Tagged With: Blue

Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 05, 2020 by Henry
Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

Torenia ‘Summer Wave’

We’ve grown Torenia fournieri before but I don’t think it has ever done as well as it did this year. We have a couple of them in containers on the back patio and they have been in constant bloom all summer and will probably not stop until we get a killing frost. They are also known a wishbone flower because the stamens join to form a shape similar to the wishbone of a chicken. This one is a variety called ‘Summer Wave’. Ours got a bit of sun but they are also really good for shade. You better believe we’re going to get this again next year.

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Juniper Berries

Photograph taken on Friday, November 27, 2020 by Henry
Juniper Berries

Juniper Berries

Cathy and I went for a walk late today at the Blue Mash Trail behind the Laytonsville land fill. It’s a nice, easy walk and we enjoyed the fall color still showing on a few trees. There is a fair amount of oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), which is pretty, even if it is a bit invasive. There’s a small group of American persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana) but not much fruit was left at this point. This photo is of juniper berries and leaves. I particularly like this color combination. It’s especially rich on an overcast day like we had this afternoon.

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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 05, 2020 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Cathy and I went for a walk on the western side of Lake Needwood this afternoon, parking at Needwood Mansion. It’s a trail we haven’t walked on before, although Cathy ran at least one cross country meet here when she was in high school. We saw quite a few eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and some of them were even close enough that I was able to get a reasonable picture or two. I really would like a longer lens for this sort of thing. Relying on the 100mm lens I have leaves me a little disappointed, but this one is pretty good, if I say so myself.

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Sycamore Tree

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 06, 2020 by Henry
Sycamore Tree

Sycamore Tree (Platanus occidentalis)

This American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is in our neighbor’s yard. It’s a bit, healthy tree and in the summer it is often lovely at dusk with the evening sun turning the bright green leaves a wonderful orange-green that’s very hard to describe. In the winter, without its leaves, the beauty of the sycamore is in their bark, which is a lovely white, especially against the blue of a winter sky. They are large trees and generally better suited to parks and open areas but they also make a fine city tree, being quite tolerant in their habits.

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Burke Lake

Photograph taken on Saturday, January 09, 2021 by Henry
Burke Lake

Burke Lake

We met our good friend Jean at Burke Lake this afternoon. We’ve never been there before but it was quite nice. There were a lot of folks there but we walked along the shore on a trail that was less used and it was very nice. The wind coming across the lake was fairly cool but the sun was shining and there were birds and it was lovely. Of course the main thing was seeing Jean, and that would have been nice anywhere, but it’s always better to be outdoors, if you can (unless the weather is really nasty, and then it’s great to be somewhere cozy, instead).

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Juniper Leaves and Berries

Photograph taken on Sunday, January 17, 2021 by Henry
Juniper Leaves and Berries

Juniper Leaves and Berries

One of my favorite color combinations is the blue of juniper berries and the green of their leaves. I especially like it on an overcast day, when the colors are more vivid. Either color on its own is attractive and in the running for a favorite color, but the combination is especially nice.

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for a walk on the Blue Mash Trail this afternoon and that’s where this photo was taken. As usual, it was nice to be out in the woods and meadows for a while and we always have plenty to talk about.

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Patuxent River

Photograph taken on Saturday, January 30, 2021 by Henry
Patuxent River

Patuxent River

We went up county today and to the border with Howard County. This photo is of reflections in the Patuxent River, which here is the boundary between Montgomery and Howard Counties (taken from the Montgomery County side). We were on Annapolis Rock Road and stopped where it crosses the Patuxent. A little further along we found the parking area for Annapolis Rocks, which we’ll return to at some point. It’s a really pretty area and one we’ve never been to before.

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Chionodoxa forbesii

Photograph taken on Saturday, March 27, 2021 by Henry
Chionodoxa forbesii

Chionodoxa forbesii

It’s been more than a couple years since I planted any new bulbs but of course, one of the beauties of bulbs is that they come up pretty reliably every year. Tulips aren’t that long lived, but daffodils and some of the smaller, more ephemeral blooms will likely be coming up long after I’m gone. This is one of my very favorite blooms, Chionodoxa forbesii, also known as glory of the snow. I like the fact that it blooms so early but I think my favorite thing about it is the amazing blue color. I really need to plant more of this.

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Nigella damascena (Love-In-A-Mist)

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 29, 2021 by Henry
Nigella damascena (Love-In-A-Mist)

Nigella damascena (Love-In-A-Mist)

We were out at Rocklands this morning with Dorothy for their chick-rental pick-up. I took a walk at one point to take some pictures of Anna’s flowers. It was a wet, cool day and there isn’t a lot in bloom at the moment but the love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) was blooming. The flowers are a lovely shade of pale blue and I think it’s even prettier in the rain, with water droplets on the various flower parts. This is a very hardy annual, growing well up to USDA Hardiness Zone 2, although it’s only native to northern Africa and southern Europe.

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Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 by Henry
Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

A few weeks ago we went to Stadler’s with our friend Yvette to buy a few plants for her. She wanted to plant something in memory of her nephew and wanted something blue. She settled on a balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus), which is actually more blue to the eye than it appears here. It’s a really pretty perennial that should do well as long as it’s got the right amount of water. We bought one, too, and have it in a container outside our front door, greeting us with these big, sky blue flowers, and reminding us of Jack, as well. It’s native to the northern far-east and is quite hardy and easily grown. The only thing to watch out for is wet or poorly-drained soils (which is why growing it in a container is easier for us).

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Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 18, 2022 by Henry
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

A month or two ago I happened to pull out a small Tupperware type container that had cash in it from when I was selling cards and matted photographs. It’s been quite a few years since I did that and at this point, I’m not going to do it any more. There was quite a bit there and I decided I’d use it to buy a telephoto lens, which is something I’ve wanted for quite some time now. I bought a Sigma 150-600mm zoom lens and today was my first outing with it. It’s quite heavy and I had it mounted on a monopod. That isn’t quite as good as a tripod but without that it would have been very difficult to get anything worthwhile. We walked to Blockhouse Point and then drove around to Pennyfield Lock on the C&O Canal. As we were walking back from a nice walk along the canal, I got four photos of this indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea). While it may not an award winning shot, it’s certainly better than anything I’ve been able to get with my other lenses. In the past I’d have to crop quite aggressively to get anything close to this and then it wouldn’t be nearly so sharp. This picture is the full frame. Hopefully there will be more and better bird pictures coming soon.

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Sunflower

Photograph taken on Friday, August 26, 2022 by Henry
Sunflower

Sunflower

We took another visit to the Ag. History Farm Park today and Dorothy was there with us. I took more butterfly pictures, including a few of a black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). I decided, though, that I’d post this photo of a sunflower, instead. It was a lovely day with a beautiful, blue sky and the combination of yellow and blue is so nice, I just can’t get enough of it. We missed the sunflowers at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area this year, so it was nice to get a small taste of them here.

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