The photograph that changed my life


Jane Gifford is a professional photographer. She tells us how her first encounter with Westonbirt helped her to burst onto the national scene.


Westonbirt Arboretum has held a special place in my life for many years. I never grow tired of it. For me, as a professional photographer and writer, it’s a magical place full of inspiration. I have been coming here since the mid eighties and although I have visited hundreds of times, I can honestly say there is always something new to discover.


Blue Atlas Cedar


I am still excited each year when early rhododendrons and magnolias herald the onset of spring and I can look forward to the mass eruption of flowers and tender new leaves which follow. I love the sweet scent of lime blossom on the summer air, when the downland is bright with wild flowers. There are always new berries and fantastical seeds to find in autumn, all against a backdrop of extraordinary primary colours. Snow brings a mystical silence and special beauty to the arboretum, where winter flowers bloom bright, like mahonia with its delicious fragrance and delicate witch-hazels.


One glorious autumn, the evening light turned a Blue Atlas Cedar so blue it was stunning and I was lucky enough to capture the moment on film. Litle did I know at the time that this picture would change my life. I sent it off to House & Garden Magazine, along with a series of shots from Acer Glade, and was delighted when they not only published the pictures but also commissioned me to write a feature to accompany them.


18 WESTONBIRT AUTUMN 2017


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