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“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” ― Michael Pollan Many years ago, my mother brought me some columbine seed from her home in Vernon, BC. She referred to them as… Read More
“They say you start weaving clearer, sharper memories after you’ve been to a place at least twice. Because then the reflection is more of validation. Let the rush come to you and let your senses be flushed the first time. There will be time for reflection after you’ve had your fill.” ― Psyche Roxas-Mendoza For the past few days, I have been focussing my attention on the rhododendron in our backyard garden…. Read More
“Grace is neither gentleness nor fragility. Grace is treating yourself, others, and even inanimate objects with respect.” – Kamand Kojouri This is the image I was after when I made the image in my previous post. This is my first year planting rhododendrons and I’m not sure why I did not do it earlier. They are absolutely stunning to look at, and loaded with large beautiful blossoms, which seem to remain for… Read More
“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” ― Ray Bradbury I went out this morning to photograph my rhododendrons, which are now in full bloom and was greeted by a hungry bee, who was busy flying from blossom to blossom, completely laden with pollen. I’m usually a bit skittish around bees, yet having camera in… Read More
“What we do see depends mainly on what we look for. … In the same field the farmer will notice the crop, the geologists the fossils, botanists the flowers, artists the colouring, sportsmen the cover for the game. Though we may all look at the same things, it does not all follow that we should see them.” ― John Lubbock This was, at one time, yet another ‘mystery’ plant that came from… Read More
“I think I like wildflowers best,” I explain. “They just grow wherever they want. No one has to plant them. And then their seeds blow in the wind and they find a new place to grow.” ― Rebecca Donovan The first wave of pinks is on its way. Dame’s Rocket looks a lot like garden phlox. In fact, at one time I used to call it phlox. Around here it varies from… Read More
“If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring.” ― Victor Hugo This flower is my sure sign of spring. Though it was a bit late this year, due to cooler, wetter days, it still managed to bloom in May. There always seem to be a few hardy specimens that bloom early, despite cooler weather. May is a busy month of celebrations… Read More
Nikon D800 Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm 1/125 sec, f/7.1 ISO 100
“The early dew-falls that did a pristine coating, over the woods with its finest transparency, glazed as like its wet white-glassy earrings that hung on the ears of wild flowers—unlatched my fancy.” ― Nithin Purple The spring flowers continue, including fresh strawberry blossoms in the backyard. The plants are volunteers, likely from seeds deposited by a bird. The plants have spread throughout a corner of the garden and have in past years produced… Read More
“Forget-me-nots… She loved those flowers more than any other in their big beautiful garden or in the whole wide world for that matter. They were sky blue, just like his eyes, they held a promise… Forget me not.” ― Melanie Sargsian Well, here I am, back to living flowers. It can be partially attributed to the rain finally letting off, for today at least. It’s been terribly wet this spring, and even… Read More
“The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is – to bloom.” ― Yevgeny Zamyatin It’s hard to believe that May is almost over. It seemed a long time coming and has passed all too quickly. I also tend to measure time in familiar events. An example is tied directly to lilacs. When my wife and I married twenty-six years ago,… Read More
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche I came across yet another near-expired tulip. This one’s petals reminded me of a dancer ,with arms outstretched to the sky, spinning and dancing in the sun. It would appear a final flourish is in order. Nikon D800 Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm 2.0 sec, f/36.0 ISO… Read More
Tiarella condifolia The above is another of what I categorize as the ‘second’ wave of spring blossoms. This, like the others I’m posting are predominantly white. The foamflowers are quite abundant this year. I really had no idea how beautiful they were till I got in close. Nikon D800 Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm 1/80 sec, f/16.0 ISO 400 or more images like this, please visit my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming or… Read More
Cardamine piphylla With rainy days, busy workdays, as well as event filled weekends, I seem to have missed several days of spring blossoms. Despite this, the ‘next wave’ of blossoms is now starting to show. These tend to be primarily white flowers, starting with trilliums, which are well advanced as I write this. These Toothworts are plentiful, yet I seem to have overlooked them in previous years, unless this is an exceptional cycle… Read More
“Don’t be ashamed to weep; ’tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also. A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does, the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us.” ― Brian Jacques When I see yellow flowers lately, I think of my late father-in-law Maurice. He was a… Read More
“The step that we are on is only a step to the next place, and no step regardless of how massive is ever a destination.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough It’s been cool here the past few days, and the daffodils are still blooming. A handful are still opening. So, I took that as an opportunity to create this image of the daffodil blossom in its various stages of opening. I’m finding this an interesting… Read More
“The flower that wilted last year is gone. Petals once fallen are fallen forever. Flowers do not return in the spring, rather they are replaced. It is in this difference between returned and replaced that the price of renewal is paid. And as it is for spring flowers, so it is for us.” ― Daniel Abraham Several days ago, I posted an image of a plant known as “Dutchman’s Breeches” and mentioned… Read More
“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” ― Pablo Neruda I came across this small shoot, growing from the moss at the base of a tree earlier this week. Though I have no idea what type of plant it may eventually grow into, it was a curiosity to me, especially given it has, what appears to be, as single leaf. The sprout seemed out of place… Read More
“Gardening is akin to writing stories. No experience could have taught me more about grief or flowers, about achieving survival by going, your fingers in the ground, the limit of physical exhaustion.” ― Eudora Welty Here’s another addition to my collection of spring flowers from the garden. It’s becoming a bit of a series that I’m considering naming “Facing the Flowers”. This particular tulip came, as many of our flowers of late have,… Read More
“You are the only guardian of your own truth, so know your truth and protect it at all costs.” ― Gugu Mona This is an older photo which I find myself going back to from time to time. The photo was among the first I made with my then newly acquired 70-200 mm, f/2.8 lens. That lens has been my go-to lens ever since, despite it being quite heavy. It is just… Read More
“Leaf on Log” Here is my entry for Del Monte Y Mar’s Tuesdays of Texture Challenge Week 18 of 2017 I was challenged as to whether or not to post this image, as it is not framed to my satisfaction, and I did not want to edit it extensively and I was not happy with the various crops I attempted. Despite this, I was really drawn to the texture of teh complex leaf against the smooth, wet… Read More
“Everyday gratitude sweetens what appears flavorless and brightens all that appears dim.” ― Amy Leigh Mercree Well, it’s another dreary, dull day in my area and I keep going back to a series of daffodil photos I made last week. I believe the variety is called butter and eggs, and I can see why that name was chosen. What really appeals to me about these blossoms is the semi-transparent rear petals. They… Read More
“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” ― Plato This turned out to a very simple image. I was given a few stems of forsythia to transplant in may garden and took the opportunity to make a few photos before they dropped their flowers. I recall having one of these early blooming shrubs in the backyard growing up and then they seemed to vanish for a while. But recently ,… Read More
“If you wish to make anything grow, you must understand it, and understand it in a very real sense. ‘Green fingers’ are a fact, and a mystery only to the unpracticed. But green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart.” ― Russell Page It’s definitely not the most attractive name for this spring garden standard, but there you have it. In my area, there are a few rural properties where the… Read More
“A picture held us captive. And we could not get outside it, for it lay in our language and language seemed to repeat it to us inexorably.” ― Ludwig Wittgenstein I was hoping to get a few more images before the bloodroot stopped blooming and was happy to see I had not missed my chance. I took my portable studio with me in hopes of being able to find a few specimens that lent… Read More
“A little piece of everywhere I go becomes a big part of everything I do.” ― Richie Norton Spring, has to be my favorite time of year. Not just because of the warming weather, but because every day has new discoveries, sometimes many. Having spent most of my life outdoors, I’m finding myself continually amazed at just how much of my world I casually ignored. Becoming a deliberate photographer has transformed my… Read More
“Each beginning is the end of a waiting. We are each given exactly one chance to be. Each of us is both impossible and inevitable. Every replete tree was first a seed that waited.” ― Hope Jahren This photo is now a few days old, but I wanted to go back to it to show the wonderful structure of the bloodroot, a native early bloomer her in southern Ontario. I have a… Read More
“Then came the healing time, hearts started to shine, soul felt so fine, oh what a freeing time it was.” ― Aberjhani Indeed, the entire world around me is greening. The bleak frames of the winter trees now show a soft bloom of pale greens and yellows, as buds begin to open and small leaves begin to emerge from their winter shells. It’s a great time of the year, days, its warming,… Read More
“There’s a lesson in every silence.” ― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel The new life is a thing of wonder to me. After months of cold and snow, fresh sprouts emerge from the earth and trees begin to bud. The dull grays and browns are interrupted with bursts of colour. As I walked to a local forest a few days ago, I was really drawn to these intensely coloured leaves. When the sun hit them… Read More
“Warm Fuzzies of Spring” Here is my entry for Del Monte Y Mar’s Tuesdays of Texture Challenge Week 17 of 2017 I could not help myself with the title of this image of an emerging bud, covered in soft hairs, which actually protect the tender leaves from frosty mornings by retaining warmth. It was also a wonderful, warm spring day, so the warm and fuzzy just made sense. It automatically became my go-to image for… Read More
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