freesia

by hankinslawrenceimages | Aug 12, 2010 | Flowers

Earlier this spring on a trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, I noticed some wonderful varieties of freesia – so of course – I had to photograph them. Last year I had photographed some Blue Bayou, Yvonne and Purple Star Freesia, so it was great seeing two more varieties of these lovely plants.

Freesia are members of the iris family, native to Africa. The majority are native to the Cape Province area of South Africa. They grow from a corm which sends up leaves and then one-sided spikes with the flowers. Most freesias grow to be about 18-24 inches tall. In the US, they are hardy from zones 8a to 11, preferring sunny areas with well-drained soil. Freesias are named after the German physician, Friedrich Heinrich Theodor Freese (1795–1876).

Freesias are known for their lovely scents. They are often in the creation of perfumes, scented oils and soaps and candles.

All part of freesias are poisonous and should never be eaten.

Most of the freesias I photographed this year were the lovely ones with the pink and white petals. I haven’t been able to identify what specific variety of freesia they are.

I did photograph one other freesia that day – a lovely white variety – Volante.

For additional online information about freesias, you can visit

Purple Star Freesia

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 27, 2009 | Flowers

A few weeks ago, I photographed some Freesia at Brookside Gardens and decided to keep an eye out for more varieties of Freesia to photograph. Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph another variety – Purple Star Freesia at Longwood Gardens.

Here are a few of my photos of the Purple Star Freesia.

Freesia

by hankinslawrenceimages | Mar 17, 2009 | Flowers

On my recent trip to Brookside Gardens, I photographed a couple of gorgeous varieties of Freesia. Freesia are a member of the Iridaceae family and are native to Africa

The first variety I photographed was Blue Bayou – with wonderful purple flowers.

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The second type of Freesia I photographed was Yvonne – with flowers in lovely shades of yellow.

freesia_yvonne_4842

The freesia were part of the Garden Elements display currently on exhibit in the Conservatory at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland.