Tagged With: Summer

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Photograph taken on Tuesday, July 04, 2023 by Henry
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

We’re back home from our grand Alaska adventure (or whatever you like to call it) and I thought I’d photograph the various things blooming in the yard. One of the best is this Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’. There are something like 7 species in the genus Crocosmia that come from the South African grasslands. The variety named ‘Lucifer’ is a hybrid by Alan Bloom (Crocosmia x Curtonus) which has flowers and foliage that are similar to gladiolus. As you can see, it has scarlet red, tubular, one-sided flowers borne along arching flower scapes. It’s one of our favorite summer blooms and every year I mean to do a little better at giving them support, although they only barely need it. We started with one or two plants and I’ve added a few more over time, so we have a nice clump of them in our front bed. We’re glad we got home while they were blooming. They attract hummingbirds, as well as the more common pollinators, which is an added treat.

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Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Photograph taken on Sunday, July 16, 2023 by Henry
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Mom and I came home from North Carolina today, after yesterday’s reunion. Cathy had been to church and was visiting her mom when I got home. We drove to the Ag. History Farm Park where there were a few dahlias in bloom and we walked through the garden to see them and then through the demonstration garden. In the sun it was really hot and the humidity was stifling. Sitting in the shade where there was a slight breeze was bearable, but even that was quite warm. We moved to the other parking area and walked down to the trail by the stream, walking through the woods. We were out of the sun, although the air was quite still. We saw a great blue heron, but only as it flew away. I took a few pictures, but not many. By the time we got back to the car we were drenched in sweat. This monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) was in the meadow as we returned to the car.

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Cathy’s Flowers

Photograph taken on Thursday, July 20, 2023 by Henry
Cathy's Flowers

Cathy’s Flowers

The summer blooming period has really gotten underway at our house. That mostly includes black-eyed Susan and tiger lilies, both seen in this photo with Cathy. These are in the front yard. It’s our largest stand of tiger lilies which originally came from bulbils collected from my dad’s plants in Bethesda. We have a few in other parts of the yard, near the top of the driveway and on the south end of the house and every year there are a few more. This bunch it the most impressive, though, being right out by the road.

The black-eyed Susans here are a relatively small bunch compared to what is in the back yard. I like them, although we could have about half as many and still have enough. They are fairly aggressive and even Cathy has taken to pulling a few up each year. There are about 25 recognized species of Rudbeckia. Most of ours are probably Rudbeckia hirta, native to our region and the state flower of Maryland. Some of the others, with similar flowers, are less aggressive and might be a better alternative, if you don’t want a yard full of them.

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Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Photograph taken on Saturday, July 22, 2023 by Henry
Lotus (<em>Nelumbo nucifera</em>)

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

Lotus (<em>Nelumbo nucifera</em>)

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea)

American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea)

Water Lily (Nymphaea variety)

Water Lily (Nymphaea variety)

Cathy with Lotus

Cathy In Front Of Lotus Leaves

Cathy had to work this morning because their software upgrades have to be done outside business hours when no one is working with it. When she was done we drove to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. We didn’t know that their Lotus and Water Lily Festival was going on, so we had to park a few blocks away and it was quite crowded, but we were still glad we went. The flowers were wonderful, although the Lotuses were probably past their peak. Those blooms that there were, however, were lovely. We both took lots of photos and I took some with my 150-600mm zoom, which allowed an interesting perspective. Sadly I forgot to bring my monopod, so I had to hand hold it, which may mean some of the pictures are not good enough to show. At one point I used the branch of a tree as a support, which got a chuckle from a couple of guys who were watching me.

We especially enjoyed the walk out to the boardwalk that goes out from the southwest corner of the gardens to a marsh along the Anacostia River. We saw egrets and I got a few pictures of a pair of ospreys circling overhead. It was quite warm but on the boardwalk there was some shade and a bit of a breeze, which felt very nice.

From the gardens we stopped at three cemeteries. First we went to Fort Lincoln Cemetery, just north of the gardens and outside the District of Columbia in Maryland. Then along North Capitol Street, we went to Soldiers Home Cemetery, one of the country’s oldest national cemeteries, and Rock Creek Cemetery, where my great, great grandparents are buried (as well as their oldest son, my great grandfather’s older brother).

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