Hardy Water Lily ‘Texas Dawn’

Hardy Water Lily ‘Texas Dawn’

Nymphaea cv.

(NIM-fee-uh)

Little did I know that this flower is actually the Official State Waterlily of Texas. I can see why they picked it. The color is unusually bright and warm. It blooms a lot too.

Texan Kenneth Landon developed this unique cultivar by in 1985. He almost single handily started the International Water lily Collection in San Angelo, Texas.

I took this picture last summer at the pond between the glass houses at the NYBG.

White Waterlily

 

Waterlily

Nymphaea cv.

(NIM-fee-uh)

Considering I shot this waterlily picture indoors with Karen’s 35-70, 2.8 Nikon lens it came out pretty good. I could have probably used a little more exposure.

This flower kind of represents a growing trend of indoor water features that seem to keep popping up. Previously confined to greenhouses or conservatories they are now merging into people’s houses. We were taking care of two of them last year and had a bit of a learning curve on them. When this flower bloomed it was a small personal victory and despite the environmental conditions it was growing in.

Waterlily on Wordless Wednesday

Hardy Waterlily
Nymphaea cv.

(NIM-fee-uh)

Star Of Siam Waterlily

Waterlily

Nymphaea 'Star Of Siam'

(NIM-fee-uh)

I thought I would share this really nice blue waterlily flower picture. It is a tropical day-blooming type. The flower does resemble a sapphire star but also has the additional beauty of chocolate splashed leaves. The mottled foliage spreads out to a medium sized plant.

Christmas preparations are getting in full swing here now. Despite our agreement that we wouldn’t do too much this year it seems like the same amount s previous years.

Since it is Sunday here is a bonus snapshot of a waterlily and Koi fish. He just seemed to swim in and out of the frame as I was lining the shot up.

Waterlily

Nymphaea cv.

(NIM-fee-uh)

Water Lily

Water Lily
Nymphaea
(NIM-fee-uh)

This was blooming in a hobbyist pond this summer and looked quite beautiful. Due to the dry conditions it was hard to keep up with topping the ponds off at work. We didn't grow anything like this flower either. The 70 different species of Nymphaea fall into two categories hardy or tropical. The hardy types are diurnal blooming with the tropical types blooming during the day and night.

Since it is Sunday here is the bonus snapshot.



Hardy Begonia
Begonia grandis
(be-GON-yuh) (GRAN-dees)
Synonym: Begonia evansiana

This plant has always interested me but I have never had the guts to try it. Perhaps Long Island, with their slightly less harsh winter will be a good trial for it. If can colonize some shade areas that would be great.

Pastel Water Lilies

Water Lilies

Nymphaea

(NIM-fee-uh)

This is an unusual shot just for the fact that the Nikon D70s and Nikon 80-200mm/2.8 lens was used. I still love that old camera and it still works great. There is really no comparison to my newer, bigger camera but it works and under the right circumstances will turn in a great picture. It is amazing how much digital photography technology has come since the D70 was issued.

As a member of a really big photography forum people are always asking abut the D70 because it is one of the cheaper used DSLRs available. I usually post the same thing in response. “It is a great camera with a few shortfalls including low light performance, small file size and a small LCD screen.” The lens that came with it, a Nikon 18-70mm/ f/3.5-4.5 AF-S DX is also quite serviceable and still finds its way into my camera bag sometimes. Even though the lens is not full frame it occasionally finds it way into my camera bag and onto the D700, which automatically senses it and shoots a smaller photo. In my opinion one of the better kit lenses ever issued by Nikon. It did well down in Florida last winter and took some nice shots.

Everything has been kind of leading up to our band show on Friday night this week. I had to setup my stuff at the band room last night and then tear down and unload it at home last night only to throw it all back in the car tomorrow and set up and tear down at the venue. Lucky I love to play and don’t mind the work. I really do need to find a way to slim down my keyboard rig. It can be a nightmare to setup/tear down but I am the one that wanted a Hammond Organ.

Hardy Water Lily

Hardy Water Lily

Nymphaea

(NIM-fee-uh)

Hardy Water Lily

Hardy Water Lily

Nymphaea 'Mayla'

(NIM-fee-uh)

Hardy Water Lily

Hardy Water Lily
Nymphaea cv.

(NIM-fee-uh)

Captured this summer the white flower of this waterlily looked good against the green leaves and black water. I must have been pretty close because the 60mm/2.8 lens was used.

There is a big battle going on in my lens bag between the 60mm and 105mm Nikon macro lenses. The 60mm will always have a place in my heart because it was the first really good lens that I got and it takes really nice pictures. The 60mm focal range is also good for a “walk around” or general purpose lens. It is exceptionally tough and rugged, which is always a bonus when you are owned by me. The 105mm macro lens has been a Nikon standard and is a great lens. The longer reach makes it easier to take some pictures, especially of insects. On the plus side this lens has the beautiful bokeh and it seems to deal with the light and shadows very well. It is totally amazing to me what this lens does in lowlight. On the negative side it is a large lens that costs twice as much as the 60mm. I think a shootout is called for this spring. Where the same flower is shot alternately with each lens under the same settings and lighting. Both are great lenses but usually I just like to carry one with me.

Since it is Sunday come join us at Today’s Flowers. Sunday also means a bonus snapshot.

This field of yellow Daises sure was pretty. I am not sure of the genus/species but think it might be a perennial form of Anthemis.

A lot of people are always asking what my favorite flower is and seem a little disappointed when I say Daisy (must have been expecting something more exotic lol). To me Daisies are just beautiful due to their simple simplicity and elegance. They have the perfect understated sophistication to me. Their trait of blooming en masse is also nice. You can also play “Loves me, Loves me not” with them.

Hardy Water Lily

Hardy Water Lily
Nymphaea
(NIM-fee-uh)

Hardy Water Lily

Hardy Water Lily
Nymphaea x marliacea 'Chromatella'
(NIM-fee-uh) (mar-lee-AK-ee-a)
Synonyms: Marliac Yellow, Golden Cup

Tropical Waterlily

Tropical Waterlily
Nymphaea
(NIM-fee-uh)

Here are two different tropical water lilies that were blooming in two different places. The pink one was at in the outdoor lily pond at The Kampong in Coconut Grove, Florida. It was our first visit to this public garden and it is really a spectacular place. In some ways it is almost the perfect Florida estate to me (only missing a swimming pool). With a large house and lot, deep water anchorage, water views and a super plant collection it pretty much sums up everything you would want to enjoy the southern Florida lifestyle. If you read the linked Wikipedia article you will see that it was the home of Dr. David Fairchild who among other things was responsible for introducing around 30,000 different plant species to the United States. I would recommend a visit to Kampong if you are in the area. This picture was shot across the pond with my new 80-200mm/2.8 lens. It was mounted on my back up camera a Nikon D70s giving an effective focal range of 300mm.


The second Nymphaea photo was taken last week in the water garden room at the New York Botanical Garden. It was nice to see them blooming indoors. The large Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) over the water was blooming and dropping its unusually colored and shaped flowers in the water. I don’t care for the more washed out color in this cultivar (compared to the first photo) but there was something calming and delicate about it.

For more flower pictures from around the world check out:
Today’s Flowers .

Since it is Sunday here is a bonus flower. It is just one of the Hosta types from the estate’s gardens. The leaves are plain green and unremarkable but the flowers are nice with the touch of purple and fragrance.


Hosta
(HOSS-tuh)

Key West Waterlily

Waterlily
Nymphaea cv.
(NIM-fee-uh)

A couple more flowers from Papa’s house (Hemingway) in Key West. The waterlily was nice to see blooming in its small pond. The color was great and there were several of the lilies blooming. The gardens at the house were in good condition offering a good selection of tropical plants. It wasn’t like some of the yards we saw on Key West, which featured overgrown and totally out of control foliage. That type of garden was fun to look at and offered the owners a lot of privacy but if it were mine I would have had to go through it with a chainsaw and machete but to each its own.

See more flowers from around the world at Today’s Flowers .

I am excited to visit one of my favorite places in the United States tomorrow, Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens . I’ll be the guy waiting at the gate for it to open with all the camera gear. Actually I am bringing the two cameras and a couple of lenses. It is important to enjoy looking at the plants as well as taking pictures of them.

Since it is Sunday and that means a bonus flower here on the Digital Flower Pictures.com blog. Here is one that has me stumped (if you know what it is let me know). I thought it was a Mimosa tree as the flower is very similar as was the growth of the shrubby tree but the foliage didn’t match at all. The powder puff flowers are always fun to look at and the color on this tree was very nice.

Hardy Water Lily

Hardy Water Lily
Nymphaea 'Froebeli'
(NIM-fee-uh)

This photo was shot this summer using my way back up camera combo. The D70s and Sigma 28-200mm, f3.5-5.6 lens. It is a pretty good system but the D700 outclasses it. The Sigma is left over from the film days and is the longest focal length I have. It is so strange for me to use a zoom lens these days. I sometimes forget I can move the subject closer or farther away. Like the 24mm/1.8 lens that I also own the 28-200 is enormous and attracts attention, which is something that I don’t like to do when shooting.

‘Froebeli' is a nice waterlily for a small pond. It has a limited spread and is shade tolerant (it can also grow in full sun). The color is good and it shows up well against the green leaves. There is also a more red version available.

Black Orchid

Black Orchid
Coelogyne pandurata
(koh-el-LAW-jin-ee) (pand-yoor-RAY-tuh)

This Orchid is native to the island of Borneo where it grows as an epiphyte in the damp woodlands at lower elevations. It was discovered in the 1850’s and has charmed collectors since then. It likes to grow under Cattleya Orchid conditions with bright light, warm winters, high humidity and moisture. It really has a striking appearance with thelime green and black mixing well together on the fragrant flowers. This photo was shot indoors at a local wholesale Orchid Nursery. The price was $115 US for an 8-inch pot with a couple of big flower spikes on it and that was the wholesale price.

See more flowers from all over the world at Today’s Flowers .


As a bonus for Flowers from Today here is a nice Peach colored Waterlily spotted this summer.


Hardy Waterlily
Nymphaea 'Peach Glow'
(NIM-fee-uh)

This very hardy Waterlily has a very nice color. One nice thing I noticed was the flowers were held a few inches above the water.

Two Water Lilies

Two Water Lilies
Nymphaea
(NIM-fee-uh)

Back to the flowers for today.

Waterlily

Waterlily
Nymphaea cv.
(NIM-fee-uh)

Wordless Wednesday

Two Water Lilies

Two Water Lilies
Nymphaea
(NIM-fee-uh)

Continuing yesterday’s theme these are two Waterlily picture from the summer. Again I am not sure of the cultivars or even if they tropical or hardy. Both were shot with the Nikkor-Micro 60mm lens and my D70s.


“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.”
John Lubbock
(English Biologist and Politician, 1834-1913)


Since a people have been contacting me about buying prints I have opened up a storefront at Printroom Pro. I even made this clickable banner. Which is probably easy for most people.




You can get prints and other things like calendars, mugs, etc. They also have downloads so you print the photos at your local printer. I hope this is a better system then the old one, which was a lot of emailing back and forth and not being able to use credit cards. I have been loading up the galleries but if you want something that isn’t uploaded I can get there in a matter of minutes. I have been using the sites uploading software and it is fast and easy.

If anyone has anytime please let me know what you think of the site.