Azalea and Rhododendron flowers

Because of the unusual freezing temperature in early Spring 2007, some of the azalea flowers in Missouri was partially damaged. However, I'd captured some pretty good pictures of azalea before freezing at the Garden.

Azaleas are flowering shrubs making up part of the genus Rhododendron. Originally azaleas were classed as a different genus of plant, but now they are recognised as two of the eight sub-genera of rhododendrons.

Rhododendrom is bloomed a little later than azalea and was not affected by the frost in April. Rhododendron is a very widely distributed genus, occurring throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere except for dry areas, and extending into the Southern Hemisphere in southeastern Asia and northern Australia.

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Princess Flower

Common name: Princess Flower, glory bush, purple glory bush
Botanical name: Tibouchina urvilleana Family: Melastomataceae (Melastome family)
Synonyms: Tibouchina maudhiana, Tibouchina semidecandra, Lasiandra semidecandra

Princess Flower is an evergreen shrub bearing big beautiful bluish purple flowers. Slender stems are somewhat vinelike and grow to about 15 ft. The plant rather spreads around to form 10-12 ft mounds unless pruned into more compact shapes. The simple leaves are velvety green and often tinged with red and are lighter on the undersides. They are large and coarse and 2-4 inches long and 1-1.5 inches wide with 3-5 midribs running the length, typical of the Melastome family. Princess flower blooms heavily in summer and sporadically throughout the year. The brilliant purple flowers are 3 inches in diameter and so vividly colored they appear fluorescent. Princess Flower is native to Brazil, and grown as a garden plant throughout the world. Read more on this article...

Double Peach Daylily

Double Daylily
Hemerocallis 'Peach Magnolia'
(hem-er-oh-KAL-iss)

There were so many beautiful Daylilies this season that it was almost a little overwhelming. Of all the cultivars I saw this Double flowered peach colored one had to be in the top fifteen. Its color is one that we are constantly looking for to compliment customer’s taste in colors. It really was stunningly beautiful and the flowers were huge.

‘Peach Magnolia’ was hybridized by Joiner Gardens of Savannah, Georgia in 1986. Take a look at their website they have brought so many beautiful Daylilies to the market. They have been breeding Daylilies since 1962. This peach colored one is a rebloomer and it proved it this year with a good second flush. Among the awards this Daylily has won are the Ida Munson Award in 2002 for the best double flowered and the desirable Award of Merit in 1999. Read more on this article...

Wolf Eyes Chinese Dogwood

Variegated Chinese Dogwood
Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes'
(KOR-nus) (KOO-suh)

This tree was featured on this site on September 18, 2006.

The previous post spotlights the real reason to grow this tree; the beautiful foliage. Today’s tree is from a different planting of ‘Wolf Eyes’ than the first post. Both plantings are located in the same garden and there seems to be some variation between the two. These trees get more sun and are growing in a much wetter area. They have been planted for about 7 or 8 years and last year was, by far, the heaviest flowering. The flowers are unusual when presented en masse. They are like a lime green and they persisted for weeks. Quite a nice show. The trees located in the shadier spot have never bloomed in 10 years.

I still love this tree and highly recommend it with a couple of hours of shade per day. There were a lot of the reddish-orange fruits this year. They looked quite nice up against the variegated foliage. I noticed them one day and didn’t have my camera and when I returned three days later to take a picture the birds had eaten all of them.

This is the same flower from a few steps back. The foliage is nicely ruffled.

These pictures were taken June 10th at 3:30 pm. Having all this new gear and no flowers hasn't been easy! It has been bitterly cold out with strong gusty winds. Our over night temperature was -1 F. It is warming up nicely today. Read more on this article...

White Glitter Poinsettia

White Glitter Poinsettia
Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Sonora White Glitter'
(yoo-FOR-bee-uh) (pul-KAIR-ih-muh)

This is one of the 10 or 12 varieties of Pixie Poinsettias we bought this year. The pixie part only refers to its size (3 inch pot). 'White Glitter’ looks a lot like ‘Jingle Bells’ and is considered a novelty Poinsettia. This one is nice since it has all red leaves, all white and the speckled ones, too. We are going to use the pixie Poinsettias as a Christmas table centerpiece and all the different types look good together.

This picture is from the new camera and the 105mm macro lens. Wow, this camera shoots huge pictures! They are roughly 9 by 14 inches right out of the camera. That is sure going to allow a lot of cropping and still end up with a nice size file for enlargements. It is going to take a bit of learning to nail down the D700. I think that new lenses often have a bit of learning curve to them also. There hasn’t been a lot of time to play around with it but so far I am very impressed by the cameras interface and ease of use.

Very deepest wishes for a wonderful Christmas to all. We are going to be getting together tonight with a lot of the family and tomorrow looks quiet (thank heavens).

“Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever."

Bess Streeter Aldrich (1881-1954), American author Read more on this article...

Black Eyed Susan and Daisy

You’ll notice both of these flower pictures are shot off center. It is something that I plan on working on next year. My photography teacher would love to hear that. Exposure is the other photography issue I plan on tackling in 2009. Since a lot of my pictures tend to be centered and underexposed it is going to be a little difficult to break out of that style but if you don’t try new things life can quickly become a little stale, for me anyways.

With composition it sometimes can be just taking an extra second before you click the shutter to make sure that the picture is framed in a pleasing way. Exposure is more of a technical issue and therefore a little more complicated issue to resolve. The challenge of doing something that is a little different is what keeps me taking pictures. That and being outside and studying the details of flowers and nature.

That was quite a storm that blew through here yesterday. About 12 inches of snow came down fairly fast and this morning some freezing drizzle is icing the snow pack. I am glad the snow blower is in good condition and I should have probably used it when the snow was a little fluffier. There are so many things that need to be done today that I am going to venture out even though the roads look a mess. Good thing we have a couple of Jeeps and a couple of 4WD trucks. The old Jeep is perfect for days like this, as it really doesn’t matter what happens to it.

I am sure most people know that today’s flowers are a Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum). Two of my favorite perennials due to their dependability as far as hardiness and flowering go. Read more on this article...

Malabar Nut

Common name: Malabar Nut, {Arusa, Vasala} अर्शा, वासाला (Hindi), Nongmangkha angouba (Manipuri), ஆடாதோடை Adatodai (Tamil), Basak (Bengali)
Botanical name: Adhatoda vasica Family: Acanthaceae (ruellia family)
Synonyms: Justicia adhatoda

A small evergreen, sub-herbacious bush which grows commonly in open plains, especially in the lower Himalayas. The Leaves are 10 to 16 cms in length, minutely hairy and broadly lanceolate. A herbal plant which requires very little watering and is an extremely hardy plant is Malabar nut. If there is one herbal plant that needs to be singled out for propagation and planting on a large scale, it would be this one. Adhatoda in Tamil, meaning a plant shunned by herbivorous animals. Propagated easily by cuttings, grows to a height of eight to 14 feet and has attractive white flowers.
Medicinal uses: Adhatoda is useful for curing coughs, colds and asthma and is easy to administer.It has been used for centuries, and is mentioned in Sanskrit scriptures.
[Source: Flowers of India] Read more on this article...