October Garden Blogger's Bloom Day
Gee, the 15th snuck up on me again so quickly. I only realized it was time for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day because I saw other people's posts so I quickly went out into the yard and took some photos in the early morning light. The light was great. Quite magical when it illuminated the flowers.
Two photos above: Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'
Common fall Chrysanthemum. We bought this one about three years ago but it's quite hardy. At one time we even tried to get rid of it but it came back although in a much reduced state.
A cheap white rose. The only remaining one spared by browsing deer.
Begonia, Bronze Whiskey/White. The backlighting emphasized the graininess in the petals.
Camellia sasanqua 'Marti' is really starting to bloom with about 10 or more flowers. I thought the two flowers that bloomed last week was an aberration but it was actually the start of the flowering. This is quite early. I checked my post last year and it didn't start blooming until late October or early November.
Two photos above: Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'
Common fall Chrysanthemum. We bought this one about three years ago but it's quite hardy. At one time we even tried to get rid of it but it came back although in a much reduced state.
A cheap white rose. The only remaining one spared by browsing deer.
Begonia, Bronze Whiskey/White. The backlighting emphasized the graininess in the petals.
Camellia sasanqua 'Marti' is really starting to bloom with about 10 or more flowers. I thought the two flowers that bloomed last week was an aberration but it was actually the start of the flowering. This is quite early. I checked my post last year and it didn't start blooming until late October or early November.
posted by Ki at
5:54 AM
19 Comments:
Those white flowers in the first two photos are gorgeous. And the light is just right. But what are they?
You have a very floriferous October-nice!
Beautiful! What is the second to last photo of? That is my favorite, the petals glitter and it seems to be illuminating from the inside. Early morning light is the best light for photos. Now if only i could wake myself up that early to take pictures.
Oh, baby - these are gorgeous and dramatic, Ki, but without that deceased quality that sometimes comes from scanning.
Let me guess - the first two are anemones, aren't they? Then chrysanthemums, Magnolia?, begonia and maybe a sasanqua camellia?
Maybe I'd have better photos if I tried to take them in early morning?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Beautiful photos! In Real Estate they say the key is location, location, location. In photography it's lighting, lighting, lighting! Great captures in the early light.
Wow Ki, what a bunch of lovely pics you made. It's magic! Must try that early morning routine too some day. ;-)
Hi MSS,
Sorry that the photos are captionless. I only had time to post the photos as I was very busy yesterday. As Annie mentioned in her comment the first two are anemones, Honorine Jobert. We bought these this year so they are still quite small.
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Hi Lisa, I don't seem to have very many things blooming right now and certainly not as many as you have but the ones that are in flower are quite nice.
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The flower is the common begonia Vanilla Lotus. The flower is actually quite small but I did see the "glitter" and the light just hit it right so I included it. Luckily I'm a morning person so I was actually a little early. If I could have waited another 1/2 hour I think the light would have been better at least in the case of the camellia.
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You got them all except the magnolia which is actually a white rose Annie. The rose was the lone survivor when some deer browsed the roses. The flower is actually past prime but the light was perfect so I had to include it. The raking light brings out the 3 dimensionality of the flowers. I had a sculptor friend who was very concerned how her pieces were lit. The light was alway raking and dramatic. The nice thing about taking pictures in the early morning is that the colors seem more vivid, not so washed out by the midday sun and best of all there usually is no wind to contend with.
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Hi Connie,
I'm only starting to realize that lighting is key in producing good photos. I've read a lot of how-to photography books and all of them mention how important lighting is but it seems all the other tips are of equal importance too in the books so I never paid too much attention to the light. Only after seeing other people's pictures and trying to analyze why I like a particular photo did I realize how important light is. It seems I'm pretty dense. It's taken me more than 3 years of photographing flowers to find that out!
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Hi Yolanda Elizabet,
Yes, yes, you've got to take some pictures of your flowers in the early morn especially in your abundant garden. Just the stillness in the garden is entrancing even if you don't take pictures. It seems everything is glowing and your senses are extra sharp. The only problem is that it doesn't last as long as you'd like.
Your 'Honorine Jobert' anemones are gorgeous, and you say this is their first year? They're doing great!
I like early morning and late afternoon photography, but lately the shadows are driving me crazy - they seem so dark and deep - must be the time of year.
Beautiful photos! I so envy your ability to grow Camelias. That's 1 plant that I can't grown even in a microclimate. Too pretty.
Hey Entangled, you live in a lower latitude than we do. It can't be that dark yet? You wouldn't like living in Seattle. There you feel like you want to commit suicide in the dark, damp, cold winter.
I'll post pictures a bit later of our mature, 4 years in ground 'Honorine Jobert'. The difference is quite marked compared to the newly planted ones.
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Hi Mr. McGregor's Daughter,
It's tough even growing camellias in zone 6b in a microclime, Illinois would be a challenge unless you had a greenhouse. I've seen camellias in catalogs that are supposedly quite hardy but these were sold locally so I thought they would be ok in this climate. Not quite true since I lost two plants until I lucked into finding the most sheltered place in our yard. I would like to obtain a white camellia but I have no more room and I have second thoughts about the wisdom of stressing a plant so much.
Thanks. I thought they might be anemones--which I don't think I've seen in life. And then just today I saw another photo of them over at Pam/Digging when she was visiting the Botanic Garden in Chicago. I like the way your photo captured the light...it's a really stunning photo.
Hi MSS,
I'm preparing to do a post on Anemones as soon as they all bloom and I have the photos. I bought about 10 different kinds so it should be fairly interesting comparing the different types. Thanks for your comment.
Your garden photos are just beautiful.
Thanks Ruth. I was at the right place at the right time.
Dear Ki, all photographs have an artistic quality about them! The camelia is truly gorgeous.
Hello Green Thumb,
Thank you. The camellia does look wonderful. Reminds me of a dancer's skirt flaring in a turn. I do notice that the lower fall light is wonderful for photo taking. I'm looking forward when the leaves turn.
Ki, I love your anemones. I've got two varieties - 'Whirlwind' and 'Queen Victoria.' No blooms this year, but they'll be big enough next year I think. I just love them!
You've taken some GORGEOUS photos here and also the ones with the handheld binocular lens. You even did a pretty good job with the 'Crystal Palace' lobelia color! Isn't it just the most vibrant, deep indigo?
Oh wow, your early morning light photos are amazing, Ki. I love the depth of the shadows that you captured here... it really does feel like early morning.
Hi Kylee,
I'm also waiting for the last first year anemone to bloom before I post an all anemone article but that darned plant has only produced a bunch of huge leaves so far. Whirlwind is about my favorite anemone but I don't know anything about 'Queen Victoria'. Sounds like an impressive flower!
We first saw the Lobelia 'Crystal Palace' when we lived in Seattle. It has become one of our favorite flowers and we always plant some every year. It really is a lovely, almost luminous blue and the dark stems and foliage really sets it off. Unfortunately I set the color level in the photo to be able to see the orange eyed bug and that washed out the blue somewhat. I should post a better picture of it.
Thanks for the comment.
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Hi Kim,
Thanks. I really like the low direction of the early morning light. In general I like the photos I've been getting in the slanting autumn light much better than the harsh summer light. I also like the flowers lit partially by light filtered through other plants and trees. I think it makes for a much more dramatic picture but so much of this is still accidental for me I wish I could duplicate it at will. But the surprises I get when I download the pictures sometimes make me feel like bursting out with laughter.
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