Thursday, July 5, 2012

Floral Fireworks

Teucrium
As our neighborhood popped and whistled with activity last night, I wandered around the garden, quietly enjoying my own version of "fireworks".

Echinops
Echinops bannaticus
Over the past few years, I've figured out where the rising and setting sun "hit" in our garden, and have tried to plant as many plants as I can that look dramatic when backlit.

Knautia
Knautia macedonica 'Ruby Star'
Grasses look amazing (of course), as does anything with fine "hairs" on the stems, like the Knautia above...

Salvia Purple Rain
Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain'
...and like Salvia 'Purple Rain' above.

Echinacea
Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'
Echinacea also has fine hairs covering the plants...and even the opening blossoms look like miniature explosions...POW!

Tuecrium v
Teucrium hircanicum
Teucriums are pure magic when backlit...the whole plant is covered with fine hairs...and the blooms seem to glow from within. Although it has MANY admirable qualities, I'd plant it for the brief, but spectactular, shows during sunrise and sunset alone.

Allium
Allium 'Purple Sensation'
Of course, some plants just have a structure that's reminiscent of fireworks themselves ;-)

Knautia & Teucrium
Knautia macedonica 'Ruby Star' & Teucrium hircanicum
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July...even with the horribly hot, dry weather so much of the country is experiencing (and which we have thankfully been spared). As the 4th of July seems to un-officially herald the beginning of summer weather in Portland, I'm crossing my fingers for another mild summer...hopefully the scorching temps will stay far away from Rhone Street :-)

51 comments:

  1. Beautiful.
    I hope you and your garden are spared the awful heat and drought we're having.

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  2. Lovely photos. You got some great shots. Nice to see things blooming away for you. Still in drought and 90's and 100's here.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. UGH...so sorry, Cher...that really sounds just unbearable :-(

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  3. We may be the only people who want the hot weather to stay away in Portland but I am so with you! Your fireworks are beautiful.

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    1. Hahaha...I know! I get so annoyed every morning when the Weather Man gets all freaking excited about hot weather...he's all "Just WAIT until tomorrow...we should hit 90!!!!" If I could throat-punch him with my remote control, I would.

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  4. Beautiful! Beautiful! We're supposed to hit 106 on Saturday and my garden is on Aquatic Life Support to help it survive. I love the idea of photographing plants while back lit. :o)

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    1. O M G...you all are tougher than me...that's for sure! Good luck surviving...I hope you come through it!

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  5. These are my favorite fireworks of the season! (flowers not fire people!) I wish you were my neighbor.

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    1. Ditto...wouldn't it be great if all us gardeners could live in the same area...now THAT'S a dream!

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  6. I'll take these fireworks over the others any day!

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  7. Hi Scott,

    Lovely photos; back-lit blooms are by far my favourite. Do you have any Sea Holly as they're also good! :)
    No searing heat here, although today has turned out surprisingly nice with mostly sun and quite hot. For the past week or two we've been melting under warm temps with high humidity(lots of rain) and it's awful.

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    1. So funny you say that...I do have some...but, sadly, they are on the other side of the yard...and don't get the same magical light...maybe I'll move them someday ;-) I totally feel for you...I remember weather like that...I was crabby all the time!

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  8. I like how you captured the exploding light of fireworks in each plant!

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  9. I was up half the night with high temps and very loud fireworks. Yours are much more beautiful and what a great idea to plant where they are backlit!

    Eileen

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    1. Oh no...that's the worst! I have to say, our neighborhood was MUCH quieter this year...and we blasted our A/C to keep cool!

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  10. Thanks! Much nicer than the airshow (started practicing at 9:00a.m.) and fireworks until midnight we had here. Lovely pictures!

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  11. And far from Kingston Way in North Albany too. I loathe the heat. It does indeed look like summer has arrived, doesn't it? Your photos are amazing. (Do you get tired of reading this?) My favorite is the Echinops. How you did that without making it blurry baffles me. I'm not very fond of the "real" fireworks. Yours are infinitely nicer.

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    1. Hahaha...glad to know there are others out there who don't care for "real" fireworks! I guess some of us just grow out of liking them, right? OH...and the photos...trial and error ;-)

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  12. love all those plants and pictures of them!

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  13. Incredible--backlit plants are so magical! Thanks for sharing your fireworks with us!

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    1. They really are, aren't they...it's so cool to see plants "in a different light", so to speak ;-)

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  14. We're still having mild temps too, with predictions for climbing into the mid and upper 80s next week. And that same teucrium has already started reseeding -- its first summer!

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    1. Same here...we've been having some warm temps lately (a little TOO warm for me)! I just found my first Teucrium seedling a week or so ago...I've been rooting cuttings too :-)

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  15. Hi Scott. Wow! what gorgeous pictures. The back lighting is so beautiful in your pictures. I love Knautia but it always dies out for me here for some reason. Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Oh no, Lona! I wonder why it dies out? It could be that it just blooms itself to death...I'm amazed at just how long they do bloom for...and that seems to happen to those plants that "give it their all".

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  16. Beautiful shots Scott! Looks like a great way to spend the 4th! It is pretty hot here... hoping everything survives. ~Julie

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    1. Thanks, Julie...it certainly was! I hope you (and your garden) make it through the heat!

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  17. Scott, Your photos are marvelous...

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  18. Fabulous photographs, lve that hazy sunlight streaming through the plants and flowers.

    Paul

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    1. Thanks, Paul...me too...there is something so great about being able to capture the "atmosphere" of the garden in shots like that :-)

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  19. Purple Rain and Purple Sensation are my favorites, love your photos!

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  20. What lovely photos! I'm glad you're getting sun. I haven't seen much sun in Northern Ireland this Summer so far, mainly wind and rain!

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    1. We had quite a bit of those too...but now Summer seems to have officially arrived, so we likely won't see a drop of rain until "gulp" September or October...eeek!

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  21. Scott,
    This post kicks ass. Has to be one of your best. You got a flair for the garden and lens. Gotta do a book, my friend. Maybe an e-book???

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    1. hahaha...Thanks, Patrick...that's quite a compliment!

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  22. How impressive (and not just a little intimidating) that you were able to envision this effect, plan for it, achieve it, and then photograph it! I'm not sure I have the skill to accomplish any of those four steps, but since you shared your results, I'm seriously going to think about trying this in some small way in my garden. Thanks!

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    1. Awwww....thanks, Sharon...every once in a while I'm able to pull it off ;-)

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  23. ooohh.....


    aaahhhh....

    :) thanks for a beautiful firework show! I agree with Patrick that you have a talent for creating beauty in front of and behind the lens. I think a calendar would be wildly successful.

    your flickr contact, Thanker212

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    1. Thanks, Thanker!!! Glad to see you from Flickr!

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  24. Wonderful photos. The sun-kissed lighting is perfect.

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    1. Thanks, Bom...that time of day is just magical for photos, isn't it?!?

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  25. These are all beautiful shots, and I am glad that I am not the only one to ignore the advice of never shooting in the direction of the sun.

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    1. Oh yes, Les...you know what they say...you have to learn the rules first...then you learn to break them ;-)

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