Photos I Grew Myself

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Friday, April 11, 2008

Lady in the Epi

The ladybugs seem to really love our epis. Probably because when they start to bloom (the epis, not the bugs :-D) there's a lot of nectar around the buds. The nectar seems to attract aphids. This time we tried to get the jump on them. We bought a small bag of ladybugs from the hardware store. Of course I was not going to let them go until the camera was ready!

I used a bellows to get close enough for this shot. The whole background of the shot is the same flower that the ladybug is sitting on.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Fresh from the Garden

This was taken a couple hours before yesterday's photo of the day. This was the scene in the middle of the table that inspired the three hour photo shoot.

The cool purple garlic bulb is from a recent trip to Gilroy for their Garlic Festival, but most of the others are fresh from the garden.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Calla Drops

The sun was in and out of the clouds when I took this shot. I only had about 30 seconds while the light was interesting.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Glowing Garden Rose

We recently got this rose a trellis because it was getting huge. And, like I mentioned yesterday, I hate to cut my plants! I don't believe it is a climber usually, but it really seems happy on the trellis. This photo was taken when there was just a shaft of afternoon sunlight shining down between our umbrellas. Made for a nice dappled background.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Glowing Sun Star

I have been playing with some creative lighting on my flowers lately. That's the reason that the photo of the day has been the flower of the day lately. :-D (Well, that and the fact that it's spring and there are some amazing plants out there that all seem to follow me home.) I\'m pretty happy with the results though, both in the back yard and my photos!

If you ended up here because you have one of these beauties and you are looking for care instructions, take a look at the main Sun Star page. There are more tips and discussion on the March 25, 2006 Sun Star too. If you find any of it helpful, or have questions that have not been answered there, drop us a note!

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Hidden Violets

I'm not exactly sure where they came from, they kind of appeared in the pot of another plant in the back yard. The other day when my wife was working in the plants she found them and I heard "Hey, get your camera, I've got a photo of the day for you!"

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Tropical Swirl

I like how this rose caught that drop of water in the top. This is another shot from the backyard. Yeah, I know, it's a theme lately "the Back Yard". But my hound hurt her foot and I did not get my birthday trip to Monterey yet. Maybe later this month! Oooh the flowers that are blooming there this time of year!

Monday, May 7, 2007

Tomatillo Spider

When we were at the Nursery a couple weeks ago we found some great peppers. This Tomatillo looked so cool I just had to grab him too. I figure they'll make some good salsa together too. I just got a great book of salsa recipes for my birthday and I can't wait to try it out!

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Lily in the Shadows

I thought this photo went nicely with yesterday's cactus. Nice and shadowy.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Wild Jungle Cactus

No it's not a man eating plant. (Well as long as I keep watering it and do what it says anyway.) The flowers on my Orchid Cacti are usually pretty amazing, but this one is particularly wild and they are not even open yet! There is nothing in the photo for size reference but the pink part of the blossom is at least four inches long. It's a good time of year to be a crazy photographer with a collection of wild plants!

Friday, May 4, 2007

Lilies in the Corner

Another shot of the Calla Lilies in the corner of our yard (cactus corner). As you can tell I have not got out of the back yard with my camera lately. Of course, there are enough beautiful things there to keep me busy for years.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Mandevilla Sky

This is one of the plants that recently scored a new pot and trellis. We originally got this vine and one other to feed the butterflies in the back yard. The butterflies (and resulting caterpillars) almost got the best of them. But they have come back strong. A couple of weekends ago I spent about two hours unraveling the two vines from each other and putting them on their new trellises. It was like an elaborate living puzzle.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Batik Bearded Iris

This Iris has not bloomed for years. It took us a while to get it settled in to our new back yard. This is the first blossom of what looks like will be a busy spring for it. The last time it bloomed, I got a great photo that was part of my first solo show at the Santa Barbara Public Library.

We are very happy to see it coming around, they are not the easiest things to find. For several years you could not buy them anywhere.

I always thought the little fuzzy area looked like a yellow caterpillar.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Friends

When the Epiphyllum get going they really go wild. This blossom (the red one) is from the beautiful cactus that got us kicked out of our last apartment. Well, maybe not that dramatic, but I sure was not going to trim the cactus like the land lord wanted!

The lilies lived here when we moved in. They are actually in the ground in what we now call "Cactus Corner". They have had to stretch a little taller to see the sun. But they make an amazing contrast with the cactus and they always seem to be intertwined, I like to think they are friends.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Spring Epiphyllum

It's looking a lot like spring around here. We've spent the last couple of weekends working on our yard. New pots and more dirt all around. This beauty now has an automated dripper. Even though it is a cactus, ours are the happiest when they are sitting in a puddle of water for a couple of hours a day. Of course if you have been treating yours like a desert plant, I would recommend making the transition to hydroponics slowly, so as not to shock it.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Stripey Season

Oh I'm so excited! It's tomato time again! (yeah I know I need a hobby! oh yeah, I have my camera!) This is one of our "Mister Stripey" tomatoes from last year. But it is time to start looking for this years varieties. A couple weeks ago we had to search all the nurseries to find only common tomato varieties, but they are out in full force now and I have lost count of how many we have.

Of course, one of our favorites is still around from last year. It is a big mass of vines that seems to be very happy and produced fruit all year even through our mild frosts here. (It was nestled against the wall under our living room window and, luckily for him, they didn't seem to have anything like insulation in the 70s when the homes in this area were built. :-)

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Bouganvilla

There is always something blooming around here! Which is great for someone who loves to take flower pictures. This is the Bougainvillea that we have coaxed over our back fence, it's always happy. So happy in fact I just had to tuck all it's new growth in so the gardeners don't come by and cut it.

As I recall, last year this time I almost had to change the name of the site to "The Calla Lily of the Day," since they go wild this time of year too. Fortunately, this year we planted some spring bulbs out front and they are looking good already so I'll have lots of subjects to keep things interesting. Now all I need is more time to play with my cameras. Too bad that won't grow as easily. :-D

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Calla Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

I was trolling the logs and it looks like there have been quite a few people looking for Calla Lily photos lately. (as well as Valentine's flowers) This was the scene a couple of days ago in the back yard, and I thought the shape of the flower was particularly fitting for the day.

Have a wonderful valentines day!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Yellow Canna Bract

This is another Canna that my mom sent me as a bulb about 10 years ago. It has bloomed a couple of times each year for the last few years but it never had such a cool leaf or bract around the flowers like this. Even in the back yard there are always new surprises.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Mandevilla in the Garden

This was another one of those "break from my computer" images. I had to go out back and wander around the flowers for a while.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Bougainvillea

One of the important tasks I had to do to get ready for the holiday was clean up our giant Bougainvillea.

When we moved in, we noticed this plant peeking under our fence. On the outside of the fence they keep it trimmed back so often it can barely bloom. We decided to coax it over to our side. It is now in a huge arch over our fence and it is constantly covered in blooms.

I think it appreciates the chance to grow. Rather than trim it, I tuck the new growth in and tie it so it goes in the direction we want it to. I do this about once a month which is just often enough that the new growth has not quite wooded over yet so I can still train it to go where I want without breaking it. My wife fed it with a high phosphorus fertilizer (10-50-10) one time that is supposed to promote blooms, and it really worked!

Bougainvillea ₈ | Bougainvillea spectabilis ₄ | bract ₉ | Photos I Grew Myself ₄₆

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Flaming Boquet

I recently took a similar photo of this Canna. But, this time the light was just a little bit different. I can only assume that these guys are called Lucifer Cannas because they look like fire when they bloom. And the evening sun only enhanced the effect!

Saturday, October 7, 2006

Banana in the Rain

A few weeks ago we found two beautiful banana plants at the hardware store that were looking for a good home. They live right out front now. The other day it started to rain just as I was leaving the house and when I saw how the drops of water collected on the leaf I had to run back in and get my camera.

Thursday, October 5, 2006

Backyard Blossoms

This is a plant that my mom sent me many years ago ('bout 9) as just a root in a package. It has survived the heat of the desert in Palm Springs and living for five years on a small patio. It is finally really happy. It has a spot that it loves and an automated dripper. And every time it explodes like this I think of my mom!

This photo looks a bit like a watercolor to me. Especially the out of focus plants in the background.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Rebel Cyclamen

A few months ago we put some new plants in near our front door. Among them were a few white Cyclamen and one purple one. The Purple one was right next to this white plant but it did not seem to do so well. There is not much left of it above ground But it has managed to make it's presence known. (they are tubers, so hopefully it is still down there)

These plants are interesting and beautiful anyway. The flower is actually pointing down and the petals turn around and point up. (called "reflexed petals") But this little addition has made this one of the more interesting plants in the front yard at the moment!