Monday, August 25, 2008

Tuberous Begonia Mardi Gras

Tuberous Begonia ‘Mardi Gras’
Begonia x tuberhybrida Mardi Gras
(be-GON-yuh) (too-ber-HY-brid-uh)
Blackmore & Langdon's Large Flowered Picotee Begonia

Ruby Tuesday

Yesterday I visited White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut. They have a beautiful series of display gardens and they were in fine shape yesterday. I was looking for some Painted Daisies (Tanacetum coccineum), which I have not been able to find anywhere. After taking some pictures on the gardens I decided to follow the sign to the Tuberous Begonia Greenhouse.


Since I am used to looking at and being around a lot of flowers I get a little jaded sometimes but every once in awhile something totally stuns me in regards to the botanical world. My entrance to the greenhouse was one of those moments. It literally took my breath away. The color was overwhelming and amazing. Each of the display Begonias were in perfect full bloom. It probably was one of top five flower displays I have seen and that fact that is totally unexpected was part of the reason. When I go to the New York Botanical Garden or Kew I expect to be amazed. Not so much so when I enter a kind of non descript Quonset type of greenhouse in the rugged Litchfield Hills of Connecticut. I got quite a few nice pictures although shooting inside a greenhouse can be tricky. There will certainly be some more Tuberous Begonias on this blog coming up soon. I really wanted the 24mm/1.8 lens but left it home. The lens has really integrated itself into my ‘bag’. I am not going to leave home without again.

This is a crude panorama of the greenhouse so you can see a little of what it looked like. Some of the Begonias were fragrant and had a very nice scent.


Thanks for visiting. For more Ruby Tuesday and red stuff visit the teach @
Work of the Poet

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this shot! The colors remind me of a candycane. Very gorgeous!

Ralph said...

The outer edges appear to be painted red by using an artist's detail brush. Nature can look surreal sometimes...

Jim said...

Thank you DFP, those are very pretty. It sounds like you had a nice time.
Happy RRtUing, thank you for peeking in on my Red Iowa stuff.
..

♥ Denise BC ♥ said...

Delicacy and charm, great contribution, beautiful post.
hugs, Denise

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh, that's a great flower! i love how red it is on the outside and how it blended inwards!

My Ruby Tuesday's up here.

Anonymous said...

Whoa! What a fabulous begonia!! Just beautiful...

dot said...

What a gorgeous flower and such beautiful colors! I love the show of all the different colored ones in the bottom photo.

Maria's Space said...

That is ONE beautiful flower. Stunning.

Mojo said...

Those closeups are awesome! I love the red "fringe".
Very nicely done!
and thanks for stopping by (you can buy that Lotus brand new for under $50k... not bad for an exoticar)
-Mojo

Mimi Lenox said...

Gorgeous!

My Ruby Tuesday is Ruby Tuesday and Baby Boy Lost

Anonymous said...

It looks beautiful and extremely delicate :)
Happy Ruby Tuesday!!!

Carletta said...

Gorgeous!
A peppermint swirl!

Anonymous said...

WHOA!!! AMAZING SHOTS! Where have you been? :)

Mine's up if you got a chance, HERE!

Cátia said...

i love your pictures!wonderful flowers

lucy said...

Breathtaking...there is nothing more to say.

Rambling Woods said...

Just beautiful and after a wet and cool summer, it's nice to see flowers and wow..you are talented.

Dianne said...

you always amaze me with the detail and color and brilliance you capture so easily!

maryt/theteach said...

Digital Flower, it's breath-taking alright! An incredible display of begonias and your photos are gorgeous! Happy Ruby Tuesday! :)

DrillerAA said...

Spectacular detail shots.
Great for a Ruby Tuesday.

ExploreColorado said...

These are absolutely beautiful.

I'm a big flower fan myself.

Pat said...

The first Tuberous Begonia picture is so stunning.
I never really was a fan of up close flower photography...since it seems most people do that.
But I stand corrected again.
You are a keeper.
Beautiful work!!