Engelmann’s Salvia – salvia engelmannii

 

Salvia & Blanketflowers © 2011 Patty Hankins

The Salvia’s are a very colorful diverse member of the Mint (Lamiaceae) family. While I was in Texas earlier this year – I had the opportunity to photograph Engelmann’s Salvia (salvia engelmannii) – which is native only in Texas. When I was photographing these wonderful purple and white flowers – I had no idea that Texas was the only state they grew in – so I’m very glad I spent time photographing so many of them.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Engelmann’s Salvia is named in honor of Georg Engelmann (1809-1884). Born in Germany, Engelmann immigrated to the United States in the 1830s where he practiced medicine. After developing an interest in botanical studies, Engelmann became well-known for his studies including work on identifying cactuses and vines. Engelmann’s reserach on grape vines played a major role in preserving the French wine industry when many vineyards in France were infested with Phylloxera vastatrix, a small insect. Engelmann identified varieties of native to the US grape vines that were resistant to Phylloxera vastatrix and arranged to have millions of shoots  and seeds shipped to France.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Engelmann’s Salvia blooms in the spring. It grows to about 2 feet tall with a single spike of flowers on each stalk. It is also known as Engelmann’s Sage

 © 2011 Patty Hankins

More information about Engelmann’s Salvia can be found at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the USDA Plant Profiles

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Texas Paintbrush – Castilleja Indivisa

© 2011 Patty Hankins

When I was Texas earlier this year, I photographed several Texas Paintbrush (Castilleja Indivisa) plants. A member of the Scrophulariaceae (Figwort) family, they are related to the Orange Paintbrush I photographed in Colorado last summer.

© 2011 Patty Hanknis

Known also as Entire-leaf Indian Paintbrush or Scarlet Paintbrush, these showy wildflowers are native to Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. They are not listed as endangered or threatened any where in their native range.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Texas Paintbrush prefers to grow in sandy soils. It is commonly found in meadows, prairies and along open roadsides.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

The flowers of the Indian Paintbrush are actually small, inconspicuous and green. They are surrounded by the bright red bracts. Together the flowers and bracts form a paintbrush shaped spike that gives the flowers their name.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Texas Paintbrush should be propagated from seeds gathered in the spring when the capsules are dry and brown. The seeds should then be planted the following fall. Transplanting mature Texas Paintbrush plants will kill them.

More information about Texas Paintbrush can be found online at

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

USDA Plant Profiles

New Photo: Salvia and Blanketflowers

Salvia & Blanketflowers © 2011 Patty Hankins

I’ve recently added a new photo – Salvia & Blanketflowers – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.

Yes – another photo of Texas Wildflowers. Whenever I head to a new location to photograph wildflowers I always hope to find a field full of local wildflowers. When I spotted this set of Engelmann’s Salvia (Salvii Engelmannii) and Texas Blanketflowers (Gaillardia pulchella)  I knew I’d found the scene that would represent a field of Texas wildflowers. The Salvia has wonderful shades of purple – that contrast so nicely with the bright yellow & red in the blanketflowers. I just smile everytime I look at this photo – it brings such great memories of the beauty I saw in Texas.

This photograph is available as either a 12 X 18″ or 20 X 30″ gallery-wrapped canvas.  You can order  Salvia & Blanketflowers  from my website.

New Photo: Mexican Hats

Mexican Hats © 2011 Patty Hankins

I’ve recently added a new photo – Mexican Hats – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.

Mexican Hats is the third wildflower photograph from my trip to Texas earlier this year. Also known as Prairie Coneflowers, these bright yellow & red flowers are very common on the Texas Prairie. In large clusters, they create a wave of yellow and red fluttering in the breeze. As I was planning my trip to Texas, I saw photos of the Mexican Hats in my wildflower books – I knew they were going to be one of the flowers that I’d be looking to photograph.

This photograph is available as either a 12 X 15″ or 20 X 26″ gallery-wrapped canvas.  You can order  Mexican Hats  from my website.

Texas Blanketflower – September 2011 Photo of the Month

Texas Blanketflower © 2011 Patty Hankins

In May I was invited to Texas to photograph wildflowers on some private property one of my friends knew about. There were over 600 acres of woods, streams, fields and wildflowers. As you can imagine I spent a few wonderful days photographing there. One of the most common wildflowers in bloom was Blanketflowers – Gaillardia pulchella. I love the bright colors of these wild asters. They are related to the Arizona Sun Blanket Flowers I photographed a few years ago. This was the first of the Texas wildflowers I edited up after the trip – and it’s still one of my favorites.

Until September 30  , 2011, SAVE 20% off the regular prices for Texas Blanketflower. The photograph is available through my website in two sizes of gallery-wrapped canvases.

Save $ 11 on the 10X10″ Canvas – regular price $ 55 – September Photo of the Month Price – $ 44.00

Save  $ 90 on the 20X20″ Canvas – regular price $ 447 – September Photo of the Month Price – $ 357.00

Free shipping to U.S. Addresses for either size photograph.

As with all photographs from BeautifulFlowerPictures.com,  Texas Blanketflower comes with my Unconditional Happiness Guarantee. You have one year to decide that it is the perfect photograph for you. If it’s not, just return it (in original condition) for a full refund.

New Photo: Showy Primrose

 

I’ve recently added a new photo – Showy Primrose – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.

Showy Primrose is the second wildflower photograph from my trip to Texas earlier this year. The Showy Primroses were one of the first wildflowers I saw as I drove north from Dallas. Along the sides of the road I kept spotting these wonderful pink flower fluttering in the wind. Once I actually photographing – I quickly spotted a patch of the showy primroses to focus on. I the love combination of the pinks in the petals, the yellow/green in the center and the white/yellow stamens. The flowers were about 2″ across – so you can imagine how wonderful a large patch of them look blowing in a gentle Texas breeze. As I photographed them, I knew that I’d be printing up at least one of Showy Primrose photos – after all – who can resist pink wildflowers as beautiful as the showy primroses.

This photograph is available as either a 12 X 15″ or 20 X 26″ gallery-wrapped canvas.  You can order  Showy Primrose  from my website.

Texas Wildflowers – part 3

Here are a few more of the wonderful wildflowers I photographed in Texas last month. I always love photographing wildflowers in a new location – so nice to see new to me wildflowers growing in their native habitats.

Engelmann’s Salvia – salvia engelmannii – salvia is a member of the mint family

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Purple Prairie Clover – dalea purpurea – a member of the Bean family

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Stiff Stem Flax – linum berlandieri – related to the Western Blue Flax I photographed in Colorado

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Blanketflower – gailaardia pulchella – related to the Arizona Sun Blanket Flower I photographed in a local garden

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Devil’s Claw – proboscidea louisianica – a member of the sesame family

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Texas vervain – verbena halei – a member of the vervain family. The flowers on Texas Vervain are very small – they are up to 1/4″ across.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some of the wildflowers I photographed in Texas. I’m already trying to figure out when the bluebonnets will bloom there next year. I’m hoping to see and photograph them some day.

Texas Wildflowers – part 2

Here are a few more of the wildflowers I photographed on my recent trip to Texas.

Engelmann’s Salvia & Blanketflowers – What can I say – I just love the look of a field of wildflowers.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Butterfly Weed – Asclepias tuberosa subspecies interior – related to the Butterfly Weed I photographed along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Green Milkweed – ascelpias viridis – like Butterfly Weed – milkweed is a member of the Asclepiadaceae family

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Purple Prairie Coneflowers – echinacea sanguinea – related to the Purple Coneflower I photographed here in the DC area

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Silverleaf Nightshade – solanum elaeagnifolium – related to the Nightshade I photographed at Acadia National Park

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

And finally Texas Frog Fruit – lippia nodiflora – a very small white wildflower, The flowers are about 1/4″ long.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed a few more Texas wildflowers. I”ll be posting a few more to the blog next week.

Texas Wildflowers – part I

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Texas photographing wildflowers. A friend invited me to a wonderful 600 area near Gainesville, Texas set aside for the preservation of wildflowers. I had a wonderful time discovering wildflowers that were new to me – and some that I’m familiar with from other places I’ve photographed.

These are some quick edits of some of my photos. I’ll be editing more photos and posting more information about the flowers – but I thought you might like to see what I”ve been photographing recently.

Texas Paintbrush – castilleja indivisa – related to the Orange Paintbrush I photographed last year in Colorado

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Englemann’s Daisy – engelmannia peristenia – photographed in front of an old stone fireplace

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Prairie Coneflower -  ratibida columnifera – these coneflowers are also known as Mexican Hats

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Showy Primrose – oenothera speciosa

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Erect dayflower – commelina erecta – related to the Asiatic Dayflowers I’ve photographed closer to home

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Milfoil – achillea millefolium

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first look at some of the Texas wildflowers I photographed last week. I’m hoping to post a few more to my blog next week.