Bent Trillium – March 2012 Photo of the Month

Bent Trillium © 2012 Patty Hankins

Trilliums are some of my favorite spring wildflowers. I’m always on the lookout for new-to-me varieties to photograph – and to photograph favorite varieties in new ways. Last spring, I found several Bent Trillium (Trillium flexipes) to photograph at the Crockford Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area in North Georgia. I’d heard about Pigeon Mountain from Gerry Williamson (@USWildflowers  on Twitter). It’s a wonderful place to visit (and photograph). This was my favorite photo of the Bent Trillium that I took that morning.

Until March 31, 2012, SAVE 20% off the regular prices for Bent Trillium. The photograph is available through my website in two sizes of gallery-wrapped canvases.

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

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

Free shipping to U.S. Addresses on all purchases over $ 50.

As with all photographs from BeautifulFlowerPictures.com,  Bent Trillium 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: Bent Trillium

Bent Trillium © 2012 Patty Hankins

 

 

I’ve recently added a new photo –  Bent Trillium – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.

Trilliums are some of my favorite spring wildflowers. I’m always on the lookout for new-to-me varieties to photograph – and to photograph favorite varieties in new ways. Last spring, I found several Bent Trillium (Trillium flexipes) to photograph at the Crockford Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area in North Georgia. I’d heard about Pigeon Mountain from Gerry Williamson (@USWildflowers  on Twitter). It’s a wonderful place to visit (and photograph). This was my favorite photo of the Bent Trillium that I took that morning.

This photograph is available as  either at 10 X 10″ or 20 X 20″ gallery-wrapped canvas.  You can order Bent Trillium from my website.

Wonderful Wildflowers at Thompson Wildlife Management Area

Trillium Grandiflorum (c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Last week, I had the chance to explore the G.R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area in Virginia. Located in Northern Faquier County, the Thompson WMA is less than 90 miles from Bethesda. So easy to visit in a day trip. I’d heard about this area from Elijah Goodwin (@Whimbrelphoto), another photographer in the Washington DC area. Elijah generously shared with me information about what wildflowers were blooming and where to find them.

Showy Orchis (c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Thompson WMA was established when George Richard Thompson donated 4,000 acres of land to the state of Virginia, so that hunters could continue to hunt in the area. What this has meant is that there are now 4,000 acres of land preserved in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Parkway. And in the spring – the woods are full of wildflowers.

Wood Betony (c) 2011 Patty Hankins

In just a few hours the other morning, I saw and photographed numerous species of wildflowers. There were some of the largest patches of May Apples (podophyllyn peltatum) that I’ve ever seen. There were thousands of White Trillium (Trillium Grandiflorum) in the area. I’ve heard that there may be millions of them at Thompson WMA – there are quite literally fields of them. I saw several groups of Showy Orchises (Galearis Spectabilis), as well as Wood Betony (pecularis canadensis), Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubis) and Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides).

May Apple Blossom (c) 2011 Patty Hankins

There are several parking areas that provide easy access to the area. I parked at Stone Ridge Parking Area and found plenty to photograph. I’m told that there are wonderful photographic opportunities at the Trillium Trail parking area as well. Numerous trails run through the WMA, including a section of the Appalachian trail. The trails I hiked last week were in excellent condition and easy hiking.

Trillium Grandiflorum (c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Based on how the peak bloom of wildflowers progresses in the Appalachian mountains, my guess is things will be blooming in the woods at Thompson WMA for a few more weeks. I’m hoping to get back there at least once more this spring to do a little more exploring – and will definitely head back there next year in search of the early spring wildflowers.

New Photo – Catesby’s Trillium II

Catesby’s Trillium II (c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I’ve just added a new photo – Catesby’s Trillium II - to my BeautifulFlowerPictures.com website. Catesby’s Trillium (Trillium catesbaei) is a wildflower I photographed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last spring. I found this particular flower as I was hiking on School House Gap Trail. The blossoms on the Catesby’s Trillium usually nods below the leaves. As the Catesby’s Trillium matures, the blossom turns pink. I photographed a pink Catesby’s Trillium last spring along GoForth Creek in Tennessee. Vasey’s Trillium, another nodding trillium found in the Smoky Mountains, has red petals.

This photograph is available as an 8X18″ and 14X30″  gallery-wrapped canvases.  You can order Catesby’s Trillium II from my website and I will have it available at shows this year.

Smoky Mountain Violets

In the spring, wild violets seem to be everywhere in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are several varieties of violets that grow in the Smokies. I’ve managed to photograph a few of them.

First, some sweet white violets (viola blanda) growing along Porter’s Creek Trail.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Some Northern White Violets (Viola macloskeyi ssp pallens) growing along the Middle Prong Trail

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Some Wooly Blue Violets (Viola sororia) also found along the Middle Prong Trail.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Some Marsh Blue Violets (Viola cucullata) growing along Porter’s Creek Trail

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And finally some yellow violets (not sure which variety) growing among the Trillium, phlox and other wildflowers along the Cove Hardwood Trail.

Trillium and Blue Phlox (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I’m hoping to photograph a few more varieties of violets next spring.

Trillium Cuneatum

This spring, I photographed a type of trillium that I have been having a hard time identifying. I think I’ve finally got it tenatively identified as Trilllium Cuneatum. While several of my wildflower reference books had descriptions of similar trillium, the plants were referred to by several different names, including Toadshade Trillium, Sweet Betsy Trillium, Hugher’s Trillium and Toad Trillium. Usually I’m able to match my photographs with reference photos for a positive idenficiation – but this time I couldn’t find any that look just like my photos.

I finally found a post on the Rurality blog with photos of several differenct Trillium Cuneatum and in every photo, the plant is different. Given the variety of ways that Trillium Ceneatum appears – no wonder I was having trouble identifing it.

Here are a few photos of Trillium Cuneatum. They were taken in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee near Bald River Falls earlier this year.

As you can see, the flowers on the trillium stand straight up, similar to the Yellow Trillium (trillium luteum). The leaves are shades of green.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

If I’ve got this trillium mididentified, please let me know. I’m pretty sure it’s Tillium Cuneatum, but it’s quite possible that it’s another type of trillium.

Catesby’s Trillium – Trillium Catesbaei

In addition to the Vasey’s Trillium, another trillium that I photographed for the first time on my recent trip to Tennessee was Catesby’s Trillium. Like Vasey’s Trillium, the flower on the Catesby’s Trillium is found below the leaves of the plant. The flowers of the Catesby’s Trillium start out white, and turn pink as the blossoms age.

I spotted my first Catesby’s Trillium along Goforth Creek. I was photographing some violets, looked up the hillside and realized that right above me was a trillium I’d never seen. Once I checked my books, I identified it as a Catesby’s Trillium.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

This next photo shows how the blossom hangs down and the petals turn back.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

As I hiked further up the trail, I spotted several more Catesby’s Trillium. This pair were right along side the trail. It was rainy and muddy the day I was hiking along Goforth Creek. I ended up lying in the mud – shooting up to get these last few photos.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

This is my favorite Catesby’s Trillim photo from Goforth Creek – it really shows the detailed beauty of the flower.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

A few days later, I found several more Catesby’s Trillium to photograph along the Schoolhouse Gap Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This flower was a paler pink than the ones I’d seen along Goforth Creek.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

This is the best looking white blossom of a Catesby’s Trillium I was able to photograph on the trip.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The final pair of Catesby’s Trillium were photographed last week in the Fern Valley section of the National Arboretum in Washington, DC. Since the flowers weren’t hanging down, I originally thought they were another variety of trillium. But then I realized that the flowers were being pushed up from below by the next trillium down the hill. The identifying sign at the Arboretum identified these as Trillium Catesbaei. They gave the flower the common name of Rose Trillium rather than Catesby’s Trillium.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

As you can probably tell from the numbers of photos of various trillium that I post, trilliums are one of my favorite spring wildflowers.

Vasey’s Trillium – Trillium Vaseyi

I’m just back from a fantastic trip to Tennessee where I spent more than a week photographing the spring wildflowers. The wildflowers are incredible this year. 2009 was the second year in a row that I’ve attended the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

Last year, I photographed a couple of different types of trillium – the Sweet White Trillium and the Yellow Trillium. This year, I was able to photograph three additional trilliums – Vasey’s Trillium, Catesby’s Trillium and Sweet Betsy Trillium.

Here are some of my photos of the Vasey’s Trillium. These flowers were photographed along the Ash Hopper Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These three Vasey’s Trillium were the only ones I saw all week – and believe me I was looking for them.

Vasey’s Trillium (Trillium vaseyi) are easy to identify. They are the trilliums with the red flowers that hang below the leaves.

The blossoms of the Vasey’s Trillium

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Side view of the blossom

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Side view of the Vasey’s Trillium- the leaves on this trillium can grow quite large

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And finally – a Vasey’s Trillium from above

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I’ll be posting more wildflower photographs from the Smokies in the next few weeks. I had a wonderful time in TN and took lots (and lots) of photos.

New Photos on Our Website – January 28

Update – June 10, 2009 – all my flower photographs have moved to my BeautifulFlowerPictures.com site.

I’ve just added twelve new flower photos to our  Hankins-Lawrence Images website. The new photographs include

Eyeliner Lily

Eyeliner Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Agave Potatorum

Agave Potatorum (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

and Trillum and Blue Phlox

Trillium and Blue Phlox (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

All the new photographs will be available printed on canvas at our shows this spring.

Hope you enjoy taking a look at the new photos.

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Yellow Trillium and Sweet White Trillium in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

I spent part of last week photographing wildflowers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was my first time attending the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage – it definitely won’t be my last. I spent five days learning about and photographing incredible wildflowers.

I started photographing wildflowers last spring on our trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some of my favorite flowers I photographed last year were the White Trillium (they turn pink as they age), Red Trillium and the Painted Trillium.

This year, I was able to photograph two more types of trillium – yellow trillium and sweet white trillium.

I saw yellow trillium in several areas of the park last week. I hadn’t realized that when the yellow trillium blooms – the petals are narrow and erect – rather than spread out on many other types of trillium.
I photographed this yellow trillium on Porter’s Creek Trail.

Yellow Trillium (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Frequently, I saw several yellow trillium plants grouped together. This set of five yellow trilliums were photographed on the Chestnut Top Trail.

Five Yellow Trillium (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

The Sweet White Trillium looks very similar to a White WakeRobin or White Erect Trillium. The difference is that the Sweet White Trillium has a purple center – and a very sweet smell. I photographed this Sweet White Trillium along the Cove Hardwood Trail.

Sweet White Trillium (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

I had a great time photographing the wildflowers in the Smokies. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting more of my wildflower photographs to our blog.

We’ve started printing some of our photographs, including many of my wildflower photos, on canvas and stretching them on stretcher bars. The canvas adds a level of texture and depth to the photos. Some of the flowers are so lifelike on the canvas that it seems as if you can almost pick them. If you’d like to see how they look on canvas, please come see us at one of our shows.