Intimate Landscapes – December 2015

This is the third month for my Intimate Landscapes series (after reading Eliot Porter’s Intimate Landscapes book (available online here)) featuring images from December that are: smaller scale but not macro, multiple species, and artsy.

This first image is from Hawaii – the very dense and green ground cover…with a few reds and a very black leaf that caught my attention.

The camellia that was surrounded by ferns in Hawaii was an arrangement made my nature.

Sometimes there were intimate landscapes in Hawaii that looked similar to ones seen in more temperate climates…but there is black lava underneath this grouping!

Longwood Gardens paired white, green and red plants in their main conservatory.

There was a large tiered fountain that had been repurposed for succulents.

There large bowl with a variety of cactus…one of them with tiny blooms.

Groupings of different pines made with their cones were also part of the natural decorations. None of these ‘intimate landscapes’ in the conservatory would have been together without the help of the gardeners…but I enjoyed them the same way I enjoy finding groupings outdoors.

Last but not least – from outdoors at Longwood Gardens – ferns, moss, and dried leaves growing around the knotted roots of a beech tree.

Wheatland Arboretum

The grounds around Wheatland and the LancasterHistory.org building have been transformed into an arboretum with careful plantings and signage for the trees. There was a map provided but I decided to walk around and photograph rather than reference it frequently. It was a very warm day and I found myself staying to the shady path whenever possible. The bright sunlight made the pine needles glow!

There was a large camellia in a shady area and I did some close…and closer shots of the flowers.

The dogwoods (non-native ones) were still blooming. I’d seen this same kind at the National Arboretum a few weeks ago.

The tree that caught my attention the most was the ‘tri-color beech’ which is an import from Europe. It was a striking tree in an otherwise green landscape.

And after my walk - I was ready to be in an air conditioned environment for a bit before heading out for lunch and then driving toward home.

The Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo NC

Most of our destinations in North Carolina were wildlife refuges; The Elizabethan Gardens was an exception. It has been open since 1960 - a project of the Garden Club of North Carolina. It is located on the outer banks of North Carolina with one side bounded by water.

When we were there earlier this month the camellias were still blooming profusely (although there were a lot on the ground too), bulbs were in their first waves, pines pollen coated everything, redbuds were blooming, and everything was either green or greening.

The gardens have a nice balance of formal gardens and more rustic beds. It was easy to image several areas as wedding venues - a lawn surrounded by planting low enough that the water was visible beyond, a thatch roofed gazebo with plenty of space around it. I liked the smiling dwarf statues in one of the rustic areas.

We had visited the gardens years ago. The statue of Elizabeth I had been added since our last visit.

Enjoy the slideshow of this special place!