Stargazer lilies

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Thought I’d play with the black velvet background behind this group of Stargazer lilies blooming in my backyard garden this afternoon. I’ve previously done single blooms (mostly of Bearded irises), but wanted to see what the effect would be for an entire grouping of blooms. I shot this image with my iPhone 12 Pro Max using the Camera+ 2 app in macro mode.

Gladiolus in my garden

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Alliums

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Irises at Green Spring Gardens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bleeding hearts

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

(Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro lens)

Bearded irises galore in my garden (bouquet #2)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bearded irises galore in my garden (bouquet #1)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bearded iris blooming in my garden

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

Japanese Roof Iris

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhone 12 Pro Max / Camera+ 2 app in macro mode

 

Japanese Roof Iris

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro

Roof iris ‘Alba’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

(iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

 

Siberian iris with bumblebee

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

Feed me, Seymour!

This one is, well, um, interesting. It’s got a Little Shop of Horrors “Feed me, Seymour” vibe. I’ll capture it fully unfurled and see if its demeanor changes.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bleeding hearts

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

Parrot tulip blooming in my garden

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

Grape hyacinth (Muscari) blooming in my garden

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

African daisy (Osteospermum)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

African daisy (Osteospermum)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

Ginkgo branches

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

My Garden Photography Workshop at River Farm

Yours truly is leading a garden photography workshop on Saturday, October 17, at River Farm, home to the American Horticulture Society!

What I’ll be teaching can apply to everything from a DSLR to a point-n-shoot to your smartphone.

The workshop is 1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., with a lecture and hands-on guidance photographing in the gardens at River Farm. (I just attended a botanical illustration workshop a few weeks ago, so I know the social distancing/mask wearing is in effect there.) The event will be held exclusively outdoors under their big event tent. Their address is 7931 E Boulevard Dr, Alexandria, VA 22308.

If you’re local and want to attend, learn more in the link below!

https://connect.ahsgardening.org/river-farm-events/2020/garden-photography-workshop—non-members

Sprouts

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

As soon as I saw this jumble of sprouted bulbs (still in the bag on the potting bench), I immediately thought of these lyrics by my beloved John Denver:

I want to live I want to grow
I want to see I want to know
I want to share what I can give
I want to be I want to live

I *think* these are iris bulbs. Or very tiny gladiola bulbs. The label was now rendered illegible due to the rain. I ordered them online, and while I planted everything else, I left these on the bench, intending to find a place for them later. Then the rains came. And came. And came. When there wasn’t rain, I watered the garden daily, never seeing these still on the bench. Just now, I glanced over and saw some tall green stalks on the bench. Whaaaaaa? The little bulbs had sprouted; every single one of them! They were poking through the holes in the bag, roots entangling. The roots even went through the bag and had attached themselves to my gardening gloves.

I sat at the patio table and cut them free from the bag and found a home for them in the garden.

Hibiscus

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. iPhone 8plus, Camera+2 app in macro mode

Orange Jessamine (Orange Jasmine)

Orange Jessamine (Murraya paniculata)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.  iPhone 8Plus, Camera+2 app in macro mode

Morning glory blooms

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Daylily

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

 

Rudbeckia

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

 

Tiny Daylily

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

 

Crocosmia

Crocosmias are part of the Iris family. Originally from South Africa, the name comes from the Greek words for “saffron” and “smell.”

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

Bumblebee on Coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro)

Daylilies

For this shot, I diffused the light shining directly on the daylilies, but allowed the bright dappled sunlight to filter through in the background.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro