Time Lapse Tuesday - Click the video below!

I had so much fun stumbling on these I thought I would share.  So, for the coming weeks I’ll be showing some great time lapse floral videos on Tuesdays!

spiritonsound — August 13, 2007 — WITH MUSIC FROM LUKA VAN DEN DRIESSCHEN AND SO MANY WONDERFUL FLOWERS IN GROWTH AND TIME LAPSE .

Hope you enjoyed it!

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. Time Lapse Tuesday
2. Hey, it’s Time Lapse Tuesday!!!
3. Time-lapse Tuesday

Grass © Britt Conley

I look forward the great greening every Spring.  When I was very young we would make forts out of the tall grasses out on our farm.  My mother would give us bamboo matts to flatten the grass around us.  I didn’t take long before we realized the grass could be bent over us like a tent.  Memories like these are just some of the reasons why I love going to up visit Gardens with big grassy meadows.

Winterthur Estate and Gardens has phenomenal walking grass © Britt Conley

Of course so does my favorite meadow at Longwood.  Even at the end of fall the grass is stunning.

The Meadow at Longwood Gardens © Britt Conley

If I weren’t concerned there would be a snake or other animal waiting, I would love suit up with a rubber boots and  tromp right in.  Up close it’s just as fascinating as from afar.

The Meadow at Longwood Gardens © Britt Conley

Of course, this holds true of all grass!

Grass © Britt Conley

Even the most mundane can be wonderful when wandered though.

Grass © Britt Conley

I am mostly enamoured by the lightness and sinewy texture and of ornamental grasses.

Grass © Britt Conley

Some are a fine as feathers.  I found this ornamental grass was on the side of the road one day.  Another good reason to keep the camera ready.

Ornamental grass © Britt Conley

While others offer up lovely grassy blooms.

Ornamental grass © Britt Conley

There are so many varieties of grass everywhere I go.  And I do try to shoot the grass at every garden location I visit.  Some gardens make the grass an integral feature of its ambiance.  Here at Norfolk Botanical Gardens they have installed these wonderful Heron sculptures amidst their reed grasses which border their canal.

Grass at Norfolk Botanical Garden © Britt Conley

I came upon the real thing at Henry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida

Reed gras at Henry P. Leu Gardens © Britt Conley

Norfolk also uses grass in another great way.  I mentioned this the other week.  There is a fantastic butterfly shaped maze at Norfolk Botanical Garden right next to their Butterfly Garden!

Butterfly Maze Norfolk Botantical Garden © Britt Conley

At Neumours Estate and Gardens in Pennsylvania, they offer lovely pathways of soft tufted green grass between stepping stones.  A delightful way to integrate grass into landscaping!  I may have to do this one day when I get my own yard.

Neumours Grass © Britt Conley

Some of my favorite places to visit are those gardens and arboretums where the grass is the main event.  Here at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna, Virginia the grassy view holds all the allure!  A great place to visit and relax, which was convient for me, as it was just a couple of miles from where I used to work.

Meadowlark Gardens © Britt Conley

Currently it’s ‘grass season’ here at home where I spend evenings watching the fireflies hoover over our apartment’s massive grassy courtyard.  They are out in droves each evening!  Very cool.

My garden apartment and courtyard © Britt Conley

My sister and I live across the way from one another.  We meet half way to break out our blanket to study and draw in the grass.  Just like old times.  This grassy courtyard and it’s magnolia trees are what have kept me here so long.

Erika's garden apartment and our courtyard © Britt Conley

I have loved grass since I was toddler.  My parents took me down this very path at Dumbarton Oaks, a garden here in Washington, D.C.  when I was just learning to walk.  I have walked this path my entire life and photographed the grass through the seasons for years.

Grassy walk at Dumbarton Oaks © Britt Conley

I spent much of my youthful summers walking through grassy lawns, sitting in them and finally laying back in them for hours as the clouds rolled by overhead.  By the time I was a teen, I unfortunately spent many a day mowing ours for my father. Well, I supposes that just comes with teen life.

Grass © Britt Conley

Well, It’s officially Summer and the grass couldn’t be greener!  So next time you find yourself walking around the neighborhood in the rain, take a moment to enjoy the water bouncing off the grass!  I personally love the smell of wet earth, grass and rain.

Grass © Britt Conley

Or find a soft, shaded grassy nook to lay in on one of the many hot Summer days ahead!

Grass © Britt Conley

As for me, I will be doing just this and even when just walking through a nice patch of green, I’ll keep finding a way to myself in it!

Grass © Britt Conley

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The Kaufman Hydrangea Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden
2. Bicentennial Rose Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden
3. The Photo Garden Bee Tours Three Fantastic Gardens across Virginia!

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

It’s become my right of Spring…

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

I follow them through the season, even once they start to fade.  But that is a long way off for this year.  Now is the time of the Bee!

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

Both this one and the others.  They are buzzing about!

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

I, like these flowers, am going through my Spring awakening.

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

It starts with budding ideas…

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

Which need to be looked at from all angles…

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

And times of day…

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

And then chewed on and played with and then structured…

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

Only then do things start coming to fruition.

Fun with Cone Flowers © Britt Conley

I see great things coming down the pike and I hope to be prepared with lense cap off and eyes wide.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. A long night leads to dreaming of flowers
2. Some of the best flowers of Spring are those that made it through Winter!
3. Part VI: Some of the Flowers and Garden areas at Brookside Gardens.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

Although purple can also be found in the most delicate of petals…

Crocus © Britt Conley

purple in flowers just seems crazy.  Well, crazy great!

Orchids © Britt Conley

I stumbled onto these purple mums at Longwood Gardens last year.  I’ve seen some amazing mums but yet again, the purple ones seem to light the room.  Maybe it’s just the idea of purple or that I don’t see in gardens around town.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

And when I do see it, it is always perfectly juxtaposed by great greenery.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

Is it wrong to want an entire purple garden?

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

It actually seems quite doable.  I would love a container of long purple Irises tied very loosely by a blue bow, pulling the middle of the stalks into a artistic statement on packaging up the best of nature.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

Of course globe thistles would definitely be in my garden.

These Purple beauties are a delight! © Britt Conley

Well, maybe just a long purple swath garden on one side!

Purple flowers © Britt Conley

and purple orchids by the kitchen door.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

I had never seen this crazy plant until a couple of weeks ago.  It’s called Throatwort and is described as boasting, “Lake Michigan Purple.”  Well, well!

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

There are the standard trumpet purples but they are a bit to mundane for my plans.  I guess they just are not crazy enough to make it onto my must have list.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

These purple wonders make a cloudy day light for the soul.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

This very morning I headed out to catch these purple hydrangeas.  One doesn’t find them very often.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

And just when you’ve seen it all there is always something in nature to throw off all your color expectations.

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

I do love purple flowers and fortunately so do the rest of the bees out there!

Purple Flowers © Britt Conley

That’s it for me today.  I am swamped with a great work project that should have me working well into the night.  I may just have to put up Friday’s post on Saturday… well see how the day goes.

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. Part IV: The Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens
2. Orchids: A Cultural Odyssey on view now at The U.S. Botanic Gardens
3. Part I: Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

Wordless Wednesday © Britt Conley

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2. Wordless Wednesday
3. Wordless Wednesday

Hydrangea Macrophylla © Britt Conley

For the past couple of months I’ve been out and about looking to photograph hydrangeas.  What is really wonderful about a thematic project like this is the joy of capturing the growing process at every stage.

Hydrangea © Britt Conley

They start so small but then before you know it their little bud collections begin to burst forth.  You can often find nearly every stage on the same bush.  I find the growth process almost more fascinating than the finished blooms!  Working with a single flower also forces one to notice all those variations between them: the colorings, the growth patterns and the structure.

Hydrangea Gakuajisai Macrophylla © Britt Conley

Almost everyone can instantly recognize the billowing blue hydrangeas that often decorate our neighborhoods, but did you know how many colors they can come in!  Most of my neighbors love these blue ones in front of my apartment building.

Blue Hydrangea Macrophylla © Britt Conley

But they are completely enamoured by the colorful pink ones! It turns out that depending on the pH in the soil, they can be blue, green, pink, white or even purple!  It all depends on where you plant and how much pH effort you want to go through.

Pink Hydrangea Macrophylla © Britt Conley

There are also many different varieties of Hydrangea!

Hydrangea Gakuajisai Macrophylla © Britt Conley

I particularly love these Lacecaps where the flowers emerge at the tips!

Hydrangea Gakuajisai Macrophylla © Britt Conley

Another great variety is the cone shaped Paniculata.

Paniculata Hydrangea © Britt Conley

I came upon these at Lewis Ginter the Memorial Day Weekend.

Paniculata Hydrangea © Britt Conley

But these are not the only white hydrangeas, there are plenty of others, like the Limelight with their lovely delicately roundish petals.

Limelight Hydrangea © Britt Conley

Considering all the varieties that one can find, this project may take years!

Lacecap Hydrangea Gakuajisai Macrophylla © Britt Conley

I had been photographing these for about six weeks when I stumbled upon an entire forest garden of them at Norfolk Botanical Garden!  Click the link – It’s in bloom right now and driving distance in the Mid-Atlantic!  I will have to head back there within the next couple of weeks!

Hydrangea Macrophylla © Britt Conley

Next time you head out around your block stop over to the neighbors hydrangeas and see if you can spot which type they have.  As for me, despite all the one on one time, I’m still a novice!  But I have grown to appreciate them far more than I ever imagined.  I’ve also started noticing them everywhere.

Hydrangea Quercifolia © Britt Conley

And when I stumble upon colors like this I appreciate the soil’s pH and the probable owner’s effort to get it this way!

Hydrangea © Britt Conley

Of course even without a high pH, hydrangea blooms are beautiful unto themselves.

Hydrangea © Britt Conley

Well, that is one of the things this bee has been up to.  If you know of  a great flower you’d like to see me photographically tackle, let me know!   I would be more than happy to see if I can put together an in-depth photographic package.

‘Til tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The Kaufman Hydrangea Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden
2. The Photo Garden Bee Tours Three Fantastic Gardens across Virginia!
3. Purple Florals Delight

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

Despite having come here nearly once a month for a year now, I have yet to see the garden empty.  In fact it is rare that I’ve been able to photograph the space without someone walking through my frame. I usually wait until people walk behind one the topiary before clicking the shutter.  I say this while laughing because the garden is always busy and with good reason.

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

It’s a fantastic space where kids can run, couples often wander holding hands and families walk together.

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

Longwood describes their garden as, “Evergreen yews clipped into cones, cubes, spirals and other shapes including a chair and table, and birds form a surreal landscape that captures your imagination.”

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

This is as a good description as any.  It’s a wonderfully structured garden and yet full of whimsical animals where you least expect them.

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

Like most topiary gardens, each year they must be trimmed and coaxed into the forms they will take over the next few years.  Each year more and more foliage fills the gaps.  Longwood does all their trimming each year in July and August.  I would love to come photograph it.

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

The Topiary Garden is a fantastic place for hide and seek.  There is even an overlook area with benches.

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

The garden is also a stunning place for photographers.  I haven’t spent the time here that I would like.  Perhaps this year I’ll give it the attention it deserves.  In the mean time this gives you an overview of what one can expect from a grand DuPont garden.

Longwood Topiary Garden © Britt Conley

I you plan a trip to Pennsylvania to see Longwood make sure not to miss this lovely garden area.  It’s the first garden area on your left when you come through the visitor’s center.  On top of that, it opens into the Rose Garden!

Just one more reason to visit Longwood this year!  For more information visit www.Longwoodgardens.org

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. Part IV: The Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens
2. The Siberian Irises at Longwood Gardens!
3. The Topiary Park where Art meets Garden

Kitchen Garden at Monticello © Britt Conley

Little did I know I would be stumbling upon a phenomenal opportunity to see the garden first hand from one of the gardeners : Pat Brodowski.  Although she has only been there a short time, the director of the gardens, Peter Hatch has certainly taught her well.  Her insight and verbal history was wonderful and gave this Bee just what she needed to help share Monticello with all of you.

Pat Brodowski © Britt Conley

There is also a garden assistant : Katen Reynolds who similarly spends her days planting and assisting in the maintenance of the garden.

The Assistant © Britt Conley

We ran across her several times checking various plant beds.

The assistant in the garden © Britt Conley

One of the first things Pat shared with us were Jefferson’s White Pine Strawberries.  Now, I had never seen one before and couldn’t quite grasp the idea that this strawberry is white when ripe.  Pat was kind enough to pull one off and give me a chance to taste it.  It has a sweet flavor that differs from the regular red strawberries.  Really interesting.

White Pine Strawberry © Britt Conley

Working here on a daily basis must be absolutely amazing!  The garden is plum full of Jefferson’s own experimental cultivations.  Many of which were either new to America or brought back from the Lewis and Clarke Expedition.  Peter Hatch explains in his book The Garden’s of Thomas Jeffferson’s Monticello, that for Jefferson, the massive garden, ”was a botanic garden, an experimental station, and Ellis Island of new and unusual introductions from around the world.” These, he adds, “were probably first grown in the New World by Jefferson himself.”

Garden © Britt Conley

One of the interesting vegetables we encountered was the Purple Carrot!  Once peeled, the purplish skin, reveals a more yellow-orange color underneath.  Pat was kind enough to pull one up for us.  I didn’t expect this but boy am I glad she did!

Purple Carrot © Britt Conley

The purple carrot wasn’t the only purplish plant that was new to this Bee.  We also took a visit over to the blue pea pods.  Jefferson loved his peas and cultivated this Blue Pod Pea, also known as Blue pod Capucijners.  It can look purple as well in just the right light.  It was just one of some thirty types of peas that Jefferson experimented with.

Blue Pea Pod © Britt Conley

Despite the amazing color, once cut open, the pod produces peas that look like any other.  These particular ones however, Pat explained, are not necessarily the best tasting.

Blue Pea Pod © Britt Conley

Jefferson also loved Sea Kale, a rarity in American gardens.  It can be found overseas on Northern European Coasts and the Baltics.  Here they use clay blanching pots to block the chlorophyll process. The resulting, “blanched” leaves provide far more flavor than those left alone.

Sea Kale also known as Crambe maritima © Britt Conley

One of the great things about tending to Jefferson’s garden is that much of everything he did was painstakingly written down.  The French Artichokes, Pat explained, “were planted by Jefferson on March 19th and harvested on July 6.  This year however, we planted them on March 22 and it’s May 31st and the artichokes are already budding!”  This is just one of the signs of the crazy weather pattern Monticello has had to endure this year.  It was 90 in April followed by freezes this year.

French Artichoke © Britt Conley

Another first for me was seeing French Lavender!  How lovely it’s short floral tops are.

French Lavender © Britt Conley

It really looks nothing like the more familiar English Lavender.

Lavender © Britt Conley

Jefferson’s garden is absolutely immense!  Despite the sheer width of the rows and rows that cover the area, the lengthy entirety of the garden runs 1000 feet!

Rows and Rows © Britt Conley

One just can’t get an image of the entire area without moving up and above!  Below is just a small portion.  Of course Jefferson had one way of dealing with the sizeable logistics of envisioning his garden at once.  He built his beloved brick room smack dab in the middle of it.

Jefferson's favorite garden © Britt Conley

From here, he could think and write about his garden from a perfect shaded view.

Jefferson's home away from home © Britt Conley

All four sides of the structure have large windows so that he could not only see both left and right of the spatial vegetation in front of him, he could also look behind to view the vineyard and fruit trees below.

Jefferson's home away from home © Britt Conley

According to the Monticello website, the pavilion, has, “double-sash windows, Chinese railing, and pyramidal roof” and, “… was used by Jefferson as a quiet retreat where he could read in the evening. It was reputedly blown down in a violent wind storm in the late 1820′s. The pavilion was reconstructed in 1984 based on Jefferson’s notes and archaeological excavations.”   I found it was teaming with people all day!   Many of whom were absolutely enamoured by the personal nature of the building.

Jefferson's home away from home © Britt Conley

If you are going to visit Virginia and want to be a part of American Garden History, visit Jefferson’s garden at Monticello.  As you can see there is plenty to stroll through and the views are stunning!  They have great garden tours that you can easily get tickets for.  And I can highly recommend Peter Hatch’s book: The Gardens of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.  You can pick one up in the Monticello Museum Store where there are also plenty of other garden books, including Jefferson’s own!

The Monticello Garden © Britt Conley

Erika and I were here for hours and didn’t even get a chance to do the house tour!  But then again we were a bit preoccupied with the fruits of Jefferson’s favorite past time.

Monticello © Britt Conley

I can’t wait to come back and see the inside of Monticello and get a far better comprehension of Jefferson’s daily life.  For now I’ll just have to think of him looking out at this view and turning around to tend to his garden.

The view from Monticello's Heritage Vegetable Garden © Britt Conley

I want to thank Pat one more time for taking twenty minutes to offer some personal insight into Jefferson’s plant selections.  One of the first questions I asked was, what happens to the vegetables after they are picked?  She replied that this is one of the first and most frequent questions she always gets.  ”The Gardens Produce,” she explained, “goes to the store Food of All Nations, the Cafe, staff and seed production.”  Funny enough, It wasn’t long before I overheard someone else ask her the very same question!

Well I could do many more posts on this amazing place.  I certainly will have to come back and soon!  I hope you enjoyed this look at Jefferson’s vegetable garden and find a way to come here for yourself!  It’s well worth the trip!

For more information on the garden visit http://www.monticello.org/gardens/index.html

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The Photo Garden Bee Tours Three Fantastic Gardens across Virginia!
2. The Kaufman Hydrangea Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden
3. The Lurie Garden, a great garden for Spring and every other season.

Blue Poppy © Britt Conley

Over the past month and a half or so I’ve been on the photographic-prowl for Poppies.  They come in nearly every color, but Blue may just be my favorite.  Yellows are pretty swank too.  Imagine a blue and yellow bouquet!

Pink Poppy © Britt Conley

Although the pink ones are some of the best to photograph, how often do you come upon a field of blue poppies?  Not often.  I came upon these below at Longwood gardens in Pennsylvania just the other week.

Poppies © Britt Conley

To me, red poppies are like little flames of summer.

Poppy © Britt Conley

Despite how beautiful the cray paper petals are I am transfixed by the even cooler buds!  They are fascinating.

Poppy © Britt Conley

As they grow the petals evolve into furry little petal buds.

Poppy © Britt Conley

There is a magnificence in a poppy’s structure that is superbly offset by its winged petals.

Poppy © Britt Conley

And when they are in full bloom, boy what a site!  One of my favorites is the poppy-flowered anemone.  This one below is called Mister Fokker.

Poppy © Britt Conley

In every color poppies are lovely.  According to Wikipedia there are numerous types including:

• Papaver – corn poppy, Opium poppy, Oriental poppy, Iceland poppy, and about 120 other species
• Eschscholzia – California poppy and relatives
• Meconopsis – Welsh poppy, Nepal poppy, and relatives
• Stylophorum – Celandine-poppy or wood-poppy
• Argemone – Prickly-poppy
• Romneya – Matilija poppy and relatives
• Canbya – Pygmy-poppy
• Stylomecon – Wind-poppy
• Arctomecon – Desert bearpaw-poppy
• Hunnemannia – Tulip poppy
• Dendromecon – Tree poppy

Poppy © Britt Conley

It’s late Spring and poppy time.  Next time you see one.  Think about getting up close and personal.

Poppy © Britt Conley

It’s a great bloom to photographically explore.  I captured this one at Monticello this past weekend.

Poppy © Britt Conley

You don’t have to traverse the world to find these great gems, sometimes you just need to visit a local florist!

A day at Arlingtons Farmer's Market © Britt Conley

Hope you are having a wonderful week and looking forward to a great weekend…

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The first official day of Summer!
2. Community Gardens by guest blogger Karon Flage!
3. A Perfect Bloom for The Photo Garden Bee!

Wordless Wednesday © Britt Conley

Related posts:

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