Rain,
sun,
more rain,
more sun…
Add a measure of wind:
It all makes for
an abundance
of beauty.
Which I am pleased to share with you.
These photographs were taken in the last week at a garden, a park, and a wildlife refuge. Moat are native plants, a few are cultivated. Details:
Panasonic Lumix G3 with a few Hoya filters (2x and 4x) stacked on for the closeups. Processed in Lightroom and OnOne.
The fourth image – the tiny flowers – is Fendler’s Meadow Rue (Thalictrum fendleri), a Pacific northwest native. It’s related to the Thalictrum’s people grow in gardens. It has separate male and female flowers – these are male flowers, their stamens heavy with pollen. I used to grow Thalictrum in my garden in upstate New York, ten years ago – I love the airy, delicate beauty of it.
Below it, the tiny white flower is Star Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina stellata), another native wildflower. It too has popular relatives for the spring garden, as some of you know.
The flowering grass and the blowing grasses are unidentified; both are cultivated. The handsome flower below them is a Shooting Star – Henderson’s (Dodecatheon hendersonii). The first time I saw one growing wild – two years ago today – I jumped up and down, I was so excited. That something so delicate and extraordinarily beautiful was just growing alongside a trail, unmolested – it was astounding!
The yellow garden iris is followed by native Broad-leaved Lupine (Lupinus latifolia) growing abundantly in open marshland at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Another beauty with garden relatives, it proved too tempting for a little girl on the trail, who plucked a stem, which I later saw discarded by the wayside.
When I was around her age I used to comb the woods behind our house in upstate new York, where I found Trillium and May-apple (Podophyllum) growing. Sometimes I dug the pretty plants, brought them home, and planted them behind the house. It didn’t work with the Trillium’s, but the May-apple’s weren’t as fussy.
When I lived in Western North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I used to pass an old log cabin with a huge tree in front, under which hundreds of May-apple’s made a spring carpet each year with their odd green umbrella-shaped foliage.
The round-ish leaves in the second photo are related to those May-apple’s I collected as a child – but they are from China. There are only 6 species in the genus – 5 grow in China and the other is native to eastern – not western – North America. How that happened is a mystery, isn’t it? 🙂
bluebrightly 
Looks great Lynn! Your filters seem to be working very well for you.
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A beautiful set of images Lyn, cultivated memories indeed! So hard to pick favorites but I adore the delicacy of 4 and 5.
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Beautiful images, and your spring/summer is so farther off ours…
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Another delightful selection sharing your love of nature.
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Beautiful exploration into nature.
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Thank you, that’s good to hear.
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So beautiful and stunning photos, Blue. I can only recognize yellow Iris while the rest of them I have never seen before. Thank you for lovely post and sharing. 🙂
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The pink flower is a wild rose – I’m sure that one makes sense. And the Lupine is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). Thank you!
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There are many pea family in my country but the flowers are not as beautiful as this one. Thank you.
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Your trio of grass images convey a lot of meaning.. like stills from one of Terrence Malick’s films.
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Thanks for that! I like them together, too – they do feel like a meditative film.
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Love your photos as well this is one of my favorite things to do take photos. Great blog! Melody, Donkey Whisperer Farm
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Thank you!
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Such lovely detail and colour and rain drops – I can almost smell the woodsiness of it all.
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Stunning macros, Lyne! Beautiful green and pops of color and the details are amazing!
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From you, that’s especially good to hear!
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The macros are really fine, Lynn. I haven’t stacked a #2 and #4, but I’ll try it. Boy, you’ve got some fine filters in the Hoyas. I bought one, but decided the cheaper ones would last as long as I do. I’m sure the glass is far superior though. I love these images. You’re good. 🙂
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They weren’t that expensive at all – http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=22754&gclid=CJDsvsqcyL4CFZJhfgodrJYAsQ&Q=&is=REG&A=details – $35.00 at B&H. I got them for about the same price at a Seattle photography store. And thank you for your flattery, my dear! 😉
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Thank you. I just ordered a set of 77mm from B&H after I followed the link. The set is cheaper than I could find a single Hoya anywhere else. 🙂
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Wonderful selection of photos, best wishes, Aquileana 🙂
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Thank you!
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I love how you so the water coming down on that leaf of the first picture!
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