Blooming Variegated Croton

A few weeks ago when we walked around the Brookside Gardens conservatory, the variegated crotons had the beginnings for flowers. The collage beginning this post shows the buds on the long stalk. They are closely spaced when they first form and then the stalk elongates beginning at the base to give the buds room to grow larger.

Last week the variegated crotons were in bloom as shown in the two images below. The buds closest to the plant open first.

I took several of images with the 8x magnification loupe. The plant is so colorful that the flowers don’t have to be!

3 Free eBooks - March 2014

It’s time again for the monthly post about eBooks that are freely available on the Internet. The three below are my favorites for March 2014: birds, insects and flowers. I am anticipating spring!

Gould, John. The Birds of Europe. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. 1837. Five volumes are available on the Internet Archive: volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4, and volume 5. A few years ago I saw an exhibit of John Gould’s bird prints (large books) in a museum in Tennessee….and made a note to check the Internet Archive for any scanned versions of his work since the exhibit only displayed a small portion of the volumes. It was such a pleasure to finally browsing through these books online.

Fabre, Jean-Henri; Stawell, Rodolph, Mrs; Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander; Detmold, Edward Julius. Fabre's Book of Insects. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1926. Available on the Internet Archive here. The illustrations by Detmold are the draw for this book.

Galeotti, Henri); Funck, Nicolas; Morren, Edouard. L'Horticulteur practicien; revue de l'horticulture franaise et trangre. Paris: A. Goin. 1858. Two volumes are available on the Internet Archive: 1857 and 1858. The illustrations of rich with color and detail of flowers….it’s like touring a conservatory online. I picked the forsythia illustration because it reminded me of how disappointed I that our neighbor’s forsythia is likely to have a hard time this year since the deer have eaten all the tender parts. It might not manage any blooms at all!

A Pine in March

The winds have been blowing this month and the pine cone litter the ground. Sometimes they seem completely dried out, drab and fragile….sometimes they still have the color from earlier in their development and bits of sap.

Some of the cones are manage to stay on the tree - like ornaments on a tree decorated for Christmas.

Some of the cones are manage to stay on the tree - like ornaments on a tree decorated for Christmas.

And then there are the buds at the tips of the branches (taken with the 8X loupe magnfying) that will become the next generation of pine cones.

Another March 2014 Snow

We got 7inches of snow yesterday and I took another round of pictures….and made snow ice cream (green for St. Patrick’s Day). The Kokopelli garden stake was almost covered with the snow,

The tulip poplar seed pods turned into cups for snow,

And the bushes look like they had been generously topped with whipped cream!

The streets near our neighborhood were cleared by mid-day and we took a short drive to enjoy the snow covered scenes.

I also took snowflake pictures with my 22x loupe. The snowflakes this time were dense crystals; they reminded me of spun glass or baroque jewelry.

Zooming - March 2014

Let’s look at some cropped images taken over the past month. As usual, there is a botanical theme. Can you find:

• Hibiscus buds and flower center
• Bird of paradise petals
• Fiddlehead sculpture
• Cactus thorns
• Paper flower

 

Garden Dreaming - March 2014

Spring is getting a late start this year….more time for garden dreaming.

• The racks of seed packets are hard to pass by. I bought colorful beans and carrots…and decided to start chives and cilantro indoors immediately.
• I’m always on the lookout for items that can be turned into ‘pots’ for the deck. The big plastic containers from cat litter are my latest target. We buy the big jugs of cat litter so I’ll have to cut off the top but that means I can make the ‘pot’ the depth I want. The maximum depth would be enough to grow sweet potatoes or carrots on the deck!
• It seems like freebie seed packets are coming from all directions. So far I’ve collected sunflowers and marigolds….cucumbers and tomatoes!
• It is pretty obvious that garden success will require some control of the deer browsing in my garden area (fortunately the deck is not accessible already). I’m going to try a ‘liquid fence’ repellent for my garden (and right away from my ornamental shrubs and bulbs coming up….the deer are starving….eating everything right now).
• I had to cut the sweet potato back in the pot I have growing indoors….and it is rooting in a glass of water. Now that it is putting out fresh leaves I probably will need to plant it soon but I need a pot of it (may be the first thing planted in an empty cat litter jug will be the sweet potato)!
• I’m thinking about what will go in the garden plot. It gets a reasonable amount of sun on one side although a young sycamore is shading part of it late in the day. The veggies have priority and I’ll try to start some indoors to give them a head start. The sunflower may be too large for my garden so I’m contemplating planting them along the sunny side of the house - which is not even a flower bed right now.
•  I enjoyed the cardinal flowers and zinnias in the pots on the deck last summer. This year I am getting more organized and thinking about combinations in the larger pots; the thriller - filler - spiller idea appeals to me. The first and last on the ‘dreaming’ list below is already started - assuming the cardinal flower survived the winter in its pot and the pot I have growing inside now makes the transition to outdoors after the last frost.

Philadelphia Flower Show 2014 - Part 2

This second post with photos from the Philadelphia Flower Show is dedicated to cactus. I like to photograph cactus; there is a starkness about the plants that matches their environment. The various thorn configurations draw my attention too. Now that I have made several trips to Arizona in the past few years and become more familiar with cactus, I discover myself noticing more about them.

The cactus display at the Philadelphia Flower Show was easier to photograph than many of the flower displays. (Now that I think about it - maybe the crowd was not as thick around the cactus exhibit…flowers were a bigger draw). Enjoy the cactus slide show below. I particular like the plant shown at position 8 below --- it looks like a plant that could be right at home in a science fiction novel!

Winter’s Grip Waning? - March 2014

We have had some bitterly cold weather this March. It snowed last week and the temperatures were in the teens. The deer are reduced to eating the old leaves from the pile we made at the edge of the forest. This is a hungry time for the deer.

There was a hawk yesterday at the edge of the forest. I noticed it when it moved and then flew to the branches of a nearby tree. I didn’t actually see it catch anything but later that same day when I ventured out I found a substantial clump of feathers beside our house.

The ground is spongy from the recent thaw and the hyacinth bulbs are just beginning to show. They are at least a week or two behind where they were last year at this time.

As I walked around the house, the tulip poplar still looked very much as it has all winter

But the maple had noticeably enlarged buds. I’ll have to watch carefully to get a series of macro shots as the maple blooms and the leaves unfurl.

Philadelphia Flower Show 2014 - Part 1

We went to the Philadelphia Flower Show last Friday. It was my first time for the event; Philadelphia is about 2 hours up I-95 from where we live so we made it a day trip. My husband bought the tickets and printed a parking coupon via the show’s web site. It opened at 10 and we arrived before 10:30. There were already quite a few people and it got more crowded. Next time I will do the exhibits first and shopping second (just opposite of what I did this first year) although I did enjoy the variety of vendors. I found some great gardening gloves to replace the ones that I threw away at the end of last season.

The flower show was in the Philadelphia Convention Center so it did not matter that it was cold outside. The indoors was full of color that won’t appear outdoors for months! It was a good break from the dull colors of winter.

I’m going to do several posts with photographs from the day trip. This first one is dedicated to flowers. I always like the ikebana arrangements. And the clever use of plants to create insect forms among daffodils was a lot of fun. There were big white paper flowers (with intricate folds and cuts) in one of the Convention Center hallways. Spring bulbs were blooming everywhere! Enjoy the slide show below of flowers from the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 8, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Over 80s often over-treated for stroke prevention - Sometimes the risks of medications overcome their value as people get older. Are we savvy enough to comprehend the complexity and then make the best decision?

Beautiful Bird Drawings by Brazilian Street Artist L7m - My favorite is the heron (5th one from the top).

Five Native Plants to Add to Your Garden - Spring is close enough to be thinking about gardening so the timing of this article is good if you are still contemplating new plants for this year. I had cardinal flowers last year that bloomed profusely and attracted hummingbirds/butterflies. Hope they come up again this year.

Why dark chocolate is good for your heart - Hurray! I celebrate that the research on dark chocolate is confirming its benefits. It’s one of my favorite little splurges.

Which National Park Drives Are On Your 2014 Calendar? - So many great choices…..

This is what the Internet actually looks like: The undersea cables wiring the Earth - An aspect of infrastructure that we often take for granted because they are so reliable. The vast majority of international traffic is carried by the undersea cables (only a few percent go via satellite).

Incredible Up-Close Textured Details of Frozen Flowers - What a beautiful idea of a macro photography project….but I’m going to wait until summer when I have some flowers from my garden as subjects!

Canary in the Cornfield: Why the Fuss about Monarchs? - I know there are a lot fewer monarch butterflies in my community in recent summers….and less milkweed too. This article explains some background on why that happened.

Sea-level rise threatens UNESCO World Heritage sites - The Statue of Liberty is one. The detailed paper is available here.

Eat Plants and Prosper: For Longevity, Go Easy On the Meat, Study Says - I skewed toward more fruits and veggies - ate less processed grains and meat….and got down to a healthy weight!  

Brookside Conservatory - February 2014

It is so cold outdoors today….I decided to ‘think warm’ by picking my favorite images captured at the Brookside Gardens conservatories a few weeks ago. Conservatories are deliciously warm places to visit in the winter!

On this visit - I did some experimentation with by 8x magnification loupe. All the images in the post include a photo taken with the camera and then one or two images captured with the loupe to add to the magnification.

The fuzz on the petals and imperfections become more obvious.

I’d never seen the variegated croton fruit before. They are almost as colorful as the foliage!

The veins of the hibiscus bud stand out in both magnifications.

Next time, I will make an effort to get magnified views of flower parts!

Just looking at the vibrant colors of these flowers makes me feel warmer!

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - February 2014

Over a year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10 for February 2014. I’ve grouped my little celebration into 4 groups this month: weather, food, family, and loupe photography.

Weather

A warm day - In February - the occasional warm day is indeed something to celebrate!

Snow and more snow - I like snow days too, particularly when I don’t have to leave the house. I enjoyed hot tea with milk….and worked out a plan to photograph snowflakes. I didn’t even mind a certain amount of shoveling of snow!

Birds - The changes in weather result in more birds be out and about when the weather is a little improved. We’ve seen juncos, cardinals, robins, chickadees and heard the crows!

Food

Graham Cracker Crumb Cake - Someone made a graham cracker crumb cake as part of the refreshments for a lecture I attended….and I liked it so well I looked for a recipe via the Internet…and made one myself. Yummy! I have always liked graham crackers and this is just one other form to enjoy.

Edamame - What a great way to increase the protein in salads! My grocery store had them already shelled!

Family

Phone calls - I celebrate the ease we can keep in touch with family that lives far away. It is not as good as living in close proximity…..but it enables us to sustain relationships until we can be together again.

Anticipating visits - There are two opportunities to see far flung family members - in March and May - that I am already anticipating…and celebrating.

Loupe photography

Snowflakes - I was surprised at how effective the loupe magnification is for snowflake photography. It is quite an adventure to discover for myself how unique and beautiful they are.

Buds - Buds are going to be a longer term fascination as they unfurl into leaves and flowers. I celebrated that I thought of the project early enough to get the bud before the unfurling!

Broccoli - I knew it was good to eat but the loupe gave me more reason to celebrate broccoli’s form and color.

Winter Ending?

We’ve had considerable cold and snowy weather this February. There is not a lot of color outdoors:

The gray of rock surrounded by snow. The indention will have water when the snow melts - giving the birds a little pool.

The brown pod of a crepe myrtle that was blown from a high branch.

The golden browns- and a little green - of the thorns on the rose bushes.

And then one finds a little more color that signals the stirrings toward spring!

The snowdrops

And witch hazel.

Hurray!

Buds at Brookside Gardens

I took another series of bud pictures when I was at Brookside Gardens last weekend. The photographs were all hand held - no cutting of twigs to make the photography easier! I intentionally looked for trees that I don’t have in the area around my house. I used the 8x loupe; the 22x loupe is too much magnification for ‘hand held’ work.

There was the flower bud of on a red twigged dogwood. They always look like very small Hershey’s Kisses to me.

The gingko bud has a buildup of scales where it is attached to the tree. It will be interesting to watch how the leaf emerges from the bud.

The magnolia leaves were battered by winter but still green. And the leaf bud looked more ready to begin growing rapidly.

The pine is another bud I want to watch expand as spring begins.

Brookside - Gingko Leaves on Ice

The day was warm enough for a pleasant walk around Brookside Gardens yesterday. That didn’t mean that all the snow had melted yet though; there were icy piles still to the sides of the walkways. There were gingko leaves from last snow that has been blown onto one of the piles. There were battered from months on the ground. There is still a grace about the shape and vein pattern than is appealing. Enjoy the Gingko Leaves on Ice slide show below!

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 22, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Aging men: More uplifts, fewer hassles until the age of 65-70 - Interesting that the research is being done but disappointing that it is not terribly insightful yet. It caused me to think about the demographics….men that are in their 80s now don’t have very many 75-years-and-beyond role models in their growing up  because not very men lived that long in prior generations.

10 Things We Learned From Dr. Temple Grandin - Temple Grandin is one of the best sources for insight into autism. I haven’t listened to the webinar recording pointed to in the post yet….it’s on my ‘to do’ list.

Forced Molt: Starving Hens for Profit - Controlling egg production….so that there will be plenty of eggs for consumers all year round. Is starving the hens for 2 weeks the only way?

Colorful Watercolor Paintings of Radiant Trees in Nature - In keeping with Trees being a theme for upcoming photographic projects…..they’re showing up more in my reading and in images I enjoy from others!

6 Offbeat Veggies worth a Try - Maybe some new foods to try….with recipes to get you started.

Sound-sensing cells regenerated in ears of mice with hearing damage - Maybe there is hope to repair time damaged hearing! Since there are a growing number of older people, there are potentially a lot of people that would benefit if this can work in people. Loss of hearing and/or sight are significant hits to quality of life for otherwise healthy seniors.

Time to Sign Up For Summer Field Courses in the National Parks - National Parks are among my favorite vacation destinations. It’s an appealing idea to sign up for a field course!

Involved parents raise slimmer adults - I like the infographic. Glad that the study showed what seems intuitively obvious to me!

Navigate the Global Meat System with New Meat Atlas - The link is to a summary but the 68 page report itself is available by following the link at the beginning of the summary. The report has a lot of graphical representation of data which makes it worth the look.

A lost city reveals the grandeur of medieval African civilization - Still so much history of the world to discover…..

Broccoli - Through a Magnifying Glass

The structure of broccoli is just a little too small to be discernable without magnification. With so much of the outdoors being brown and white these days, the idea of looking at something green with my magnifying glasses was very appealing. I liked what I found! Even with the 8x loupe some of the detail emerged.

And then the 22x loupe showed even more.

3 Free eBooks - February 2014

It’s time again for the monthly post about eBooks that are freely available on the Internet. The three below are my favorites for February 2014.

Michaux, François André; Hillhouse, Augustus Lucas. The North American Sylva, or A description of the forest trees of the United States, Canada and Nova Scotia. Paris: C. D’Hautel. 1819. Volumes available on the Internet Archive: volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4, and volume 5. This series fit perfectly with my planning to look at trees more closely this year. Once I found the first one - I went through all 5! They are full of illustrations.

Malonyay, Dezso (Desi). A magyar nép mvészete : számos szakért és mvész közremködésével. Budapest: Franklin-Társulat. 1907. Volumes available on the Internet Archive: volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4, and volume 5. This series is about Hungarian folk art. I enjoyed the art work rather than trying to wade through the machine translation of the Hungarian text. There is a lot included - ordinary room arrangement with bedding piled high on the single bed, embroidery on clothes (jackets, skirts, shirts, aprons, scares), furniture - painted with stylized botanical motifs, some elaborately carved, decorative facings for doorways and gates, carved or painted canes and knife handles, and dyed eggs with designs created with wax.

Crockett, William Shillinglaw; Smith, William, jr. Abbotsford. London Adam and Charles Black. 1905. Available on the Internet Archive here. This book is about Sir Walter Scott’s country house in the Scottish Borders written at a time when his great-granddaughter had created a ‘catalog’ of Abbotsford. I enjoyed the illustrations more than anything else.

Garden Dreaming

My gardening areas have snow on them right now but I remember them from last summer and am dreaming about the garden for this next summer. I am full of plans as soon as it is a little warmer.

• I trimmed the hydrangea away from the window and house last fall but I need to be sure it was sufficient to keep it away from the wood. I’d like to try dividing the bushes again this summer (last summer my attempts were just putting out new buds when the deer found them). This year I plan to buy the deer repellent scent to keep them away from the garden.
• Our deck is a full story off the ground and underneath is very shady. Ferns might grow well there with enough mulch….maybe another area I should put the partially decomposed leaves from last fall.
• The deck pots will be mostly herbs this year although there are zinnia and cardinal flowers that will come back in a couple of pots at least (the hummingbirds and butterflies like them so I’ll cheer them on. Mint, stevia, basil and parsley are my favorite herbs and they do relatively well in pots. The mint will probably come back from last year. I’m going to look at seeds (and try not to go overboard) for the others.
• I’d like to do some composting directly into the garden - veggie scraps, tea, and egg shells. I think I’ll use a bucket outside the door and take it down to the garden every few days.

I can hardly wait to get started!

Zooming - February 2014

I’ve been doing quite a bit of magnification recently with the microscope and loupe. The monthly ‘zooming’ post is done with cropped images from the camera - simply using the camera’s own built in zoom. Can you find: 

• The muffin liner
• The surprised squirrel
• The snow on crepe myrtle berries
• The icy pine
• The glowing knot in stained wood
• A sunrise through the oak branches
• An ice fall from a gutter
• Tulip poplar seed pod spires
• The moon through tree branches