by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 29, 2013 | Flowers, Orchidaceae Family
A few years ago I photographed some Blue Mystique orchids. Since then, I’ve seen orchids in shades of blues, greens and purples. I recently had the opportunity to photograph several unusual colored orchids at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond.
The orchids are what are know as Colorfuze Orchids. Growers start with with white Moth orchids and inject dye into the vascular systems of the plants to get the colored blossoms. From reports I’ve seen they will rebloom as white flowers – rather than the colored blossoms.
But they are fun to photograph! Here are some of the colorfuze orchids I photographed
Lavender Mist Colorfuze Orchids
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
Lime Light Colorfuze Orchids
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
Blue Diamond Colorfuze Orchids
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 27, 2013 | Campanulaceae Family, Flowers, Wildflowers
Cardinal Flowers are one of the most striking summer wildflowers I’ve seen. Their bright red flowers stand out among the greens of the forest.
© 2013 Patty Hankins
The Red Cardinal Flowers (lobelia cardinalis) are native to most the United States except for the area from the Dakotas west to the Pacific Ocean. These beautiful members of the campanulaceae (bellflower) family grow as tall as 6 feet tall with an 8″ spike of bright red flowers. Although common in many areas, it is listed as threatened in Florida, exploitably vulnerable in New York and salvage restricted in Arizona.
© 2013 Patty Hankins
Cardinal flowers were used medicinally by many native American tribes. It was used to treat ailments including headaches, colds, rheumatism, fevers and typhoid. Some tribes used it as a love potion and anti-divorce remedy.
© 2012 Patty Hankins
In addition to the red cardinal flowers, I have also photographed some lovely blue Cardinal Flowers (lobelia siphilitica). The Great Blue Cardinal Flowers are native to the eastern 2/3 of the United States and Canada. Like the red cardinal flowers, the blue cardinal flowers bloom during the summer – so add a wonderful splash of color to wooded areas. The blue cardinal flowers were used as a treatment for syphilis, hence the siphilitica in the latin name for these beautiful flowers.
© 2012 Patty Hankins
All parts of both the red and blue Cardinal Flowers are poisonous if consumed in large quantities. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, coma and death.
© 2012 Patty Hankins
Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are all attracted to cardinal flowers. So when you add these striking plants to your garden, you are not only bringing beauty to your garden, but are also meeting the needs of local pollinators.
© Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 26, 2013 | Flowers, On the Web
Southern Blue Flag Iris (c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week; I hope you enjoy them as well
Flower and Plant Links
Native Plants and Wildlife Garden has Five Native Plants That Can Save the Earth
National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links
National Parks Traveler has Acadia National Park Rangers Looking For Visitors Who Cut Down Trees, TRACK Trails Program Expanding To Catoctin Mountain Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park Needs Help Monitoring Elk And Visitors
Wildlife Links
See You Behind The Lens has In My Own Words: Baby Tatanka, Part I
Decoded Science has Plants, Pollinators, and the Price of Almonds
New York Times has Malicious but Delicious
Environmental Issues Links
Slate has Seven Spectacular Places Saved by the Environmental Movement
Christian Science Monitor has On Earth Day 2013, a planetary report card on global warming and Climate change sends India’s apple farmers up the Himalayas
Photography and Art Links
Red Dot Blog has The Art World’s Glass Ceiling | Does the Art Market Still Discriminate Against Women Artists?
PPA has Law Breaking Locations: Why You Should Avoid Utilizing Railways for Backdrops – PPA Today
Scientific American has Facebook’s “I F*cking Love Science” does not f*cking love artists
DC Area Flower Safari
If you are in the DC area, I hope you will join me and other flower lovers at our DC Flower Safari Meetups. The next Meetup is scheduled for Saturday, May 11th at Winterthur in Wilmington, DE.
Plan at this point for May 11 is to head to Winterthur in Wilmington, DE. Winterthur has gardens and a museum. Like Longwood Gardens – it’s an old duPont estate.
INformation about Winterthur is at http://www.winterthur.org/
Looks to be about a 2 hour drive from Bethesda to Winterthur. Let’s plan on carpooling from Grosvenor Metro Station. We’ll leave the Metro station at 7:30.
Admission to Winterthur is $ 18, which includes a tour of the mansion. For $ 30 you can reserve a place on a tour of the mansion at a specific time. If you belong to a botanical garden that participates in the American Horticultural Societies Recipricol Admission programs – your membership will get you into Winterthur for free.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 24, 2013 | Flowers, Papaveraceae Family
One of the highlights of the year for flower photographers in the DC area is when Longwood Gardens puts the Blue Poppies on display in March. On facebook, it’s easy to tell when they are on display – all of a sudden there are photos of spectacular blue flowers showing up in photographer’s newsfeeds.
I headed to Longwood Gardens in mid-March to see the blue poppies. I’d heard that this year’s display was particularly spectacular – and I wasn’t disappointed. I saw lots of blue poppies – in a bed with blue hydrangeas. Some of this year’s blue poppies had wonderful shades of purples in the petals – I loved the combination.
So here are some of my favorite blue poppy photos from Longwood Garden’s 2013 display.
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
© 2013 Patty Hankins
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my blue poppy photos. Please feel free to share this post on Facebook and Twitter.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 22, 2013 | News
I will be at the at the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage at the Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg, TN this week – April 23 -2 7, 2013.
Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is a fantastic event. In it’s 63rd year, the Pilgrimage features guided hikes, lectures and presentations about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the wildflowers you can find there. I’ve attended the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage for the past few years – and always have a wonderful time.
I will have a number of new photographs on display at the show. You can see all of my new photos on my website.
Show hours are Tuesday April 23 5 PM – 9 PM, Wednesday April 24 9 AM – 7 PM, Thursday April 25 9 AM – 7 PM, Friday April 26 9 AM – 7 PM and Saturday April 27 9 AM – noon. On Saturday, exhibitors need to be out of the ballroom by noon, so we will be closing down and packing up our exhibits on Saturday morning.
Hope to see you in Gatlinburg at the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage this week.
