by hankinslawrenceimages | Feb 23, 2010 | Flowers, Photo Locations, South Carolina
On Sunday, I posted my first set of camellia photos from Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina. Here are the remaining camellia photos.
If you are ever in the Charleston area, I would really recommend that you visit Magnolia Plantation. In addition to the wonderful gardens, part of the property is an Audubon Swamp Garden. I took some photos in the Swamp Garden with my Crown Graphic camera. I’ll be posting the photos I took there on my other blog – Patty’s Adventures with Film – once I have a chance to scan the photos.
Now, back to the camellias . . .
Frank Houser V. – a camellia reticulata hybrid known for it’s red and white marbled blossoms. These have been grown at Magnolia Plantation since 1990.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Revelation – a historic camellia japonica grown at Magnolia Plantation since 1942. I love the way this flower was backlit by the sun the morning I photographed it.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Magnolia Flora – a white camellia
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Lady Fernanda – a pale pink camellia japonica grown on the property since 2006
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
An unnamed bright pink camellia
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
And finally – a pair of Spring Snowflakes – leucojum vernum. I know these aren’t camellias – but they were so pretty I had to include them in my set of flower photos from Magnolia Plantation.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Feb 21, 2010 | Flowers, Photo Locations, South Carolina
The other morning, I spent several wonderful hours photographing at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston made a great stopping point for some photography between my shows in Wilmington, North Carolina and Savannah, Georgia.
Magnolia Plantation was founded in 1676 by the Drayton family. In 1870, the family opened the gardens to the public, making it the oldest public garden in the United States. Some parts of the gardens date to the founding of the plantation. I spent most of my time photographing in the Camellia Garden. There were camellias in the gardens at Magnolia Plantation starting in the 1840s.
Here are some of the camellias I photographed at Magnolia Plantation.
Radiance Camellia – an ancient camellia japonica – this variety of camellia has been grown at Magnolia Plantation since the 1840s.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Delectissima – another historic camellia japonica – this wonderful variety with it’s white flowers with pink stripes has been grown on the property since the early 1900s.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Rev. John Bennett – an ancient camellia japonica that has been grown at Magnolia Plantation since 1840
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
And finally a Rev John Drayton camellia – an ancient camellia japonica – described as a light pink large peony style camellia. These have been grown at Magnolia Plantation since the late 1800s. 
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
I’ll be posting a few more photos of camellias from Magnolia Plantation in a few days. In the meantime – I hope you enjoy these spectacular flowers.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Feb 13, 2010 | Flowers, Photo Locations
I spent a wonderful morning at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina earlier this week. I’m in Wilmington for the Garden Show. I got here a few days early to do a little photography and to escape the snow in the DC area.
Airlie Gardens is a wonderful place to visit. The gardens were established in the early 1900s by Sarah Jones, wife of Pembroke Jones, a wealthy industrialist in the Wilmington area. Eventually, part of the estate was sold to Hanover County and is currently operated as public garden.
One of the features of Airlie Gardens is their collection of camellias. The original plants were purchased from Fruitlands Nursery of Augusta Georgia shortly after the turn of the century. By the 1920’s, there were as many as 5000 specimans of camellias on the property. At one time, they had one of each known cultivator of camellia growing on the property.
Camellias are native to eastern and southern Asia. They are named after the Jesuit Priest and botanist George Kamel. The Japanese Camellias (camellia japonica) which are found at Airlie Gardens were first described by Engelbert Kaempfer during a trip to Japan. In the traditional language of flowers camellias symbolize excellence and steadfastness.
I photographed many camellias on my visit to Airlie Gardens. They were absolutely wonderful to see. They were a bit challenging to photograph since I visited on a windy day – sustained winds of 25 mph with heavier gusts. I hope you enjoy my camellia photos from Airlie Gardens.
A white camellia with hints of yellow is some of the petals
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
A small pink camellia
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Another white camellia
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
And finally a couple of photographs of a bright pink camellia
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jan 5, 2010 | Photo Locations
Last month we had just about 2 feet of snow in Bethesda. I had a wonderful time walking around the neighborhood taking photos of the snow on the plants and bushes. Most of my neighbors thought I was pretty crazy – to be spending time walking around taking pictures when I could have been inside staying warm. It was so beautiful and peaceful seeing the snow – even if was a little cold.
I posted some photos of berries in the snow a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few of my other photos from that weekend.
Even in December there are usually a few flowers still blooming – so photographing them covered in snow was at treat.
First – one of the camellias down the street
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
A few wild asters near the pond
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
And the remains of a few purple coneflowers in my garden.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
The trees were just as wonderful as the flowers were. Here’s some snow coming down past a few yellow leaves on a tree.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Creating patterns as it piled up on the bark of a tree
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
And finally on some of the evergreen trees in the neighborhood
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
As wonderful as the photo opportunities were for Snowpocalypse 2009 – I’m kind of hoping it’s the only big storm we get this winter. It wasn’t much fun shoveling the driveway – and I still haven’t gotten my van out of the driveway since the storm!
by hankinslawrenceimages | Feb 7, 2008 | Flowers, Photo Locations
I don’t know about anyone else – but by the beginning of February, I’m ready for winter to end – and for the spring flowers to start blooming. On Monday morning, the sky was gray and overcast, it was cold and looked like it was going to rain. I decided I needed a break to cheer me up – so I headed over to Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. In the winter their conservatories can provide a welcome break from the dreary weather with an abundance of blooming flowers.
The blooms on Monday morning included some orange cymbidium orchids,
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
Bird of Paradise
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
some pink Nuccio’s Jewel Japanese Camellia (Peony Form)
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
And several colors of primroses
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
If you live in the Washington, DC area, Brookside Gardens is a wonderful place to go for a quick break from winter. Located in Wheaton Regional Park, Brookside Gardens is Montgomery County public display garden. The park is open from sunrise to sunset. The conservatories are open from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free.
My visit to Brookside Gardens on Monday certainly cheered me up. I hope the photos do the same for you.
