Armed with a classic Hasselblad, Nigel Bridges did just that and the result is being described as "magical".
Over the last few years, Nigel has given his chisel a rest during the spring and summer to explore Magdalenehall Farm, near St Boswells, where he has had a workshop for almost two decades.
Focusing on the flowers in the hedgerows, and sometimes in his cottage garden, the subtlety of Nigel's creative eye, combined with the technical capability of the camera, has resulted in astounding photographs. Cow parsley, the commonest of wayside plants, is captured in incredible detail while yellow rattle is caught in a play of light that enhances the plant's translucence and reveals vivid patterns and colours.
Nigel says: "We overlook the very things on our doorstep in a mistaken belief that we need to travel to find the exotic. They may be common, but they are also extraordinary.
"Plants are actually lie detectors that reveal how we are treating the environment. They are barometers of temperature, moisture, light, air quality and mineral levels. They provide food and have critical relationships with insects. Many of these plants have beneficial medicinal properties.
"We should pay attention to them and look after them.
"We see the beauty of these flowers more intensely than we've probably ever seen them before. It's like looking at nature through the eyes of a three-year-old."
Nigel's art can be seen at The Flat Cat Gallery in Lauder from Saturday until mid-July. The exhibition, Straws in the Wind, will feature a dozen large photographs of flowers on stretched cotton canvas alongside some of the furniture on which his reputation has been built.
The camera, similar to that used by American landscape photographer Ansel Adams, was inherited from his father David, himself a talented amateur photographer.
One of the smaller sculptures being exhibited, Garden Song, features flowers made from found objects, including familiar everyday throwaway items such as shells, an ivory rattle, wine bottle corks, a ceramic head found in the River Tweed and tin can lids finely gilded in 24-carat gold.
Straws in the Wind features photography, furniture and sculpture by Nigel Bridges at The Flat Cat Gallery. Visit www.nigelbridges.com for more information.