No, I am not at the Olympics. I am still firmly planted in New Jersey. I have seen numerous blog posts about the Topiary Gardens in Beijing. I searched on Google pretty carefully and think this is the place for you to view all the other photos. I have always been a big fan of the topiaries in the English Cotswolds. Not so sure about these. I don't think they were designed to be amusing but some are!
I stopped my car yesterday on the way to the library in Madison to photograph this huge flower. It is much bigger than a dinner plate ~ round platter size at least! It must be a hibiscus but this puzzles me because it was planted in the ground. I am quite sure that it won't survive the cold New Jersey winters. The house was a 19th century Victorian and I did not see a greenhouse on the property. Maybe the owner cuts them back and overwinters the numerous plants somehow. Good for her. I am much too lazy to bother with anything that needs coddling.
STAMPS
I love backlit photos. Just a simple blade of grass that has gone to seed. Nice!
This will make the birds happy later when I remove the seeds from the dried sunflower that they planted.
Rinsed my feet here. My well water is icy cold. Enjoy your Saturday!
It is going to rain really hard. All the news programs are showing a severe weather watch. The sun came out for just a minute and if you look closely between the tall foreground trees you will see a faint rainbow coming out of the treetops way back. I am fine as long as we don't lose power before I tuck in. Have a great weekend!
I was looking through some of my old photo projects and found this apple floating on an eye dazzling psychedelic background. I deleted the original background on an antique print dated 1804 and placed it on this background that was included in Photoshop Elements. I think I was using version 5.0 when I did this. You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it if you really want your eyes to hurt!
My friend Kelly has this hand-made sampler hanging outside the children's playroom. Even though they are very young, they follow these rules to perfection. I guess you might say they are learning by example from their wonderful parents.
I actually stopped my riding mower yesterday and got off to pick up this beautiful maple leaf. It survived in my big workshirt pocket very nicely until the photography session. I chose a black polar fleece blanket for the background and I am very pleased with the results.
I have tons on cleome or spider plants on my property. They reseed themselves every year.
The seed pods explode and scatter everywhere...or you can gather them and plant them where you really want them. You can mix the seeds or isolate them according to flower color.
Click on the image below and get a full-size image with two (2) seed packets per sheet. No need to use card stock ~ inkjet paper is fine. I love to gather and save seeds. These seed packages make nice stocking stuffers and Christmas card inserts for your gardening friends. Nice way to start a friendship garden. Enjoy and share! 