Rose Trellis

Photograph taken on Friday, May 20, 2011 by Henry
Rose Trellis

Rose Trellis

Last summer Kevin helped me build this rose trellis. The roses haven’t had a chance to fill in completely but it’s starting to look pretty good.

On the right is ‘Champneys’ Pink Cluster’ (Champneys, U.S., 1811). Although it isn’t really a climbing rose the support is helpful, anyway. On the left is ‘Crépuscule’ (Francis Dubreuil, France, 1904). Both of them are Noisette roses and bloom pretty well off and on all summer. ‘Crépuscule’ has the stronger scent but both are nice in that regard.

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Rainbow

Photograph taken on Thursday, May 19, 2011 by Henry
Rainbow

Rainbow

Every time it rains and is sunny, Dorothy goes out looking for the rainbow. Usually it’s either not sunny enough or not raining hard enough for a rainbow but this time she came back in saying it was there and it was awesome. It was a pretty nice rainbow, I have to admit.

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What Is It?

Photograph taken on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 by Henry
What Is It?

What Is It?

Anyone have a guess as to what this is?

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Columbine Seedpod

Photograph taken on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 by Henry
Columbine Seedpod

Columbine Seedpod

After the flowers are done, columbine gets these crown-shaped seed pods.

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Allium christophii

Photograph taken on Monday, May 16, 2011 by Henry
Allium christophii

Allium christophii

I planted six of these Allium christophii last fall and they are just starting to bloom, a little late but that’s normal for the first year after planting. It will shortly but a huge ball of these cool, six pointed stars.

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Ben, Lilias, and Michelle

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 15, 2011 by Henry
Ben, Lilias, and Michelle

Ben, Lilias, and Michelle

We had a terrific afternoon with our friends Ben, Michelle, and their beautiful daughter Lilias. She only smiled for me in a couple pictures but I think this one is pretty sweet.

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‘Jaune Desprez’

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 14, 2011 by Henry
‘Jaune Desprez’

‘Jaune Desprez’

I wish you could smell this rose. This is a Noisette rose called ‘Jaune Desprez’ (Desprez, France, 1835). The individual blooms are not the most beautifully shaped in all creation but it blooms reliably and grows pretty vigorously.

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Fireworks

Photograph taken on Friday, May 13, 2011 by Henry
Fireworks

Fireworks

You know when the really big fireworks explosions go off, they produce lines of light radiating out from the center with smaller explosions at the end of each ray? That’s what this reminds me of. It’s one of the large Alliums (gigantium or cristophii, I’d guess) growing in Ralph and Tsai-Hong’s garden.

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Bearded Iris

Photograph taken on Thursday, May 12, 2011 by Henry
Bearded Iris

Bearded Iris

The irises are starting to bloom all over. This is a purple and yellow variety outside our dining room window. I think yellow and purple are a terrific color combination.

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Baltimore Oriole

Photograph taken on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 by Henry
Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole

As an illustrative photo this isn’t much but seeing an oriole (Icterus galbula) is rare enough that any photo that catches the color is pretty cool, in my book. I got two others of it on a branch but it’s mostly hidden by the branch. I could hear it singing after it flew to a different tree so I have hopes of seeing it again.

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Tiny Green Damselfly

Photograph taken on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 by Henry
Tiny Green Damselfly

Tiny Green Damselfly

These little things are quite shy and wouldn’t let me get very close so this is cropped from a larger image. It could be a little sharper but I’m pretty pleased with it.

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Harvestman

Photograph taken on Monday, May 09, 2011 by Henry
Harvestman

Harvestman

There are over 6,400 species of harvestmen which together make up the Arachnida order Opiliones. They aren’t spiders (which are in the order Araneae) but are cousins. I’ve always thought they were cool. Their eyes are on either side of a little turret on their heads — the little black blob in this picture.

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Mother’s Day

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 08, 2011 by Henry
Mother's Day

Mother’s Day

We went out to lunch with our mothers (and Dorothy’s grandmothers) today. A nice time with two of the best moms in the world. Thanks for everything, mom.

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Rose ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 07, 2011 by Henry
Rose ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’

Rose ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’

This is a nice rugosa hybrid that booms all summer long. The flowers have an intense clove scent that I really love. The only downside is that the shrub is so tall and most of the roses are on the top so you usually see them from below. Still, it will have a lot of blooms shortly and will be something to see.

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Lady Beetle

Photograph taken on Friday, May 06, 2011 by Henry
Lady Beetle

Lady Beetle

I found a lady beetle today. She was nice and bright and crawling around on garlic mustard and mile-a-minute vine. Cute little thing, isn’t she?

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Spiderwort

Photograph taken on Thursday, May 05, 2011 by Henry
Spiderwort

Spiderwort

This is the first bloom on our Tradescantia (spiderwort) out front in the shade garden. This one is lighter purple than most but still quite pretty. I especially like the deep purple stamen hairs and the yellow anthers. Apparently, when the stamen hairs are exposed to ionizing radiation they turn pink. Looks like were safe, for now.

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Rain

Photograph taken on Wednesday, May 04, 2011 by Henry
Rain

Rain

It cleared up later in the day but this symbolizes the day for me.

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Buckeye

Photograph taken on Tuesday, May 03, 2011 by Henry
Buckeye

Buckeye

his is a common buckeye (Junonia coenia), posing for me on a garlic mustard. An uncommonly beautiful butterfly, I think.

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Maidenhair Fern

Photograph taken on Monday, May 02, 2011 by Henry
Maidenhair Fern

Maidenhair Fern

My dad had a maidenhair fern growing for years and when we bought our first house I dug up a small bit from the edge. When we moved I took some from that and it’s now well established in our yard here. So, this is “dad’s maidenhair fern.” (Adiantum pedatum)

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Soap Bubble

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 01, 2011 by Henry
Soap Bubble

Soap Bubble

Lea was blowing soap bubbles outside church this morning. Have you ever tried using autofocus on bubbles. It doesn’t work so well. Also, they move out of focus pretty quickly. I didn’t do a whole lot better on manual. Still, this one turned out pretty well.

Does anyone else see a face in this?

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