Daffodils

Daffodils (missed this one from a series I shot back in April) Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’

Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’ (also known as Spring Beauty Scilla, Wood Squill or Siberian Squill) Photographed with an iPhone 8Plus using the Camera+ 2 app in macro mode

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White Prickly Poppy

White Prickly Poppy (Argemone albiflora spp. texana) is also known as the bluestem prickly poppy or the Texas prickly poppy.

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

iPhoneography: Carolyn’s paperwhites

iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode

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Daffodil and tulips

My first photo with a friend’s new Nikon D850 and my Nikkor 105mm micro lens

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iPhoneography: Bradford pear blooms

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iPhoneography: Saucer magnolia blooms

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. iPhone 7Plus / Snapseed app borders

 

 

 

 

Capillaries

I shot this image at a rest stop in Arkansas en route home to Virginia this week. My friend Greg purchased the new Nikon D850 (which I have been dreaming about) and let me play with it on this trip. I knew I’d love it! Now to just find some spare change in the couch ($3,300 to be exact).

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Forget-me-nots

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iPhoneography in my garden

Crabapple tree “confetti” and ‘Lady Jane’ Tulips in my garden

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Nesting

A Mourning dove has built her nest in a plant pot on the top of my gardening bench. You can see part of one of two babies to her right (black with white streaks). I can’t do my annual cleanup in that area until after flying lessons are given! Isn’t she pretty? (iPhone 6 with Snapseed2)

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My spirits soar…

All through the long winter, I dream of my garden.
On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth.
I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar.

—Helen Hayes

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (Shot with my iPhone 6, processed with Snapseed2)

Cymbidium Happy Days ‘Green Dragon’ orchid

How pretty is this green orchid?

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Yes, another purple Bearded Iris

At least this one is freckled! 🙂

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In Karen’s garden: Bearded Iris

Karen says these Bearded Iris plants have been blooming in three large pots in her backyard garden for nearly a decade. She gets fewer and fewer blooms each year because they really needed to be divided. And guess who volunteered to help her out? One, it solves her blooming problem and two, I don’t have this color in my garden!

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Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Bearded Triplets

Ooooh…how orderly! (not unlike me 😉

These are just three of the 28 (yes, I counted) Bearded Iris now in bloom in our front yard garden, with many more to come…

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Blooming in my garden: Bearded Iris

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Cindy’s Cusick’s Camas closeup

This title is a nod to my alliteration-loving father!

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Cusick’s Camas (Camassia cusickii)

So now I know what this striking plant I photographed last year is! It’s a Cusick’s Camas (Camassia cusickii). I photographed the first image against a backdrop of the feathery stalks of Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damscena) at Green Spring Gardens this morning. The Love-in-a-Mist flowers, another of my favorite blooms to photograph, should make their appearance in mid-May. I shot the second image last year at Green Spring Gardens after a gentle rain. In that shot, the water droplets add another element of interest and the color is a bit more saturated because of the overcast light. I posted the second photo on this blog last spring, but didn’t have a name to reference at the time.

Most often referenced as a member of the Lily family, Cusick’s Camas was reassigned to the Agavaceae family by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG 11) after DNA and biochemical studies were done. The APG is an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to establish a consensus view of the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms). In my research, I find most sites reference it as being part of the Lily family despite the reassignment.

This perennial plant, which can be propagated by both seed and offsets, was a food staple for Native Americans and settlers in the Old West. They emerge early in spring and the flower hues vary from pale lilac to deep purple to violet blue. Cusick’s Camas is one of the six types of Camassia.

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Blooming in my garden: Viola sororia ‘Freckles’

The rare and unusual Sister Violet (Viola sororia) ‘Freckles’, with heart-shaped evergreen leaves and tiny snow white blooms speckled with deep purple spots, is similar to a wild violet. This hardy perennial likes well-drained soil in full to part sun (mine is in shade for a good part of the day). It’s a great plant for naturalistic shade gardens and it spreads by seed and underground rhizomes. I planted my first bunch a few years ago in an egg shaped wire sculpture perched atop a big urn. This year the plant has escaped from its cage and began spreading on the ground!

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Blooming in my garden: Lily-of-the-Valley

Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis), with extremely tiny unidentified insect (can you spot him?). I didn’t see it until I zoomed in on the image in Photoshop!

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Blooming in my garden: Alliums

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Rhododendron

The name ‘Rhododendron’ is derived from Greek—rhódon (rose) and déndron (tree). This genus has over 1000 species of woody plants and includes azaleas. Photographed at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia

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Columbine

Columbine (Aquilegia), photographed at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia

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Bluebonnets aplenty!

Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis), photographed at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. (Now if I could just get that jingle, “everything’s better with blue bonnet on it,” outta my head) Did you know that the flower gets its name from the shape of the petals? They resemble bonnets worn by pioneer women to shield them from the harsh sun. Even though I spent more than 20 years living in Texas, this year was the first time I had seen these lovely flowers up close and en masse!

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Blooming in my garden: Grape Hyacinths

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Blooming in my garden: Daffodils

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Geranium Daffodil (Narcissus ‘Geranium’)

Photographed at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia

Check out my newly-updated Zenfolio botanical gallery here.

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Summer Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum)

Photographed at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia

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Signs of spring in dad’s backyard

When I was photographing my niece Lauren wearing the necklaces (see previous post), we startled a tiny bird nesting in one of the hanging ivies on the back porch. I took a peek and noticed this perfectly-formed tiny nest with three little eggs. We don’t know what kind of bird she is—she’s very small, slimmer than a sparrow. The eggs have a slightly blueish tint and some dark speckles here and there. Any guesses? It’s not the best photo in the world (certainly won’t win any prizes), but I didn’t want to disturb the nest to get a better shot—I just held the camera up above the ivy and photographed it without looking. This is the best shot I got!

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