Pennsylvania Canyon

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The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon was one of our destinations on our fall foliage trip this year. It’s located in north central Pennsylvania just west of Wellboro.

Unfortunately we were at least a week too late for fall foliage. The leaves were on the ground and their color fading. Colton Point State Park is on the western side of the canyon and has primitive facilities compared to the state park on the other side - Leonard Harrison State Park. There are a visitor facilities and overlook into the canyon from that eastern side of the canyon. Both also have hiking trails which we did not investigate on this trip.

The temperature had been in the 20s when we set out from Owego, New York earlier in the morning and was still cold. We enjoyed a short and quick hike along the rim in Colton State Park. A fall foliage trip is probably not complete without some wading through leaves and this was the place to do it.

We had warmed up in the car on the short drive over to Leonard Harrison State Park. The temperature had gotten a little warmer and there was a Boy Scout troop cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for the crowd; they were getting some customers even though it was only about 10:30. The oak trees that hold on to their leaves a little longer and the pines are certainly to be appreciated when the fall itself has come and gone!

Rest Stop Plants

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The rest stops along the interstates are the quickest ‘stop’ along the way and definitely add to the comfort of road trips. The rest stops have improved over the years. They are clean (usually cleaner than fast food restaurants or truck stops) and designed for smooth traffic flow - often separating cars from the truck traffic.

 

This year I’ve appreciated the plantings. On our fall foliage trip, the rest stop in Pennsylvania featured angel’s trumpets and sunflowers.

 

So - thank you to the people that make the decision to keep keeping those rest stops opened and in good working order…and making them beautiful too.

Evening Fountains at Longwood Gardens

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I’m remembering warm summer nights and the fountain display at Longwood Gardens….celebrating the passing of the season for the year. This year we were there on a night in August that it was just the fountains - no music. Years ago we were there when the Stars Wars sound track played for the fountain show. Another year - my 3 year old daughter started singing while we waited for the show; all the adults around her sang along once she started! There was a lightning show on the horizon that accompanied the fountains during another performance.

The slide show below contains my top 10 photo picks from our visit in August. I like the colors, the jets and curtains of water, the close in and the wide angle. Of course you miss the motion - the sound of the water. Hopefully your imagination can fill in the missing parts!

Longwood Gardens Light Tracks Photos

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A few weeks ago at Longwood Gardens I decided to try some photographing the lights by intentionally moving the camera during the longer exposure.

I experimented with making different shapes - can you see the D and S and O? Of course - most of the light tracks are just squiggles. Enjoy!

For more traditional photos of the lights at Longwood see my earlier post.

Macro Water Lilies

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I’ve posted before about water lilies (Cheekwood in June 2012, Longwood in November 2011). This time I’m sharing macro photos. These were all taken at Longwood Gardens in mid-August 2012. I love the colors and the shapes the magnification brings out. If I didn’t tell you they were water lilies would you be able to guess?

Enjoy the show!

Munro’s Light Installations at Longwood Gardens

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Longwood Gardens has a display Bruce Monro’s Light installations through September 29. They are interesting to see in the daytime to understand the technology and then in the dusk/dark to get the full effect of the light. It’s all done with various configurations of LED lights and fiber optics. I’ve put together a slide show of my photos; also check out the links (green font) to see pictures supplied by Longwood Gardens.

The Arrow Spring display includes sprites of light fibers among plantings. They are almost invisible in the daytime but show up like little fountains of water at night. The first installation is at the entrance to the visitor center - large glass spheres with internal spheres. During the day it looks like bubbles within bubbles. At night the fibers inside give changing color. The Field of Light and Forest of Light are both glass spheres with a fiber inside. The Field of Light is reflected in water of a small lake. The snowballs hang from the ceiling of the conservatory. They are glass balls with fiber inside. The Water Towers are made from plastic water bottles and fiber. Their color is more vivid in pictures than on the field - the longer exposure making the colors deeper and more jewel-like.

Longwood’s Indoor Children’s Garden

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On a recent day at Longwood Gardens, I got to the conservatory early. Surprise! - There were no children in the Indoor Children’s Garden. Normally it is a very popular part of the conservatory and there is no easy way to photograph its features. The photographs in this post are the results of that little serendipity (and my most significant ‘celebration’ for the day!).

The garden was redesigned/upgraded several years ago. The conservatory had an area for children even 20 years ago that my daughter enjoyed; the things she liked the most have been doubled and redoubled in the new garden - lots of water for little hands, musical instruments, sculptures and mosaics…low ceilings and narrow stairways….all with a nature theme.

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Hibiscus

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Longwood Gardens always seems to have hibiscus on display in the conservatory in the same room as the roses. The large blossoms seem to always be in all stages from bud to wide open. There are lots of colors too.

Our May visit to Longwood was no exception to this previous observation. There were lots of people in the relatively narrow walkway in front of the plants. My favorite photos of hibiscus from day are shown below. Enjoy!

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens:   

 

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Water

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Longwood Gardens has a lot of water features and they were all in working order last week for our visit. I’ve included two photographic montages in this post. The first is of water features inside the conservatory. There were pink hydrangeas framing the pools of water as we came in. The rooms of tropics plants had water gurgling everywhere and water droplets on the plants as well. There were whimsical fountains with ferns around them and colorful tiles under them in the children’s garden.

And then there were the water features outdoors. Our last visit in the fall has been late enough that the Italian Water Fountain was dry; the water spewing frogs and the stairway of cascading water were all in working order this time. The blue Eye of Water was also in good shape for the beginning of the season. The fountain I hadn’t noticed before was the tall one in the woods that simply fell onto tile where the water quickly drained away to be lifted into the air again. It was a fountain the creator of the garden could enjoy from his house years and years ago. I liked the fountain in the woods.

Of course - Longwood has many more fountains and they host light displays on summer nights. Those will be a topic after our summer visit to the gardens.

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens:  

 

Longwood Gardens in May 2012

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Our visit to Longwood Gardens last week provided lots of images for blog posts. I’ve already posted one about the Catalpa Trees and Lilies and there are some other themed ones to come over the upcoming week or so. Today is a generic overview.

I always like the view down this shady pathway between the restaurant and the conservatory area. We almost always head to the conservatory right way since they only allow tripods (for photography) until noon so this is one of the welcoming views on the way.

And then comes the abundant richness of the conservatory. There are so many things to see - the children’s garden (even if you don’t have children), the plants that have been in the conservatory for a long time (like the Cherokee rose in the lower right), the bonsai display and then wonderful colors of other plants like nasturtiums and passion flowers.

Outdoors the tree houses are well established and truly in the trees this time of year. The tulip poplars are blooming as are iris, snapdragons, and jack-in-the-pulpits. The frogs were singing in the ponds….and one stayed still long enough for a photograph!

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens: 

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Catalpa Trees

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The catalpa trees were blooming at Longwood Gardens when we went last week. They were past peak but it was the first time I had seen them in bloom so I took a series of pictures of them.

Catalpas are one of my favorite trees. I associate them with summers at my maternal grandparents. There was a big tree behind their business and another in front of their house that was kept small and trimmed into a round shape. Both trees provided deep shade and, by the time of year I saw them, had the long green seed pods.

Later in my life - there was a large catalpa tree over the swings in the park when my daughter was little. Again, I remember the seed pods but not the flowers.

So - seeing the trees in bloom was a special treat. I had read about the flowers - described as ‘orchid-like’ and they do resemble orchids both in shape and markings. They are large and Henry Adams mentions ‘the thick odor of catalpa trees’ in his The Education of Henry Adams  but these catalpa trees at Longwood did not seem have a strong smell. Maybe different types of catalpa have more smell that these did.

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens: 

 

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Lilies

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Longwood Gardens is one of my favorite places for botanical photography. The weather was near perfect for our visit yesterday and lots of subjects for my camera both in the conservatory and in the outdoor part of the garden. I’ll be sharing my favorite images in several blog posts over the next week.

This time of the year the water lily courtyard is closed but there were fragrant lilies in the conservatory that were in all stages of bloom. The buds unfurling with the strong central rib of each petal were full of graceful curves and color that tends to fad as the flower matures.

The open flowers are full of frills and texture…the powder of the pollen. 

Orchids

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Orchids come is so many shapes and sizes. Aside from being interesting as flowers - they tend to remind me of other things.

My favorites are the slippers. See the pink one in the upper right - with the rounded toe and plush padding with long ties for around the ankle. And what about the green on the upper left with a more pointed toe. The lower left has the most pointed toe. And finally the white ones on the lower right - bridal slippers.

Next come the ruffles and frills…wrapped into shapes that can be trumpets or cornucopias. The edges of these petals remind us of party dresses and café curtains. It’s the edges that make the flower.

The last grouping reminds me of aliens…with full skirts and wild headdresses and appendages. Many of them grow in groups so the figures appear as if lined up for a parade (see the white ones in the middle left below).

The pictures were taken over the past six months at Brookside Gardens in Maryland and Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Enjoy!