Echium

While photographing at the Historic Old City Cemetery in Sacramento, I saw some spectacular large blue shrubs – and I had no clue what they were. As I got closer, and started photographing them, I realized I’d photographed something similar – all I had to do was remember what! And then it struck me – the plants I was photographing reminded me of the echium I’ve photographed at Longwood Gardens. What had confused me was the size and shape of the plants. These were clearly much older plants that hadn’t been shaped and trained the way the ones at Longwood were. Once I got back to my hotel and did some research – I realized that these were what echiums looked like when they’re allowed to grow naturally. Since I was photographing with my Lensbaby Velvet 56 lens, I was focused up close on the flowers, the shapes and the layers I was seeing. I hope you enjoy seeing my echium photos.