The pleasure of our gardens, part 15

A Garden party /
What started as a trio, grew into a quintet and now is a septet.

As the middle of April approaches, our spring garden is starting to take shape.  And, with the Bay Area sun shining regularly again, it's a matter of days before we welcome the return of our irises and roses.

Yes, spring colors are ready to burst out just in time for Easter.

Calla lily / Its trumpet blooming
and smiling.

Our calla lilies, which started to blossom in mid January, are now in full bloom. What started as a trinity of three (Father, Son and Holy Ghost?) in a calla lily bed anchored by our Japanese maple tree on the right side of our front porch has grown up to become a party of seven (one calla lily for each day of the week, maybe?).  Around the corner from the garden party, the rest of our majestic calla lilies are lined up single-file along the east side of our house with their trumpets all beaming with smiles.

Budding iris / Peaking out
through sword-shaped leaves.

In our backyard garden, our iris bed has been a hub of activity as sword-shaped leaves have grown tremendously during the past month thanks to plenty of rain. The first iris buds protruding through these sword-shaped leaves should start blooming within a week.

Queen Elizabeth rose /
Our first bud is ready
to open any day.

Also, our Queen Elizabeth and Mr. Lincoln rose bushes have shown some budding development after being pruned back for the winter months.

Day-by-day, along with our other rose bushes, they are showing hints that they're ready to blossom.  Once they do, we will be rewarded with a steady stream of colorful roses for days and months to come.

The pleasure of our gardens, indeed.

The pleasure of our gardens, part 7

The beginning of June marks a transitional time for our gardens.  As spring winds down and summer nears, there's a noticeable shift in the composition and colors of the flowers that dot our landscape.

Earlier this month, we bid farewell to the last of our irises and, as of this writing, there are just a few rhododendron still blooming.  It's too bad they can't extend their stay just a little longer ~ both add vibrancy with their respective purple hues ~ but their blooming cycle is limited and, thus, not to be taken for granted.  So, you can imagine my interest in documenting, through pictures, the beauty of both our irises and rhododendrons with their new arrival each spring.

Surprisingly, last weekend, while gardening on the shady, east side of our house, I discovered two late-blooming calla lilies.  I guess they are late bloomers since their prime blooming season starts in late winter and concludes in early spring. Nearby, our fuchsia bush continues an active growth cycle with dozens of colorful blooms, nicely aided by a north-facing, mid-afternoon sunshine that arrives daily almost without fail.

As Bay Area temperatures rise, our rose bushes will produce more blooms.  It also means we'll need to run our water drip system more regularly to keep our rose bushes properly hydrated.  Our rose bushes enjoy a good drink of water ~ and, fortunately, it needn't have to be Perrier or San Pellegrino to keep them happy and healthy.

With summer's arrival on June 21, soon we'll be able to enjoy more of the many beautiful colors produced by our Queen Elizabeth, Mr. Lincoln, Pristine, First Prize, All That Jazz and Angel Face rose bushes.

I've got my digital camera ready to document the welcoming of our perennial friends.  Stay tuned.

Top photo: Fuchsia.  Bottom photo: Queen Elizabeth rose.
Photos by Michael Dickens, 2010.

The pleasure of our gardens, part 6

One of the joys of having a garden filled with perennials is they provide endless photographic opportunities ~ year after year.

The moderate Bay Area climate is great not only for year-round gardening, but also for taking pictures of flowers year-round. Digital photography makes it simple and fun, and enhances their natural beauty.

While photographing our gardens over the past decade has evolved from using color film to today's instant-gratification of digital, it remains a learning process for me.

For the past two and one-half years, I have photographed our gardens using an inexpensive, lightweight Canon PowerShot A570 IS (4X Optical Zoom, 7.1 Mega Pixels) camera. Most of my flower pictures are shot using either the auto focus or landscape setting and, since I shoot mostly during daylight hours, the auto-flash remains turned off.

I try to keep a few, simple things in mind when photographing our flowers:

* Composition and light are vital to a picture's success.

* Frame the shot with the aid of the zoom lens. Some subjects lend themselves to being photographed horizontally while others are better shot vertical.

* Get in close to the subject, even if it means getting down on your hands and knees.

* Experiment with angle, shooting down on the subject or up at it.

* Don't be afraid to move the subject off-center.

* Shoot at sunrise or sunset for scenic value.

Whether it's documenting our new calla lilies blooming in late winter, the arrival of irises in early April, the purple blooms of rhododendrons in May, or the multi-colored varieties of roses throughout summer and autumn, our gardens perennially reward us with colorful scenery.

No matter the time of year, there's always a flower worthy of a good picture.

The pleasure of our gardens

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year."

~ Robert Frost

One of the pleasures gained from owning a home the past decade has been nurturing our perennials. Our front-yard garden includes a rhododendron, a camellia, a fuchsia and lots of calla lilies. Ten rose bushes and a bed of irises line our back yard. There is an azalea bush and lavender bushes, too. Previous owners planted most of it; we're merely the caretakers of their legacy. It has been educational to keep them healthy, and fun to photograph them.

Each of the plants has its own growth cycle during the year. Luckily, there is always something in bloom. Now that the warmer spring weather has arrived, our iris bed has been bursting with activity. By the end of the week, there should be numerous purple and white blooms.

The first rose of the year, a First Prize, bloomed last week. Soon, our other rose bushes will create a palette of pretty colors that will last until November. The camellia tree has been in bloom since Halloween, and our calla lilies have dotted the landscape very nicely since Christmas. Finally, a couple of newly-opened azaleas last week coincided with the playing of the Masters Championship in Augusta, Ga., where azaleas reign supreme.

Our moderate Bay Area weather contributes to year-round gardening and enjoyment. It is true, April showers do bring May flowers ~ and, in another month, it's going to be quite lovely and colorful.