Yellow Rose

Yellow Rose

This was taken at Longwood Gardens in the Indoor Rose Garden. Having a rose room would be great but probably a little expensive. The garden is really set up to grow roses for cutting. It is right after the room full of Hibiscus.

Rain rain go away,
Come again another day.

Mediterranean Christmas Tree

Skywatch Friday
Mediterranean Christmas Tree

This first photo is a close up from a sculpture at the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens in Purchase, New York. The grounds, all 168 acres of them, feature 45 sculptures from artist like Calder, Moore, Segal, Rodin and Miro. They are set among the gardens, which feature a large amount of different plants. It is really a nice place to spend a few hours. It is free, too.

These next pictures are from Longwood Gardens. This was another of the living Christmas trees and decorations made out of plants. This Mediterranean Christmas Tree had Cyclamen, Bush Daisies, Lobelia and some other plants I am not sure of. It really looked nice and was great idea.


While I like Christmas I am not sorry to see it go. Everything gets so stressful at this time of year. The best present we received was Juno’s health as she is once again a happy and growing puppy. The second best was all the new photography gear. I have been itching to go out and do some shooting. Since the weather is supposed to be good we are going to try and go to Manhattan this weekend.

For more skies from around the world go to
Skywatch Friday Home Page

A Poinsettia and the Rarest Cycad in the World

A Poinsettia and the Rarest Cycad in the World
‘Nutcracker Red’ Poinsettia
Euphorbia pulcherrima
(yoo-FOR-bee-uh) (pul-KAIR-ih-muh)

These are a few more pictures from Longwood Gardens. ‘Nutcracker Red’ Poinsettia was the main red Poinsettia used in the Conservatory displays this year. It was a handsome and bright Poinsettia that seemed to setting off the white flowers it was mixed with including Snapdragons, Cyclamens, and Paperwhites.

Wood’s Cycad
Encephalartos woodii
(en-sef-uh-LAR-tos) (WOOD-ee-eye)


This was a very special plant blooming in the Conservatory. One that Wikipedia said, “It is one of the rarest plants in the world”. I couldn’t really get a good picture of it since it was set in the planting bed 8 to 10 feet deep and a waterfall was on the other side. It was one of the first things I noticed in the Conservatory and I was immediately drawn to the huge yellow cones protruding from its center.

The only known specimen in the wild of this South African native was first discovered 1895 and died around 1912. It is now considered extinct in the wild and all existing plants are from that one original tree. For more information on its interesting story and history try these links:
Wikipedia
PlantZAfrica.com

It truly was a sight to behold and I think even non-gardeners would have had to stop and remark on this plant.


I ordered my new camera and a couple of lenses yesterday, more on that tomorrow. We are supposed to have a big snowstorm on Friday and there are a couple of things that have to be done before than. They are forecasting 12 plus inches (30.5 cm) of snow.

Quick Trip to Longwood Gardens

Quick Trip to Longwood Gardens

On Tuesday Karen and I hustled down to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania for a one-night tour of the Christmas displays. Here is a link to the gardens:
Home Page

For those who don’t have time to click the link and don’t know about Longwood Gardens all I can say is it's a true American treasure. The gardens are amazing and worth visiting anytime of year. Each year at Christmas they put out over half a million lights and the huge Conservatory is decked out in a holiday theme. The Conservatory is probably the greatest I have been in. It is 4.5 acres and has 20 different garden areas including an indoor rose garden. It is monumental but not overwhelming.

There were several living wreaths and Christmas trees this year. This wreath was made of Begonias and was great. There were several Poinsettia wreaths and even an Orchid wreath.


Speaking of Orchids, Longwood has a great collection of them and all that were on display were beautiful. The Cattleya Orchids were particularly striking and their fragrance was washing over me as I took their pictures. Some of the flowers were not named but that didn’t diminish my joy or interest in them.


Some of my pictures ended up as corrupt files and I am not sure if that was a camera or a memory card issue (that new camera can’t get here fast enough). I hope to share a few more snaps over the next couple of days.