08/2/15

Cosmos

Cosmos is an annual I grow every year, not only for the beauty of the flowers, but also because the goldfinches and hummingbirds like them. When the seeds develop, the goldfinches prefer them to the nyger seeds I usually provide. For that reason, I do not deadhead these flowers, even though I would get more blooms if I did. I grow them, enjoy them, and then enjoy watching the birds feed on them.

Several days ago I posted some images from my garden, images with no editing (to say nothing of enhancements!) except for cropping and placement of a watermark. That was something of a photography exercise for me. Although I was not unhappy with the outcome, I personally found the exercise itself to lack the “fun” I find in digital photography. Last evening, for the first time in some time, I had a couple of hours to do what I enjoy – manipulate a photograph to create an image that reflected something more (to me, at least) than “a real flower captured by the camera.” What you see is the result.

I firmly believe that developing a raw file is something absolutely necessary to realize the full potential of digital photography, and should always be allowed.

“Enhancing” a photo through the use of many techniques, as this image has been enhanced, is very different from editing a raw file to develop it. I think any discussion of what should be allowed for any given use of an image should clearly distinguish between “editing” to develop a raw file, and “enhancing” to create an image not captured on a sensor.

Back to cosmos – a wonderful annual for its inherent beauty, and as a natural “feeder” for birds. A good flower for the garden in the desert southwest.

07/30/15

Photo Challenge

Photo challenge to myself – go photograph some things you frequently photograph, the way you frequently photograph them. But, use only the jpg, with no editing other than cropping and applying a copyright watermark.

Recently some photographer friends and I had one of the very common discussions floating around since the advent of digital photography. Is editing a raw file (digital negative) kind of “cheating,” or absolutely necessary to realize the full potential of digital photography? Anyone who knows me at all knows that developing my own raw files is something I do as part of my standard workflow, and overall will continue to do. It is one of the things I really love about digital photography!

The discussion with friends, however, made me want to go out and see what I would get with jpg rather than raw files, with the only editing being cropping to an 8×10 ratio rather than an 8×12 ratio, and the application of a watermark.

These are the results.

Miniature rose, ‘Climbing Earthquake’

Cosmos, with “imperfect beauty”

Green bee with pollen, on cosmos

The challenge to myself was a fun exercise, but I am a confirmed “photograph in raw” person, just because I truly enjoy the editing process.

LightStalking has a good discussion of the benefits of using raw files rather than jpgs.

07/21/15

Garden Ornaments

Garden Ornaments from the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour

Garden ornaments can be whimsical, serious, beautiful, colorful – any variety of anything a gardener wishes to have. Here are a few examples from one of the gardens on the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour this past June.

Ever have days like this?

Ever Have Days Like This?

Some are more serene:

The serenity of music and angels

Whimsy is always fun:

Whimsical Bee

When pigs fly…

These are just a few of the ornaments seen in one Corrales garden. They were all interesting, and added a different kind of visual appeal to the setting. All made me wonder what the owner was thinking when they were placed, and what thoughts they continue to bring to mind not only to the owner but to casual visitors.

This was a fun garden to visit on the Corrales Garden Tour.

07/13/15

July Day in the Garden

This July day dawned clear, and while there were clouds, the sunrise did not have the oranges and pinks seen in recent days. Nevertheless, in its own way, it was typical of the high desert. ‘Blue Hour’ was definitely blue!

July Sunrise

Here in mid-July, the roses are between bloom cycles. But, other flowers are blooming.

Datura is an intriguing plant. It grows wild throughout the Southwest. The bloom is short-lived, opening at dusk and generally wilting as the sun comes up. This morning, however, the cooler temperatures and abundant moisture of this monsoon season so far, a couple of blooms remained relatively fresh for an hour or two longer.

Datura

One of the brightest flowers in my garden is a gladiolus that generally starts to bloom around July Fourth. This year it began a little earlier, and this is one of the last flowers until next year. I love the vibrant colors!

Gladiolus

The black chinned hummingbirds have been here since mid-April, and will remain into September. But within the coming week, here in Albuquerque we will begin to have a variety of migrating hummingbirds. Where I am, the rufous is the most abundant late summer migrant, but I have seen calliope and other hummers that are not seen frequently. Late summer can be very interesting at the hummingbird feeders.

This July day, however, was very calm and peaceful. A beautiful day in the garden.

07/8/15

Sunflowers and Birds

Sunflowers and birds of all kinds go together naturally and beautifully. Several years ago some “volunteers” came up from the seeds I had been feeding. The birds loved the fresh seeds that formed when those flowers finished blooming! The goldfinches preferred them over the expensive nyger seed. The house finches love them, and the doves hang around under the flowers waiting for the other birds to drop an occasional seed. Since that first year of volunteers, I plant sunflowers each year. Although I always intend to plant them right after average frost-free date, some years I don’t get them planted until mid-summer, giving me and the birds flowers and seeds in the autumn. This year I got them planted early, and the flowers have peaked and the birds are enjoying the seeds. Within the next couple of weeks I’ll be removing the spent ones, and resowing seeds for a second bloom in fall. While this past Fourth of July weekend was an extremely busy one, I did make time to relax one afternoon and photograph some of the birds enjoying the sunflower seeds.

Male Goldfinch

Male Goldfinch

Male Goldfinch Taking Flight

Male Goldfinch

Male and Female Goldfinches

07/3/15

Gemini, A Great Hybrid Tea Rose for the High Desert

Gemini is probably my favorite hybrid tea rose to grow here in the high desert of the Southwest, Albuquerque. As beautiful as it is, it is equally tough. It tolerates the summer heat. Mine was not damaged by the extreme cold of February of 2011. The colors are wonderful. The form is close to perfect in almost every bloom.

Hybrid Tea Rose, Gemini

Gemini, a Hybrid Tea Rose

06/28/15

The Golden Sky at the End of the Storm

Golden Sky and Double Rainbow after the Storm

Last evening Albuquerque experienced one of our famous summer thunderstorms – lightning, thunder, brief heavy rain that produced rivers running in streets, full arroyos, and some brief flash flooding. I got 1″ of rain in less than an hour, enough that there was standing water for a short time (I hope I’ll have a lawn again for a few days!).

Albuquerque is well-known for double rainbows after thunderstorms. But, this was late, and the clouds were heavy and the rain continued, albeit at a slower rate.

And, then, unexpectedly because it was late and still raining, I caught a glimpse of golden light out of the corner of my eye. Such light after a storm here often produces rainbows looking east toward the Sandias. But, there were no rainbows from the usual view. But, with that light, something had to be happening! This view is looking south. I have never seen a rainbow in this position in the years I have lived here.

The light, and thus, the rainbows, lasted less than two minutes. The time was short, but the image in my mind will last.

The tree that was lit is The Old Crow tree, so named after a brief visit by a crow in January.

The Observer, The Observed

The mystical beauty of the Southwest Desert!

06/25/15

The Eyes Have It

The summer annuals I grow regularly are sunflowers and cosmos. They attract a variety of pollinators and the birds like the seeds. This year I got them planted in late April, and they are now in bloom.

This morning I found this bee on a cosmos, and it was still cool enough that the bee posed for a couple of good images.

I am fortunate to have neighbors who also grow things to attract pollinators and birds.

Bee and Cosmos

06/17/15

Mermaid, A Beautiful Old Garden Rose

Mermaid is a beautiful old garden rose (Hybrid bracteata 1918) that long time readers here know well. In May of 2006 it was reaching its peak after having been planted several years before. It took Best of Show at the Spring 2006 Albuquerque Rose Show, along with the ARS Victorian Award for Old Garden Roses with unknown date of introduction or introduced in or after 1867. Who could have imagined what December of 2006 would bring?

Mid December of 2006 brought an 8 inch snowfall to my house. It was heavy and wet, and pulled Mermaid and its trellis a little away from the wall. But I was sick at the time, thought there wouldn’t be more snow at least for a while, and I could repair things when I felt better. Big mistake!

A week later or so I got an unheard-of-for-here 22 inch snowfall at my house! The melting and refreezing, melting and refreezing added more weight, and in the middle of one night with a noise loud enough to awaken me at the other end of the house, Mermaid and trellis came crashing down across the patio. It took me weeks to get that mess cleaned up to the point I could walk out into the rest of the yard. To do it, I had to cut everything, including the clematis that had been growing with Mermaid, off at ground level. I thought everything was gone.

Imagine my joy at finding tiny basal breaks later in the spring of 2007! Mermaid did not grow a lot in 2007, but the companion clematis came back more rapidly. 2008 was even better. By 2009, things were looking very good. At the Spring 2010 Albuquerque Rose Show, Mermaid once again won the ARS Victorian Award along with Best of Show.

The 2014-2015 winter in Albuquerque was quite mild. Mermaid’s spring bloom this year was probably the best I have seen since the 2006 damage. Once again, at the Spring 2015 Albuquerque Rose Show, Mermaid took Best of Show (5 matched sprays in the entry in “Exhibitor’s Dream”) along with the ARS Victorian Award. This is a rose you will not see often in rose shows, because it is an “eight-hour wonder!” It opens in the morning, and drops its petals by evening. But, it is gorgeous during that time!

Mermaid, Best of Show 2015, at placement during entry before judging

These are images from this year’s spring bloom:

Old Garden Rose, Mermaid

Mermaid – one of my favorite roses, and back to being a focal point in the garden of my small Albuquerque yard.

06/9/15

Water Features

Water Features in the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour

Water features were surprisingly prominent in the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour, held this past Sunday. I say surprising, only because they were more prominent than I am used to seeing them in Albuquerque proper. In thinking about this, though, perhaps I should not have been so surprised. Corrales is a Village, its own governmental entity. It does not have the tiered water billing system of Albuquerque. It sits right on the Rio Grande River, and many people have wells. That is not to say at all that everyone has unlimited water use, only that water use may be somewhat less regulated than in Albuquerque city limits.

The water features seen were quite refreshing. The three shown in this piece were all different from one another. Each fit the garden it accented. A lot of good landscape planning went into all of these.

This was in the back yard of the first garden we visited. It had a little bit of everything: small waterfall, koi, and water lilies. The home had a covered back porch which looked out toward this pool, along with numerous hummingbird feeders and seed bird feeders. It was all very pleasant, indeed.

Waterfall, Koi, and water lilies

This next home had a variety of different areas within the yard area. The swimming pool was good size, and this waterfall and surrounding rockwork and sculpture were quite appealing.

Waterfall and sculpture at swimming pool

My personal favorite of the water features was this almost hidden pool.A small wooden slide created an almost-waterfall and in addition there was a fountain supplying not only water but the beautiful ripples you can see on the surface. The growth around it was lush.

What made this pool almost hidden was a giant tamarisk tree in front of it. But, it was not the typical tamarisk tree. This one had been carefully trained and trimmed for years, making it into a very beautiful sculptural form. In fact, I was not certain it was a tamarisk. I had to ask the owner!!! Goes to show what creative people can do with something known for being less than desirable.

Almost hidden waterfall and pool

We all enjoyed the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour. I have many more photos, and different aspects of the gardens will be featured in future posts.

I thank all of the garden owners for opening their gardens to us. It was a great day and a great tour.

Southwest Desert Gardening

and a Little More

Cosmos

Cosmos

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Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge

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Garden Ornaments

Garden Ornaments from the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour

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July Day in the Garden

July Day in the Garden

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Sunflowers and Birds

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Gemini, A Great Hybrid Tea Rose for the High Desert

Gemini, A Great Hybrid Tea Rose for the High Desert

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The Golden Sky at the End of the Storm

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The Eyes Have It

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Mermaid, A Beautiful Old Garden Rose

Mermaid, A Beautiful Old Garden Rose

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Water Features

Water Features in the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour

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Cosmos

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Photo Challenge

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Garden Ornaments from the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour

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July Day in the Garden

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Gemini, A Great Hybrid Tea Rose for the High Desert

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Mermaid, A Beautiful Old Garden Rose

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Water Features in the 2015 Corrales Garden Tour

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