by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 3, 2018 | Maryland, Uncategorized
In mid-August, the DC Flower Safari spent a wonderful (if humid) morning photographing at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. I’m still getting to know my new camera and lenses so spent my time trying similar photos with different lenses to see what I like and how they work with my new camera.
These are a few of the photos I took with my Lensbaby Velvet 56
Lantana © 2018 Patty Hankins
In the Trial Garden © 2018 Patty Hankins
Cardinal Flowers in the Woods © 2018 Patty Hankins
Some I took with my Lensbaby Burnside 35
Orange Zinnias © 2018 Patty Hankins
Lantana © 2018 Patty Hankins
Zinnias © 2018 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Dec 30, 2014 | Instant Film, Instax Photos
Over the weekend I took Bill’s Instax 210 camera over to Brookside Gardens. The Instax cameras are a line of instant cameras from Fuji – the one we have prints the “wider” prints. The only “settings” I can really change on the camera is the distance I am from the subject and whether I want the photo to be light/normal/dark. Other than that – it’s just point, shoot and hope you got what you wanted to photograph. I would say that the framing of the picture using the viewfinder is an approximation of what you’re going to see on the print. In other words – photographing with the Instax camera is great fun and the results can be a little unexpected 🙂
Instax 210 Camera © 2014 Patty Hankins
Instax 210 Camera and Photos © 2014 Patty Hankins
I spent most of my time photographing the train display. My guess is that I’ll do better with larger subjects – even scanned at 300 dpi – it’s very hard to see the details in the photos. The display is a “recreation” of sites around Montgomery County. Some are a little more reality based than others 🙂
Here’s the carousel at Glen Echo
Carousel at Glen Echo, Train display at Brookside Gardens © 2014 Patty Hankins
The Conservatory at Brookside Gardens
Brookside Conservatory, Train Display at Brookside Gardens © 2014 Patty Hankins
The Cider Barrel
The Cider Barrel, Train Display at Brookside Gardens © 2014 Patty Hankins
Kensington Train Station & Downtown Kensington
Kensington Train Station, Train Display at Brookside Gardens © 2014 Patty Hankins
Train Yard (not sure where this is supposed to be)
Train Yard, Train Display at Brookside Gardens © 2014 Patty Hankins
Main Street (again not sure where this is supposed to be)
Main Street, Train Display at Brookside Gardens © 2014 Patty Hankins
Of course I can’t visit a Conservatory at a botanical garden without taking some flower photos. Here are a couple of poinsettias
Red Poinsettia © 2014 Patty Hankins
Red Poinsettia © 2014 Patty Hankins
The camera does have an adapter that you can use for close up/macro photos. I tried photographing a set of orchids – lets just say I still need more practice before my photos with the adapter are any good 🙂
Orchids © 2014 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 13, 2011 | Flowers, Xanthorrhoeaceae Family
Last week I spent a wonderful morning at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. I hadn’t been there in a while – between being on the road and the weather – I haven’t spent much time at the local gardens. So when I had a little time one morning – and it wasn’t supposed to rain for a few hours – I headed over.
What caught my eye immediately was all the wonderful daylilies in bloom in various locations in the gardens. All sorts of different colors, sizes and varieties were blooming.
Daylilies (members of the Hemerocallis genus) actually aren’t members of the Lily family. They are members of the Xanthorrhoeaceae family. They get their botanical name from the Greek for day (hemera) and beautiful (kalos). On most daylilies, a flower opens in the morning and withers at the end of the day. Often another flower on the same stalk will bloom the following day. Originally native to Asia – there are now over 60,000 registered cultivators of dayliles. Most blossoms have three petals and three sepals. The center of the flower – known as the throat – is often a different color than the petals and sepals.
Here are some of my favorite photos of the daylilies from Brookside Gardens.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
© 2011 Patty Hankins
© 2011 Patty Hankins
© 2011 Patty Hankins
© 2011 Patty Hankins
© 2011 Patty Hankins
© 2011 Patty Hankins
© 2011 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | May 15, 2011 | Flowers, Photo Locations, Washington DC
When I’m home in the Washington, DC area, some of my favorite places to photograph flowers are at some of the local botanical gardens. Most have professional staffs of gardeners who maintain the plants in spectacular condition, and are often available to answer questions about the flowers. They’re are often happy to let you know about plants that are at their peak bloom. Another great feature of photographing at professionally maintained gardens is they often have identification signs by the flowers – letting you know what you’ve been photographing. These signs are how I’ve learned to identify and classify many of the flowers I photograph.
Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland is the local garden where I spend the most time. In the spring, their daffodil and tulip displays are unmatched in the Washington DC area. Throughout the summer, there is an ever changing display of flowers in bloom. One summer highlight at Brookside Gardens is the Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit in the Conservatory. This year’s Wings of Fancy Exhibit will run from April 30 – September 18.
Brookside Gardens is located in Wheaton Reginal Park. The gardens are open daily from sunrise to sunset.
McCrillis Gardens in Bethesda, Maryland is a little-known part of Montgomery County’s Parks Department. Primarily a shade garden, McCrillis has an incredible variety of shade loving plants in natural settings. The gazebo and pavillion provide wonderful seating areas to enjoy these beautiful gardens. McCrillis Gardens are the smallest of the local public gardens and the least crowded. I’ve rarely seen more than one or two other people at the gardens when I’ve been there. So if you’re looking for a quiet peaceful garden to explore, McCrillis may be a great choice for you to visit.
McCrillis Gardens is located in Bethesda on Greentree Road. The gardens are open daily from 10 AM until sunset.
Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia is another garden on my frequently visited lists. With a variety of gardens from demonstration gardens to incredible perennials there is always something wonderful to photograph at Green Spring Gardens. One of my favorite areas of these gardens is the native plant garden and wooded path to a stream. There are literally hundreds of native plants growing in the woods, many have identification signs. This is one of the best places in the area to discover plants that are native to the region.
Green Spring Gardens is located on Green Spring Road in Alexandria, Virginia. The gardens are open daily.
The U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC is one of the largest if not the largest public garden in the area. With over 440 acres of land and 9.5 miles of roads, there is always something to see at the National Arboretum. Some of my favorite areas of the garden are Fern Valley (full of native plants), the Pepper Garden, and all the wonderful flowering trees, including magnolias, azaleas and cherry trees. If you want to see cherry trees in bloom in the spring, the National Arboretum is one of the best places in DC to see them – they have more varieties than the Tidal Basin – and many fewer people.
The National Arboretum is located on New York Avenue in Washington, DC. The garden is open daily (except December 25) from 8 AM to 5 PM.
When I’m traveling, I try to visit local botanical gardens. On my spring wildflower trip last month, I visited the North Carolina Arboretum and the Asheville Botanical Garden in Asheville, North Carolina and the Reflection Riding Arboretum in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Do you have a favorite botanical garden I should put on my list to visit when I’m in your area? If so – please let me know.
The flowers accompanying this article are
Yulan Magnolia – U.S. National Arboretum
Glory of the Snow – Brookside Gardens
Royal Star Magnolia – McCrillis Gardens
Zowie Zinnia – Green Spring Gardens
Yoshino Cherry Blossoms – U.S. National Arboretum
Grecian Windflower – Brookside Gardens
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 29, 2010 | Flowers, Malvaceae Family, Solanaceae Family
I realized the other day that I hadn’t been to Brookside Gardens in several weeks. Brookside Gardens is a public garden in Wheaton, Maryland – located in Wheaton Regional Park. It’s only a few miles from home and one of my favorite gardens to photograph in. No matter what time of the year I visit – I always find something to photograph. Here are some fruit and flowers I photographed yesterday morning.
Black Eyed Susans
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Peppa Purple Tangering Peppers – capsicum annuum
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Explosive Ember Peppers – capsicum annuum – I just love the rich colors in these peppers
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
A Pink Hibiscus
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
And finally a spectacular Fiesta del Sol Mexican Sunflower – tithonia rotundifolia
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Even a brief visit to Brookside Gardens in the summer gets my day off to a fantastic start. If you’re in the DC area – be sure to check out what’s blooming at Brookside – there’s always something wonderful.
