Hagoromo, Royal Silver and St. Tropez – Intermediate Incurve Chrysanthemums

Intermediate Incurve Chrysanthemums are similar to the Irregular Incurve Mums. The big difference is that blossoms have shorter petals and overall the flowers have a more open center and look than the Irregular Incurve Mums do.

Last year, I posted some photographs of several Hagoromo Intermediate Incurve Chrysanthemums. I photographed more Hagaoromo’s this year, in addition to two other varieties of this wonderful class of mums.

Hagoromo Intermediate Incurve Chrysanthemums. I love the shades of pinks and purples in these mums.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

The Royal Silver Intermediate Incurve Chrysanthemums have similar colors to the Hagoromo  – with more white. The Hagoromos tended to be more compact than the Royal Silvers I saw.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

And finally the St.Tropez Intermediate Incurve Chrysanthemums – with a wonderful combination of maroon and gold colors.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

My last stop on my trip west was at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. I spent part of a day in the South unit of the park near Medora. It’s definitely a park I want to revisit. By this point in the trip I”d been on the road for 2+ weeks and was getting rather tired. So when the weather wasn’t very good I spent more time than usual at my hotel curled up with a book rather than out exploring and photographing.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park has the wonderful combination of spectacular scenery and lots of history. Located in the badlands of North Dakota, this is the place that helped shape many of Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas about conservation and nature.

One of the great surprises for me at the park was the wild horses. Like the ponies at Chincoteague, these horses aren’t native to the area – instead they are descended from escaped domesticated horses. There is currently a herd of up to 110 feral horses in the park. I was lucky enough to see several of them in a fog bank early in the morning.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I did find several wildflowers to photograph at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Since the environment was so different in Roosevelt than in the other parks I visited, it was nice to see some more new-to-me wildflowers

Gumbo Lily – Oenothera caespitosa – a member of the evening primrose family

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Scarlet gaura – Gaura coccinea – another member of the Evening Primrose family

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Leafy spurge – Eupohrobia esula – a non-native member of the spurge family. Leafy spurge is native to Europe and Asia. It arrived in the US in the early 19th century and has since spread across much of the northern part of the country. The USDA has declared leafy spurge to be an invasive species. It is an aggressive toxic plant that once established very difficult to eliminate.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

My current plans for 2012 trip west have me visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park on my way west – rather than on my way back home. So hopefully I’ll be more ready to do some serious photography there on my next visit!

Wildflowers at Glacier National Park

I didn’t find very many wildflowers to photograph at Glacier National Park when I visiting in June. Probably had something to do with all that snow . . . However, I did lover the ones I found. Seeing (and photographing) the alpine wildflowers at Glacier National Park is on my to-do list for 2012.

Here are some of the wildflowers I photographed in Glacier National Park

Striped Coral Root Orchid – Corallorhiza striata -  a wonderful native orchid I spotted while driving to lunch one day

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Beargrass – Xerophyllum tenax – a member of the lily family . Both elk & bighorn sheep graze on the flowers

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Alpine Paintbrush – Castilleja rhexifolia – a relative of the Orange Paintbrush I photographed in 2010 in Colorado.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Pasqueflower – Anemone patens – a member of the buttercup family

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Links Post – November 4, 2011

Lotus Blossom IV © 2011 Patty Hankins

Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week – hope you enjoy them as well

Photography and Art Links

Photo Blog has Tragic Beauty

Mail Online has It’s not exactly compact’: Six-foot long camera produces pictures that remain sharp at 30-feet long

Photography by Alan Majchrowicz has Winter Photography Tips and Tricks/ Part One

The Washington Post has Photographers’ association challenges D.C. regulations

Enlightened Images has When Pre-Visualization meets Reality

Flowers, Trees and Plants Links

Miami Herald has A Hollywood woman’s oceanfront garden  tolerates salt, wind and sun

USDA has The Science of Autumn Colors

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

Mother Jones has Let’s Not Mine Uranium in the Grand Canyon

Refuge Watch has Canaan Valley NWR Gets 325-acre Addition

AZCentral has Major development planned just outside Grand Canyon

National Parks Traveler has President Obama Uses Antiquities Act To Create Fort Monroe National Monument, More Groups Sue National Park Service Over Big Cypress National Preserve Management Plan, BioBlitz Turns Up More Than 850 Previously Undetected Species in Saguaro National Park , Chair Of House Subcommittee On National Parks Calls Parks, Other Federal Lands Unconstitutional and Stretches Of Blue Ridge Parkway To Be Closed For Months For Work on Historic Guardrails

Wildlife Links

National Parks Traveler has Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gets Approval For Elk Management Plan.

BBC News has Biomimicry: Beaks on trains and flipper-like turbines

Tree Hugger has Uncovered Film Footage Offers Rare Look at an Extinct Bird (Video)

Washington Post has Workers find 16-foot python that had just eaten an adult deer in the Florida Everglades and Deep reef ‘twilight zones’ slowly yield their secrets to explorers

Ice News has Outright puffin hunting ban suggested in face of population  crisis

Wildlife Extra has Worst ever year for rhino poaching in South Africa

Environment

Sustain A Blog has Map Shows Who Gets Screwed by Climate Change, Who Doesn’t

The New York Times has Catastrophic Drought in Texas Causes Global Economic Ripples

Cool Green Science has Seven Tips for a “Greener” Holiday

National Parks Traveler has Science Takes A Hit In President Obama’s 2012 Budget

The Christian Science Monitor has The new water wars? Study shows broad decline in Rockies snowpack

If you’re in the DC area – I hope you’ll join me and other flower lovers at our DC Flower Safari Meetups. Next one is scheduled for November 20t h, you can find me at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington DC. Hope to see you there!

Links – October 21, 2011

Small Purple Fringed Orchid © 2011 Patty Hankins

Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week – hope you enjoy them as well

Photography and Art Links

Dan Williams Bird Photography has Using Fall Color in Your Photographs, and Catching Hummingbirds……or not.

John Nack on Adobe has The Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has National Park Service Taking Public Comment on Proposal For Cesar Chavez Unit Of the Park System, The Major Road Project That Restored a Park,  Call To Action: Building A $1 Billion Endowment For The National Parks,  How Many Elk Does it Take to Make a Jam?,   Groups Urging Obama Administration To Protect The “Greater Canyonlands” Region Near Canyonlands National Park, and Call To Action: Updating The Leopold Report For National Parks in the 21st Century

Wildlife Links

The New York Times has Climate Change Is Shrinking Species, Research Suggests and Salmon-Killing Virus Seen for First Time in the Wild on the Pacific Coast

BBC Nature News has In pictures: Keeping big cats at bay

National Geographic has Pictures: Baby Gorilla Rescued in Armed Sting Operation

The Washington Post has Asian bug that eats the dreaded, invasive kudzu vine also finds soybeans yummy

Times has The Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda

Environment

Slate has From Dung Power to Solar Power

The Washington Post has Tuvalu fresh water crisis may point to global problems for low-lying islands as oceans rise and US congressmen from RI, Mass. introduce legislation to make Blackstone Valley national park

Tree Hugger has Ask Pablo: Are Food Trucks Greener Than Restaurants?

Greg Laden’s Blog has Gobal Warming is Melting the Ice Caps

The New York Times has 36 Lawmakers Berate State Dept. on Pipeline

If you’re in the DC area – I hope you’ll join me and other flower lovers at our DC Flower Safari Meetups. Next one is scheduled for October 22 at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA. Also, on November 20th, you can find me at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington DC. Hope to see you there!

Links – September 9, 2011

Slipper Orchid © 2011 Patty Hankins

Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week – hope you enjoy them as well

Photography and Art Links

Marc Schacter has Am I a Photographic Cheat?  at the Luminous Landscpae

Mail Online has ‘The noise rang in my head for hours’: Incredible photos of 1.3million geese taking off on their migration home

PetaPixel has Swedish Wildlife Photographer of the Year Admits to Faking Photos

Pixiq has Wildlife Photo-Faker – LYNXED

Flowers, Plants & Gardening Links

Mother Nature Network has Record droughts in Florida fuel spread of invasive plant Melaleuca

BBC has Plant has evolved a specialist bird perch

Washington Gardener has Landreth Seed Company Needs Our Help! part 1    and part 2

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has Canadian Charged With Spray Painting Names Over Famous Rock Outcrop In Grand Canyon National Park, Many National Parks Get The Indian Story Wrong, and National Park Service Working With IUCN To Bolster National Park Protection World-Wide

National Geographic has Top 10 Issues Facing National Parks

Wildlife Links

Eureka Alert has Warming streams could be the end for salmon

National Parks Traveler has Where Can You See Wildlife Right Now: Elk At Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Birding in the National Parks: Fall Migration’s On the Way

UPI has Turtles surviving by changing habitats

Washington Post has  Marine mammal experts from Calif. to build Hawaiian monk seal “emergency room” in Kailua-Kona

The Telegraph has Island species ‘sliding towards extinction’

Environmental Issues Links

NYTimes has Fears in Miami That Port Expansion Will Destroy Reefs

Houma Today has Most Americans say saving coast is federal government’s responsibility

Wonderful Water Lilies

I love photographing water lilies!!!! Several of the local botanical gardens have displays of water lilies during the summer months. The ones at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania are always spectacular. This year I finally managed to visit when a few of the Victoria Water lilies were in bloom.

Here are some of the varieties I photographed at Longwood this year.

Longwood Hybrid Water Platter – a Victoria Water Lily. The Victoria Water Lilies are known for their large green leaves that float at the surface of the water.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Santa Cruz – another Victoria Water Lily

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I also photographed several water lilies belonging to the Nymphaea genus.

Mrs. George C. Hitchcock – a tropical night flowering water lily

© 2011 Patty Hankins

St. Louis Gold – a tropical day flowering water lily

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Sturtevant – a tropical night flowering water lily

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Trudy Slocum – a tropical night flowering water lily

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Rose de Noche – a tropical night flowering water lily

© 2011 Patty Hankins

And Chromatella – a hardy day flowering water lily

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I’m hoping to visit Kenilworth Gardens in DC in the next few weeks – their water lilies should be blooming. And from what I’ve heard they have a very impressive display of Victoria Water Lilies! I’ll let you know what I find!

Why Photograph Flowers?

Western Blue Flax © 2010 Patty Hankins

One of the questions I get asked on a pretty regular basis is – why do I photograph flowers? Which is often followed up with – why do I have photos of so many wildflowers and don’t have photos of some of the more popular cut flowers?

Part of the answer is very simple – I love flowers. I love the colors, the shapes, the textures. And whoever said that if you love what you do – you’ll never work a day in your life – was absolutely correct. I never feel like I’m working when I’m in nature photographing.

But there’s more to it than that. Recently, I’ve realized that when I’m photographing I feel a sense of calm and peace that I find at no other time in my life. Nothing relaxes me more than to be surrounded by flowers looking for the perfect image to capture with my camera.

As I look at the flowers through my lens so often I’m in total awe at the incredible beauty and intricate details that I’m seeing. Even more amazing to me is the fact that the colors and structures serve the purpose of attracting just the right pollinator to the flowers to ensure the future of the species.

Yellow Trillium & Purple Phacelia © 2009 Patty Hankins

I also find an amazing connection to the greater natural world when I’m photographing. Not only do I see the flowers – but also the settings where they are. I’m often photographing in the mountains, or alongside a stream. I can hear the birds singing in the trees, the insects buzzing, the wind rustling through the leaves.

So for me – photographing flowers – especially wildflowers – gives me the chance to connect with nature, be inspired by the beauty I see, and be in a state of calm and peace. It is my hope, that through my photographs, you too can experience the same wonderful feelings of connection, inspirations, calm and peace that I experience when I’m photographing.

I’d love to hear why you enjoy flowers and spending time in nature. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments below or on Facebook.

Dutchman’s Breeches – Dicentra cucullaria

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Dutchman’s Breeches (dicentra cucullaria) is one of the spring wildflowers that I found in several places this spring – which let me get some wonderful detailed photographs of them. The name refers to the way that the blossoms hang from the stalk and that it resembles the way Dutch men’s pants look  hanging on a line to dry.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Dutchman’s Breeches are a member of the Fumariaceae (bleeding heart) family – so they are related to Bleeding Hearts and Squirrel Corn. Here in the Washington DC area it blooms in late March and early April. They are native to much of the eastern US and Canada, plus Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Dutchman’s Breeches grow up to 10 inches high – with multiple blossoms hanging from each stalk. There is a cluster of deeply cut fern like leaves under the stalks with the flowers. The plants spread quickly so it’s not uncommon to find large masses of Dutchman’s Breeches.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Dutchman’s Breeches are commonly found in the woods. They prefer sun to part shade – so bloom before the leaf cover fills in. They also prefer a moist, humus rich soil.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I’ve found a couple of references to medicinal uses for Dutchman’s Breeches. It could be used as a love charm – either by throwing it at the person you’re interested in – or by chewing on the roots and breathing on the person. The leaves were used to help strengthen runner’s legs.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

If you’d like more information about Dutchman’s Breeches, you can find some online at

Flora of North America

Kemper Center for Home Gardening

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Native American Ethnobotany

Robert W. Freckman Herbarium – UW Stevens Point

University of Washington Herbarium

USDA Plant Profiles

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.