Archive for May, 2009
Tulips are usually finished blooming around here before mid-May, but this has been a cooler than normal spring.
These pink tulips, planted with masses of blue forget-me-nots, were blooming today in Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park. Other flower beds had different colors of tulips, and there were also pink and white forget-me-nots. In the small quarry garden there was a veritable river of blue surrounding one of the dwarf conifers. Upon looking closer, this sea was dotted with red-striped yellow tulips. The gunnera in the large quarry garden was bordered by purple tulips.
It was a rather dull, overcast day, ending with light rain that got progressively harder. The brilliant colors of the tulips and other flowers practically glowed in the soft light. Queen Elizabeth Park was teeming with people, most of whom were speaking languages other than English. It’s one of the more popular tourist destinations in Vancouver, but also popular with locals.
After I’d exhausted the possibilities in QE, I headed across town to VanDusen. More tulips were blooming there, as well as many of the rhododendrons along the walkway of the same name. Both gardens have Dove (or Handkerchief) Trees (Davidia involucrata) and they were at their peak bloom today. The tree gets its name from the very showy white bracts that frame the blossoms. It can be challenging to photograph because they’re hanging in the shade below the branches. Conveniently, one branch at QE was nearly at eye level and I was able to frame it against a dark conifer background.
I eventually started to get pretty wet, but finished the afternoon photographing some rather stunning clumbs of Shooting Stars (Dodecatheon meadia). This species is native to the eastern and midwestern United States and is often grown in gardens. In addition to the pinkish-purple here, they also come in near-white. This clump is particularly vigorous, obviously happy with the care the VanDusen gardeners are giving it.
I worked all day with two lenses — the all-purpose 24-105mm and the 70-200mm. Part of the time I stopped down significantly with a moderately wide lens to get maximum depth of field and other times I wanted to separate the background from the subject so used a large aperture with a long focal length. Choosing between the two techniques is really a matter of seeing the subject and thinking about the story to be told and how an editor might want to use the photo in print. There’s no magic formula, just keeping the mind open to different possibilities.
One other detail: these photos are straight from the camera with no post-processing. Breeze Browser generated the web versions from the JPEGs embedded in the Canon raw files.
May 18 2009 | Gardens and Photography | 1 Comment »
Our Koma Kulshan chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society hiked up through the new Baker Mountain Ranch Preserve on Lummi Island last Saturday to begin a plant survey for the Lummi Island Heritage Trust, which recently acquired the property. There were 13 of us in the party, more than the LIHT prefers, which meant many eyes to spot the flora and make identifications. Most of the plants were common so books didn’t have to come out of packs very often.
At the end of our hike, where the Baker Mountain Ranch Preserve adjoins DNR land, are a couple of small balds. These are areas with thin rocky soil, facing west, that bake in the summer sun. Plants that grow here bloom early before the soil dries out. The choice find on Saturday was a spectacular clump of Chocolate Lilies (Fritillaria affinis). They’re not rare, but they only grow in specific habitats so you have to know where to find them. The photo here wasn’t made on our Saturday trip, but shows what the plant looks like. There are more photos on my Pacific Northwest Wildflowers website.
Chocolate Lilies grow from bulbs. They’ll slowly multiply, like daffodils in your garden, if left undisturbed and the growing conditions are right. However, each plant doesn’t necessarily bloom every year, so you may think your favorite lilies have disappeared when in fact they’re just taking a year off.
We also found nice patches of Oregon Fawn Lily at the edge of the bald, along with Rosy Plectritis, Spring Gold, and Menzies’ Delphinium. Bright orange Harsh Paintbrush dotted the steep cliffs in a couple of places and was also along the trail near the top. Camas and Oregon Sunshine weren’t in bloom, but easily recognizable. We pulled lots of the invasive Scots Broom from one site and packed it out so the plants couldn’t take root again somewhere else.
Another plant of interest was Douglas Maple (Acer glabrum var. douglasii). On the BRP it completely replaces Vine Maple, which is the common understory tree in Bellingham and elsewhere on mainland lowland forests around Puget Sound.
In all, we listed about 135 plants. There were others that we could see but not identify until they come into flower later in the season, including some orchids we’re very curious about. We plan to return in early July.
May 18 2009 | Native Plants | 1 Comment »
It’s always nice to have my work featured on a magazine cover. Here’s the April issue of This Old House.
A similar image runs full page inside as the lead photo for the story about patio pavers. Both were made on an early May visit to this delightful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho garden. I’ve made two additional visits, one in July and another in January when several inches of snow covered everything.
The home and garden are on a small lot on the old fort grounds not far from the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Being close to the lake, Patti enjoys a slightly warmer microclimate than gardeners just a few miles away. She’s stuffed her garden (without feeling crowded) with a great plant palette, complemented with appropriate hardscaping.
Large deciduous trees provide ample shade from the summer sun, and made the garden a joy to photograph on this spring morning. Soft filtered light is almost always flattering to a garden. For that matter, it’s flattering to most subjects. This photo was made with all natural light. No reflectors, diffusers, nor strobes were needed. It’s a matter of looking for, and seeing the light, then taking advantage of it. I always carry light modifiers, but they often stay in my bag.
May 13 2009 | Gardens and Photography | 3 Comments »
