Flowers and Plants

Chionodoxa forbesii

The bulbs are up all over the yard and it’s wonderful. This is one of my favorites and I have a good bit of it. It’s Chionodoxa forbesii and it’s growing up through the pachysandra around an oak tree near the end of our driveway. I have a variety called ‘Pink Giant’ growing nearby and it’s pretty, as well, but for some reason I don’t like it as much. Perhaps it’s because pink flowers are relatively so much more common, while blue flowers are a special treat.

The blue in the flowers seems to vary from year to year. This year they seem a bit paler than they did last year. Not that I’ve compared photographs, though, so maybe that’s just my imagination. Scilla is certainly bluer than Chionodoxa. It’s also easier to pronounce. But I’ll take them both. I need to plant more, in fact. But that’s a job for October.

Still Life with Acorn Cap

I met with about a dozen junior girl scouts this evening to talk about photography. They were working on their photography badge and needed someone to give them a lesson. I really wasn’t sure how much detail to go into and probably went farther than I needed to. They seemed interested, though, and were very attentive and polite. I had a big stack of pictures to illustrate the things I was telling them about shutter speed and aperture. The pictures were probably more useful than my descriptions. After my presentation, we all went out back to see what we could find to photograph. This is one of the pictures I took, a still life of an acorn cap.

Magnolia stellata (Star Magnolia)

Dorothy and I went up to Baltimore this afternoon and spent it with our dear friend, Julia. We walked around the campus and enjoyed the things that are starting to bloom, including this star magnolia (Magnolia stellata). Many years, probably more often than not, the buds on the star magnolias are killed by a late frost. We had a few late frosts this year, cold enough to do the job, but fortunately we hadn’t had enough days that were warm enough to get the buds close to opening, so it wasn’t a problem. They really are beautiful small trees the years they do bloom and they seem to be doing very well this year. This one is in front of a south-facing, brick wall, which probably gives it a little more heat and provides a bit more protection.

Daffodils

Once again I find myself way behind in posting pictures. I will endeavor to get caught up over the next two days. This photo was taken on April 1, six days ago, and finally copied off my camera’s memory card and “processed” yesterday. The daffodils have come out here in Maryland and yellow is the color of the day. Actually, in our yard, only the smallest and earliest variety has started to bloom. The others are showing buds but we’re at least a week from them blooming. Ours are on the side of the house that faces northeast, of course, and they are in shade much of the day. These are at my mom’s, actually in the next door garden, where they have a westward exposure.

Maple Blooms

After such a chilly, dreary weekend, today dawned clear, bright, and warm. It was up near 60°F (16°C) this afternoon and Cathy and I took a walk. It was quite wet out today in low spots which are slow to drain and dry out. I took some pictures of standing water but decided to post this picture of maple flowers, which are starting to come out everywhere. They are small and individually are not too much to look at, but they give the trees a wonderful, happy, crimson hue.

Daffodil ‘Tete-a-Tete’

It was a very spring-like day today, raining throughout. I think everyone was so thankful that it wasn’t snow that they were willing to put up with the rain for a bit. Yesterday was such a beautiful day, though, that it was a bit dreary today. On the other hand, the daffodils have started to show a bit of yellow. They are not quite open yet, but that’s a flower and it’s a welcome sight. I did get a bit damp photographing it, as you might imagine, but it’s worth lying in the rain when the flowers are starting to open.

Purple Crocuses

Six days ago I posted a picture of the first crocus blooming in our yard. Three days later, we had a significant snowfall, covering the ground under a coating of white. I think we often forget how tough most of our spring-blooming bulbs are. We often associate bulbs with Holland and many cultivars were developed there. But many of them have roots (no pun intended) in much harsher climates. Many of them come from the steppes of central Asia where winter temperatures are much lower than they ever get here. So, when something as insignificant as a late March snowfall covers them, they seem to laugh it off and are ready to continue blooming when the snow is gone.

Crocus

The crocuses have finally come out, springing up during our most recent warm spell. I’m writing this on Tuesday, three days after the photo was taken, and anyone in Maryland knows that the weather has taken another turn back towards winter in those days. But Saturday, when the crocuses were out, was a marvelous day. The birds are singing, the little spring flowers are blooming, and the sun is warm on our faces.

Scilla mischtschenkoana

Spring seems to be on fast forward this week. Yesterday it was the peonies coming up. Today I found one of the Scilla mischtschenkoana in bloom. This is such a pretty little thing. I planted about a dozen of these in 2010 and they repay me every year. In addition to these, I have the much bluer Scilla siberica and two different but similar Chionodoxa species (pictures of those likely to come as they bloom). If you like early flowers, these spring ephemerals are just what the doctor ordered.

Peony Sprout

Spring is an unstoppable force and it’s coming. On Monday we had 8 to 10 inches of snow covering everything. Now, a mere three days later, there isn’t any snow left at all and it feels like spring again. The snowdrops and Eranthis that I photographed recently look as though they didn’t know anything about being covered with snow. They are happily blooming again (or still), now that the snow is gone.

Around the side of the house, a more exciting sign of spring is the small, bright red shoots of the peony are coming up. Are you a fan of peonies? I am and need more of them. Their bloom is all too short but while they are blooming, they are amazing. Before you know it, this tiny red stem will have a huge ball of petals balanced at the top.

I can’t wait.

Squash Flower

My back is feeling much better than it was, but I decided to give it another day’s rest today. I wondered what I would do for a picture today but in our kitchen, where we have most of our houseplants, a squash of some sort had sprouted from a pot that was out on the patio over the summer. When it came up I thought it might be a squash but now that it is in bloom, I’m sure. So, a beautiful, yellow flower, blooming a little earlier than it would do outdoors.

Eranthis hyemalis

There is something special about the first flowers of spring. I suppose that the farther north you are (or at least the harsher and longer your winters are, which isn’t exactly the same thing), the more this is true. I know when we lived in Juneau, we looked forward to the greening of the woods. It’s perhaps a little surprising that in an evergreen forest, the summer is still a lot greener than the winter, but there are more than just the trees, of course. It’s the little things. In Juneau the spring came a lot later than we were used to but when it came, it came with a vengeance.

I’ve posted pictures of snow drops a few times already, and those were the first blooms in the yard. The Lenten rose, which is usually in bloom by now, has been covered by the snow too much to grow, so that won’t happen for a while yet. I was happily surprised when I got home this evening to have this little yellow flower looking up at me from the garden next to the driveway. Eranthis hyemalis, otherwise known as winter aconite, is a little plant and we only get a few flowers each year. In time, this little patch will spread and thicken and we could have a nice drift of them, but it takes time (like most things that are worthwhile). In the meantime, I’ll enjoy them in ones and twos. Happy flower.

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

What a beautiful day it was today. It was warm (or at least relatively warm, probably in the low 50s) and sunny. Early in the afternoon I went out and took some pictures of the Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis) blooming in the front yard. I had a snow drop picture back on February 20 but we’ve had a few snows since then. Of course, for all I know, we aren’t done yet. Today certainly felt much more springlike that it’s been. This time, the flowers are completely open and enjoying the sun right along with us. Here’s hoping and enjoying the flowers.

Geranium Leaves

Technically, these are Pelargonium, not Geranium leaves, but they are so commonly called Geranium that it’s hard to break the habit. Pelargonium species and cultivars are not cold hardy, like the true geraniums and are grown as house plants and in pots here where it gets too cold to grow them outdoors year round. Geraniums (including pelargoniums) often make me think of an old Pogo comic strip, where the Howland Owl and Churchy LaFemme tried to cross a branch from a yew tree with a geranium to get uranium (Yew-Ranium) so they could make a bomb. Classic.

Buddleia Skeleton

The snow is receding in our yard. It’s less than half covered and I thought of posting a picture of the grass showing through the snow. I was out back taking pictures and looked again at these flower heads from on the buddleia that is growing through a crack in our patio. Of course they aren’t fragrant like they are when they are fresh and have bluish purple flowers, which are so attractive to the butterflies, but I think that even as skeletons they are quite beautiful.

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

I know a lot of people are tired of this winter. I’m actually not, particularly, although all the school days missed and even more so the late openings are a royal pain. I certainly won’t miss those if we don’t have any more this year. It’s become quite lovely the last few days and today Cathy and I met outside my building at work and we walked around it a few times. It was really nice out and although there is still a significant amount of snow on the ground, it’s starting to melt very noticeably. I thought to look in the edge of the woods behind the building, because I knew there are some snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) that bloom there pretty early each spring. Look what I found! They aren’t quite in full bloom yet, but they are certainly coming up and it won’t be long. Spring is definitely on her way.

Ice Coated Rose Stems

We had a bit of an ice storm last night. Our phones woke us up with a text saying Montgomery County had decided to close schools and since our school follows the county, no school for Dorothy, either. I actually don’t think it was all that bad out. I went out back to take some pictures. There was a fair amount of ice on everything. These are multiflora rose stems and hips, with a pretty substantial coating. By that time, though, the rain was cold but not freezing, and before too long the branches were bare again. It was pretty while it lasted, though.

Sweetgum Fruits

If you are looking for a mid-size tree with fabulous fall color, you should seriously consider Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). It turns a most satisfying orange-red or crimson and it’s a nice tree the rest of the year. If you run around in the yard barefoot, however, you might consider the cultivar ‘Rotundiloba’ because it is sterile and does not produce these little balls that will otherwise litter your yard (it also has rounded lobes on the leaves, which explains the name). Personally, I like the fruits, but then, I don’t have them all over my patio, either.

Frasier Fir (Abies fraseri)

This is the end of a branch on our Christmas tree. Last year it came down fairly early but this year we decided we’d leave it up at least until Epiphany (January 6). As you can see by the date this photo was taken, we’ve gone over a little. I expect the tree to come down in the next few days, however. It was a small tree and We went fairly light on the decorations. There were a few strings of lights and we put up about a half dozen ornaments but that was it. The tree has stood up to being in a dry house fairly well. Of course, it was only cut on December 14, so it was pretty fresh.

Silhouetted Against The Snow

I only took a few pictures today, mostly out the back door. These are what’s left of the black-eyed Susan flowers around our patio, silhouetted against the snow. Not all that exciting, I guess. They looked nicer in real life.

Maybe tomorrow will bring something better.

Water Droplet on Rose Branches

We had some rain today, although the rain stopped later. I went outside to take some pictures and liked the look of the water droplets on the rose bush outside our front door. I should have taken the trouble to go back in and picked up my tripod but I didn’t so they are not as sharp as I would like. It’s my own fault, of course. This is better than most of them and I like the hint of a picture as each water droplet acts as a lens.

American Beech Leaves

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for another walk today. It was a bit cooler but still fairly pleasant (it’s not like I had to wear a jacket, or anything). I took quite a few pictures, including some of ice on a little pond in the woods but since I’ve had a few pictures of ice lately, I decided to post this one of some beech leaves against the bright, blue sky instead. The purple leaved varieties of European or common beech (Fagus sylvatica) are called copper beech because their leaves turn a beautiful copper color in the fall. The American beech (Fagus grandifolia) turns a paler version of the same color. While the bulk of leaves fall in the autumn, there are almost always some left on the tree over winter, which makes them easy to spot (in case their beautiful bark doesn’t give them away).

Clivia Berries

Over a year ago (September, 2012) our clivia bloomed. Fifteen months later, the fruit (which are berries) are still on the plant and adequately ripe. This is one slow plant to reproduce. The fruit are quite beautiful, though, so I have hesitated to take them off. Now that they are starting to fall off naturally, I’ll see if I can get them to germinate and grow. It will likely be six or seven years before any that do grow are ready to bloom, but if all goes well, I may have a few that I can give away sometime in the spring.

Ice on Rose Hips

After yesterday’s snow, there was talk of delayed opening of school today. I wasn’t convinced until I heard that there was supposed to be freezing rain in the morning. Sure enough, it was coming down when I got up and I found that schools were closed here. There was a light, freezing rain pretty much all day and it covered everything with a coating of ice. I took pictures of leaves, black-eyed Susan stalks, and various other things. This is my favorite, multiflora rose hips covered with ice.

Purple Grass

This is the second picture of a purple plant I took today. When we brought Julia back to her dorm, we walked around to the dorm lobby with her. There was a bed with this ornamental grass growing around the perimeter and I liked the purple haze effect. This picture doesn’t quite capture the airiness of it, but perhaps you can get the idea. This was late in the day and it was starting to get dark, so it’s the best I could do.

Callicarpa americana (American Beautyberry)

We went to visit Julia at college this afternoon and as we waited for her to come down from her dorm, I took a few pictures of the purple berries on the Callicarpa americana growing in a bed next to the parking lot. These are bit more purple than I’m used to seeing, but not a lot more. The bush was absolutely covered with them and looked quite lovely. It was the first of two purple plant pictures I took today.

Holly Leaves

The American holly, Ilex opaca, is endemic to the eastern United States. It is a broadleaved, evergreen tree growing to as much as 65 feet tall. As do many hollies, the leaves of the American holly have spines around their rim. The consensus is that they are a deterrent to herbivores (predominately ungulates). One paper by J. R. Obeso in 1996 concludes that the absence of browsing ungulates during a one year period significantly decreased the spinescence of leaves in the subsequent year. I like the word “spinescence.”

Japanese Maple Leaves

Most of the leaves are down from most of the trees but there are still some that are holding out against the approach of winter. This Japanese maple is in Cathy’s mom’s yard and it’s got quite a bit of color yet. I took quite a few pictures of leaves from various angles and with various aperture for a range of depths of field.

I like the combination of orange and red in this picture, as well as the out of focus background.

Oak Leaves

There is nothing special about oak leaves. There are hundreds of thousands of them falling this week from trees throughout our area. And yet, each one of them is amazingly beautiful. Here are just a few, with the late afternoon sun shining through them. There are many beautiful things in this world and sometimes we don’t have to travel far to see them. The simple beauty of golden brown leaves against a darkening blue sky astounds me.