Garden Paradise

Longwood Gardens is the best place to chase away the winter doldrums...

(more on my Longwood Flickr set)

Coral Pea above, a tiny flower from a carnivorous plant below.

A type of beautiful kalanchoe above, lily below. 

(I used my new  macro lens, can you tell:)

A colorful, tropical Aechmea above, several types of orchids below...

Love these pretty salmon and pink primrose below. They had them mixed with a yellow Marguerite daisy and daffodils. Spring bliss!

"I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty."

Georgia O'Keeffe

Canada geese enjoying the sunny day on the lake. 

Owl update. Saw the pair over the weekend, they look happy and healthy.

 Even managed to get a few good photos.

Macro makes me giddy...

I am absolutely gaga over macro! You know, that little flower button on your digital camera that makes super close up photos look amazing? I walk around my garden several times a week (sometimes a day) taking really close up pictures of my flowers. I love to see the fine hairs, the tiny veins, the itsy bitsy spiders.
What's really cool is downloading them to my computer and getting to see all the details you don't normally see with the eye. Mother nature truly is the finest artist around!

On a separate note, I was walking out to the garden today with a clean and newly filled hummingbird feeder when a little female ruby throated hummer stopped me in my tracks and started to drink! My I was so insanely excited, my heart was beating like a, well, hummingbird's! Man, do I wish I had my camera. I'll have to work one getting some photos of these gorgeous birds before the end of summer!

So here's some macro shots - click on each photo for a larger image.







In the studio I've finished a few more pendants for Etsy including one made from a littleTennessee Spinner gourd that I grew in my garden last year! I thought it would only be fitting to paint a pumpkin on it. I have a few more I hope to add to Etsy soon.
And I really like this Unicorn Tapestry inspired pendant too.




Here's to a wonderful weekend! I'll be finishing up a harvest moon welcome sign for EHAG's August challenge.