting trees, flowers and plants.

Cha has since planted over 30 types of trees, and 200 varieties of flowers.

Cha worked to make his garden more interesting by creating different themes, such as a spring garden, a labyrinth hide-and-seek garden, a fish garden, a Greek garden, and more.

The view of Hallyeo Marine Park adds to the ambience.

Cha's goal is was to create a place where people can relax and rest easy. I would say he accomplished that.

 [April 30]