Photo Finish and Prayerful Start

Inspired by a post from Pam @ Digging and Les @ A Tidewater Gardener, I took a look back over my photos from last year and decided to post some of my favorite photos from 2011.

I realize these photos are far from professional, but this is just meant to be a review of my garden as seen through my eyes and the lens of my simple Canon PowerShot camera.  Aside from maybe a little cropping here and there, the photos are just as they came out of the camera.  (I have no clue how to use Photoshop!)  

As we begin the new year, I hope you enjoy this 2011 photo review.

A January Sky

 February's white in snow and bloom

  March blooms and foliage

April's poppy and pond

May's blooms and bees

 

June's color in sky and earth

July's container color

August's daytime reality and nighttime beauty

 

September's butterfly and bloom

October's blue and bright

November's friend

December's cabbage and color

A New Year's Prayer

Happy Gardening in 2012!

Toni :-)

What's Bloomin' - December 2011

It's been a few months since I have participated in Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, so I was excited to have a little extra time to join in this month.

Since we have been hit with a couple of hard freezes in the last few weeks, blooms are in short supply in my perennial gardens, but my containers are full of cool season annuals with colorful blooms.

Instead of just the usual snapshot of pansies growing in containers, I thought I'd fire up the ol' scanner again and show you my blooms from a different perspective.

Here are a couple of scans showing a collection of my 

pansies, violas, cyclamen, and kale.

The pansies and kale can take just about anything our usually moderate winters dish out here in north Texas, so I have cheerful pansy faces smiling at me all winter long and well into spring.   The cyclamen is a little more cold tender, so it needs to be protected when we dip down into the low 20s and teens.  I also use dianthus, parsley, cilantro, lettuce, bok choy, and dusty miller in my winter containers.

If you'd like to see other garden scans I've created, click here.   And if you'd like to learn how you can create some beautiful scans of your own, click here.

Lastly, if you'd like to see what's bloomin' in other parts of the world, visit May Dreams Gardens as Carol graciously hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day each month for gardeners 'round the world who want to share their blooms.

I am also linking with Guest Heart Thursday 

because these pansies have stolen my heart :-)

Join me tomorrow as I look forward to spring blooms through winter foliage...

Toni :-)

What's Bloomin' - March 2011

As I scanned my garden this month to see what's blooming, instead of taking the usual photo of the blooms, I thought I'd use a technique I learned last year for "taking pictures" of flowers without using a camera.

I call it garden scanning.   Click here to learn how.

Here's a scan of what's blooming in my garden this March.

'Ice Follies' Daffodils (Narcissus 'Ice Follies')

Lenten Rose (Hellebore)

Creeping Pholox (Phlox subulata)

Purple Oxalis (Oxalis triangularis)

Louisiana Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

Wood Violet (Viola papilionacea)

Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)

'Oklahoma' Redbud (Cercis reniformis 'Oklahoma')

'Georgia Blue' Veronica (Veronica peduncularis 'Georgia Blue')

*  *  * 

As I look at these blooms, I can't help but think of some of the words to a hymn we sang in church last Sunday...

"Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye"

"There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known"

*  *  *

If you'd like to see garden scans from previous months, click here

Here are a few more photos of what's blooming in my garden...

'Fire Dragon' Shantung Maple
is not just known for its
fall color.

Tiny yellow blooms add spring color, as well.

The delicate white blooms of 
Summer Snowflake
(Leucojum aestivum)
take a spring bow.

'Mellow Yellow' Spiraea is covered with tiny white blooms in early spring, followed by bright chartreuse foliage.

And one more shot of the Lenten Rose.

To see more blooms from around the world,
visit May Dreams Gardens for
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

What wonders are displayed in your garden this month?

Toni :-)

Scans of Autumn

 I couldn't let all of those gorgeous autumn leaves just fall to the ground without first falling on my scanner!

For a list of all of the maples represented in this scan, click here.

'Orange Dream,' Suminagashi,' 'Bloodgood,' and 'Orange Dream.'

Getting a little more creative here ...

'Viridis,' 'Orange Dream,' and 'Suminagasihi' (left)

Virginia sweetspire, 'Little Henry,' 'Bloodgood,' and 'Orange Dream' (right) 

A "starburst" of maples

'Viridis' and 'Sango Kaku'

'Sango Kaku'

Coral Bark Maple

Chinese Pistache

Pistacia chinensis

'Viridis'

'Fire Dragon' Shantung Maple

To see previous scans of my garden, click here

If you'd like to learn more about this fun technique 

to "photograph" your garden, click here

And with that, I must bid...

adieu to autumn and farewell to fall

For it is time to say... 

welcome to winter

Until next time...

Stay warm and happy dreams of spring!

Toni :-)

Garden Scanning Meets Arcimboldo!

Hi Everyone!

I've been hovering over the scanner again this month.   

Inspired by a comment on my

Garden Scans for October 
post, I thought I'd try my hand at a little "Arcimboldo-esk"

    garden scanning.    

I'd like you to meet my latest creation.

I think I'll call him... Mr. Cosmos Punkinhead!

 Mr. Punkinhead is made with a head of Cosmos, eyes of chrysanthemums, nose of pepper, mouth of Hyacinth Bean pod, ears of Strawberry Begonia, neck and arms of a dried Salvia coccinea stem, and hands of 'Sango Kaku' Japanese Maple leaves.

  Ever since I read about the "Picture This Photo Contest" hosted by Gardening Gone Wild,  I've been hooked on scanning the garden!   

Here are my more "reserved" scans for this month.  

Enjoy!

Here's a sampling of the Ligulairas (a/k/a Farfugium) I have growing in my shade garden.   Yellow blooms stand tall above the foliage in late October, early November.   
Just an added bonus!   

This is a great substitute for those of us with hosta envy.  Hostas don't do well in our Texas heat.  And if they survive the heat, the slugs and snails chew them to smitherines!

"Look, ma, no holes in my leaves!"  Yea!!

The Knock Out Rose (Rosa 'Radrazz')

I have to admit that I am (was) not much of a rose fan, until 
The Knock Out Rose came on the scene.
(My apologies to Professor Roush, 
the Anti-Knockout Cultivarist of Garden Musings)
   
I prefer the original single bloom variety designated as an Earth-Kind Rose.   

 Chrysanthemums and Ligularia blooms

This is the Chrysanthemum I call my "Aggie Mum."  (Whoop!) 
It was given to me by my neighbor years ago, who has since passed away, so it is a special plant in my garden.  

The nickname comes from the fact that my husband is an Aggie, and Texas A&M's school color  is...maroon
(Gig 'em!) 

 American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

This is a large deciduous shrub in my shade garden 
loaded down with a snack for the birds.

 Chrysanthemum and Coleus

I just love the way the "Aggie Mums"  combine with the maroon fringes and veins of the Coleus.

 

And finally... 

a fall arrangement of Cosmos, Mexican Mint Marigold, 

Salvia Greggii, and Chrysanthemum 

For a look at previous scans and instructions on how you can create your own works of art, click here 

If you've created a scanning masterpiece, please leave me a comment with a link to your scans.  

I'd love to see what you've come up with! 

Until next time...

Happy Scanning

Toni :-)

Garden Scans for October

Last month I stumbled on a really fun way to take "pictures" of our gardens.   Check out my Garden Scanning post to get all of the details. 

Here are a few of my latest creations...

The 'Elsa Spath' Clematis and Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' were putting on a few final blooms for the year, so I just had to catpure them at a moment in time.  

The nandinas are starting to show some fall color.

And I threw in a few peppers to spice things up :-)

An edible arrangement:    Nandina berries for the birds and a couple Malabar Spinach leaves for me.  

Oh, and a bouquet of Zinnia linearis sets the table.

 

A scan of textures:   'Regal Mist' and 'Lindheimer's' Muhly grasses, 'Helen von Stein' Lamb's Ear, Coleus, Salvia Greggii, and a Chrysanthemum I call my "Aggie Mum."  

 

A soothing scan of Japanese Painted Fern, Nandina, Hydrangea, Ivy and Clematis leaves.

And a "wild & crazy" scan of all of the aforementioned ...

                    and then some.  

I learned about this technique at Gardening Gone Wild.  There's just one more day to enter the Picture This Photo Contest for October 2010!

I hope you give it a try!

Until next time...

Happy Garden Scanning

Toni :-)