October Blooms Around Rosehaven Cottage

Since the garden has decided to act like it's spring instead of fall, I decided to just embrace it, photograph it, and share it.

Just last week I commented on Jeanette's photo of her wild iris that I haven't been able to get a good photo of ours that look the same (we call them "fortnight lilies", but I'm probably wrong on that). Then yesterday, I was surprised to find that ours was blooming again. The autumnal light made shooting the white flower much easier than it usually is and I was very pleased to finally have a photo that shows its lovely contours.


The "Gold Medal" rose lives right by the "fortnight lily" (please correct me if I'm getting this wrong), and the older pale yellow blooms looked stunning against the blue sky. I didn't doctor this photo in post-processing either. This is how the photo was shot. I love how the blooms of the "Gold Medal" change colors throughout their life. It makes for a multi-shaded display all on one bush.


The blue sky also looked great over my lovely purple roses that look a lot like "Angel Face" but aren't (the tag fell off this one so now it's a mystery rose). This thing is SO tall right now! The blooms at the top of the canes are about 7 feet tall. I shot this at my full height of 5 foot 2 looking up at them. And I didn't doctor this photo in post-processing either.

I moved to the back garden to look for more photographing opportunities and found many. Probably the only flowers that I expect to see in my October garden are residing in the back. One of the blooms I love in autumn is the diminutive "Cardinal Climber" from the ipomoea (Morning Glory) family. Each scarlet bloom is less than 1 inch in diameter yet they have such detail.


The honeybees and bumblebees are loving all the October flowers. The newly blooming "Cosmos" were being visited by a honeybee or two.


But the majority of the pollinator activity was occurring on the other side of the back garden at the "Pineapple Sage" (from the salvia family) that is in full bloom with its scarlet trumpets. One big fat black bumblebee buzzed from blossom to blossom so quickly that it was hard to photograph it. I did get a couple of good shots, thankfully. I wonder if the nectar tastes like pineapple as much as the leaves smell like pineapple...

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It's That Time of Year Again...

It's that time of year again when I need to be thinking about laying out calendars so everyone that wants one can get one before the first of next year. September seems to be a good month to do that.

Today, I laid out the first of the 2009 calendars. It's called "Cute as a Bug" and has a collection of my photographs in it that feature beautiful insects (nothing scary or gross for the squeamish).

Cute as a Bug 2009 Calendar

I'd really like your feedback on this calendar and also some suggestions on calendars you'd like to see me lay out based on what photographs or art you've like from the blog and whatnot. I'd love to hear from all of you and can't wait to read your suggestions!

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Weird Wisteria and Territorial Dragonflies

Even though it's a scorcher of day outside, I had to go out and photograph my weird wisteria and share. I don't think I've ever known a wisteria to bloom twice in a year. It bloomed earlier this spring and then I guess it's decided that it's time to bloom again. This is such an odd wisteria. I've had it for over five years and it's only bloomed once before this--in September of 2006. Maybe it's making up for lost time? Regardless of the wisteria's weirdness, Mr. Bumblebee seems quite happy at the unseasonable bloom.

While I was photographing the wisteria, I noticed this gorgeous dragonfly buzzing around the pond. Usually we have more dragonflies than we do this year, so it was a pleasant sight to see. It lighted on one of the drip-mist heads on the edge of the pond and let me get very close for some shots (click on the image to enlarge).

The only time it would fly away was when another dragonfly would come flying around the pond. Then this one would take off and chase the other dragonfly away. Once the trespasser was gone, my subject would light on the sprinkler head again. It was quite interesting to witness this territorial display. I'm used to hummingbirds being like this but not dragonflies, as they usually hunt in a cooperative darting canopy on summer evenings over the garden.

I sat back in my chair under the plum tree only a foot or two from the brave little dragonfly and watched. Over and over, I would see the other dragonfly come into the pond area. If the trespasser stayed behind a screen of one of the potted plants, my subject would stay content on the sprinkler. But as soon as the trespasser came within my subject's line of sight, it would take off and chase the trespasser away--over and over, again and again.

So maybe this is why we don't have as many dragonflies this year.

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