August's End

This August has been a month to remember in my personal life and although I don't have much of a subject for this post on the gardening front the simple recording of images- moments in time are comforting and worth sharing.

My last post had a teaser image of rebloom on one of my favorite performers~ Hibiscus 'Red Flyer' has returned for an encore.



My Energizer Bunny analogy for Daylily 'Cripple Creek' is still dead on. It's the only daylily in the garden that's even thinking about blooming right now.



The white form of American Beautyberry is at its brief peak for berry viewing.



This enthusiastic member of the Ipomea clan is trying to claim it's territory in a young Curly Willow.



Since I've learned how to create textures for use in Photoshop from my own photos I've been even more aware than I am normally of this attribute in the garden. The Georgia Aster has always been a favorite for its form~ here it is gearing up to bloom.



And the wabi sabi award for texture goes to this photo of fuzzy yucca seedpods with lovely bokeh.



Bring on September!

The Garden in a Different Light

The majority of my garden photos have been taken in the mornings. For years I was up and out every am to see what I could see and water the hoardes of potted plants. As I have creeped ever deeper into the world of web enterprise the frequency of my morning outings has changed. My fresh morning mind is directed to the task at hand~ monitoring blogs, posting products, promoting in any way that I can without spending money. All of this has added up to less and less photos being taken in the past month or so. As luck would have it I was in the right place yesterday(at home) at the right time(5ish in the afternoon) with camera in hand to capture a few new photos of the garden. I guess I needed a different perspective to inspire me.

Signs of recent rains can be found in fresh growth.



I have really enjoyed my Arbor Day Foundation Crape Myrtle this year. It was a slight bloomer until the past year or two. This has been the kind of summer here in the Carolinas that makes you appreciate these trees that are so often taken for granted by those of us who have known them all of their lives.




The faithful Rudbeckia triloba has been joined by the little Lantana 'Miss Huff' that could:) I thought I had removed her years ago but she has a strong will to live in the wilds of Rudbeckia and Blue Love Grass(2 heavy self seeders for me)




Daylily 'Volcan Fuego' is not for the faint of heart or the pastel garden but it's a great late season performer nonetheless~ Pretty strong color for a daylily in the late afternoon.



The Japanese Beautyberries ripen in the same order that they bloom ~from the insides of the branches out.



Even 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia has perked up a little from the rain. Rudbeckia 'Goldstrurm's blooms have been munched pretty badly this year. I made an effort to show you a better looking bloom.



Verbena aff xutha is a textural delight that has taken off blooming in the past week.



Feather Reed Grass blooms in front of an overgrown section of the big bed that is mostly full of 'Fireworks' Goldenrod and Hawkweed. A red accent comes from Malvaviscus, Turk's Cap.



:)))))))




So... when's your favorite time to shoot?

Infatuation of the Digital Kind

My adult life has pretty much been ruled by a series of obsessions: interior design/antiqueing in the early to mid 90's, dieting/beauty/fashion in the late 90's and early part of the last decade, gardening ruled supreme from then until 2008 when I began my infatuation with digital photography in the garden and discovered POD( Print on Demand). Given my nature I fear for what is happening to my garden and pot ghetto. With the unusually cold weather I'm not even taking any new pictures ~ my backside is glued at every opportunity to my desk chair working willy nilly on everything I can think of trying to design in Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro. Since I have no training in graphic design this is a constant adventure of discovery.

I find the greatest pleasure in creating even the simplest things such as these dots...



I'm experimenting with layered images. This was created from images of Swamp Sunflower and a mum & aster combo.



I spent tons of time creating cards for my nieces for Christmas with their names- each one unique. Since a greeting card is 5x7 my thoughts were that they could be framed for their rooms.



In the holiday rush I missed out on sharing a few late autumn images. This dogwood tree is just off my front porch allowing for some great perspectives.



I like the soft focus of this oak leaf that was carried into my lawn by the wind.



I was thinking of creating something with this image~ quintessential North Carolina ~ Loblolly Pines and Carolina blue skies:)



Here's hoping we can all stay warm and enjoy the opportunites that winter

does bring.