Lily of the Rain

The yard is a completely different place in the rain. Unfortunately for my camera I love the look of the flowers when it's raining. It's not just the drops of water. If it was I could just spray them. The soft lighting from the clouds changes the feel of the photo completely.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Shadows of Paradise

O.K. if you got here from the "Banana Photos" page I am not going nuts or getting sloppy in my photo categorization. (well, at least not the second one anyway.) The Bird of Paradise is actually a member of the Banana [Musaceae] family. Strange but true!

But wait, it gets even stranger! Like bananas, Bird of Paradise are botanically considered herbs since they do not produce any woody stems. (That's right, even the biggest 25 foot banana tree is not really a tree at all.)

Well that is the botany lesson for the day. The photo is pretty nice too, if I do say so myself.

Thursday, June 8, 2006

Agapanthus Buds

Another of my rare morning shots. The light is nice in the morning, and I really try to take advantage of it when I am conscious. But that is a rather rare occurrence in the morning.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Agapanthus in the Rain

It rained heavily last night, and this morning we got to see the SUN! It has been gray for so long I did not know how to act!

Yeah I did, I grabbed my camera!

I was up uncharacteristically early waiting for a ride, but as a reward I got to enjoy the morning sunlight in my front yard.

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

The Agapanthus are Coming!

There are a lot of Agapanthus around our home and they are looking like they are about to burst! I took this one today on a walk with The Hound.

My botanist tells me that Agapanthus is derived from the Greek word "agapé" meaning love and "anthos" meaning flower.

And for those really interested in the botany, the group of flowers all radiating from the center with equal length "pedicles" (or individual flower stalks) is called an "umbel." An umbel is a kind of "inflorescence," which is a botanical term referring to a group or cluster of flowers and specifically the structure of that group. Ahhh the Internet, what can\'t it teach you?

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Backlit Bird

This is another shot from our neighbors yard. I like to walk by there and see whats blooming.

These flowers always make me think of my wife's watercolors. She likes them so much that she learned to watercolor specifically to paint them.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Bird of Paradise

My neighbor has a beautiful garden. It's amazing how many flowers you can get into a small space. (we only have a few feet to play with around the building.) This was snapped as I was taking the hound for a walk the other day.

My best friend was just wondering when Bird of Paradise bloom. I guess this answers that question. :-D

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Backlit Agapanthus

Last week, when I was loading my Jeep for a show, I was fortunate enough to catch the sun at a great angle on our little front yard area. On a Saturday my Hound Dog and I would have still been quite unconscious at this time.

This is a variety of Lily native to South Africa. It grows like wild around here, and it's beautiful when they really get going.

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Bird of Paradise

This is another shot from a recent walk at the Santa Barbara Harbor. The setting sun made the colors on this beautiful flower stand out even more.

Feedback for South African Plant photos:

zac	April 4, 2007 9:14 am
plant
I have a plant i think that the name is african night flower or something like that. I got it from a friend of a friend who was in south africa. it has long skinny green shiny leaves with long thin stems that grow hairs to collect water from the air (i figure). once a year in the summer sometimes more. it has softball size white flowers with a pungent smell. then they close up tightly and decay. Do you know anything about this mistory plant?

Bill Heller	April 4, 2007 12:28 pm
RE: plant
Well just guessing by the name and description it sounds like something that is pollinated by bats or another creature of the night (moths?). Take a look at the Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus) page especially the description on Monday, May 29, 2006. I don't think it is actually an Epiphyllum that you have. They are more of a Central-South American jungle plant. But see if that is close. Also, take a look at Aandblom [Gladiolus tristis] it is the closest thing that we can find to your description. Let me know if that is on the right track. If not, give me a little more detailed description of the flower. Shape, number of petals etc. Do you have a digital camera? If so, I'd love to see a photo of it. -Bill Heller

zac	April 5, 2007 1:40 am
Re: plant
That's it Epiphyllum sweet. I know some people who make tea out of its pollen they drink it the night it blooms and say it works like a sleeping pill. is this possible or is it all in their heads?

Bill Heller	April 5, 2007 1:46 am
Re: plant
Wild, I've never heard of that, but who knows? I love them they are great plants, we have about 8 or 9 of them around and they are all very different and very beautiful. We have three of them just starting to bloom right now. -Bill Heller

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A Photo a Day by Bill Heller

South African Plant Photos

Lily of the Rain

Shadows of Paradise

Agapanthus Buds

Agapanthus in the Rain

The Agapanthus are Coming!

Backlit Bird

Bird of Paradise

Backlit Agapanthus

Bird of Paradise