A Royal Blossom

Royal Heritage Hellebore at Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison Wisconsin

Royal Heritage Hellebore © 2011 Bo Mackison

I wasn’t familiar with this plant when I saw it in the perennial gardens at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, but it is the Royal Heritage Hellebore, a handsome plant, very bushy, about eighteen inches high. This flower has many shades of a rosy pink, but the plants’ colors range from a green tinged white to a nearly black-red.

I did a bit of research — seems this plant is also called the Lenten Rose in the northern states and the Christmas Rose in the warmer states. It’s an early bloomer, and often blooms in late December or January in the southern tier of states, regions that get winter rains, not snow. In colder areas, the Hellebore blooms several months later, often in March or April or during the Lenten season.

This year, due to our late-blooming season, the Hellebore bloomed well after Lent, sporting think clumps of flowers in late April and much of May. Since the flowers are long-lasting and early bloomers, I’m surprised this plant isn’t seen in more gardens. I have an open space in my perennial garden–might just give this beauty a try.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is thankful that the spring flowers are in full bloom in Madison.

 

Late Bloomer

So Soft, Magnolia

Softly Pink, Magnolia © 2011 Bo Mackison

The magnolias are past their prime, many of the flowers have wilted and fallen to the ground. Here is one of the late bloomers still on the tree. Photographed at the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison Wisconsin.

Just proves you don’t have to bloom first to be fantastic!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is posting sunny photos on a cloudy day, and adding virtual sunshine to her afternoon.

Flower Patch and Birch

Squill in a Patch, Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin

Squills in a Patch © 2011 Bo Mackison

Lately I’ve spent a lot of my photo time looking up at the flowering trees. The magnolias have been magnificent, the crab apple blossoms are just beginning to open. I’ve also spent some of my time looking towards the earth, too. And I found this rather charming patch of squills under a birch tree. I tried several variations — the close-ups showed the simplicity of the flower, but didn’t capture its delicacy. I sprawled on the ground for a few angles, but it wasn’t until I photographed the patch of dainty flowers with the birch tree as background, that I felt I captured the feel of these diminutive plants, a patch of color in contrast to the earth. It’s rather a friendly flower!

I photographed these flowers at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is thankful for the many flower gardens in Madison, and she is spending time outdoors photographing the many spring flowers now in bloom.

 

Magnolia

Magnolia in Layers

Magnolia in Layers © 2011 Bo Mackison

Sometimes goals almost within reach, as near as an outstretched hand. Sometimes goals are lofty, and seemingly as unreachable as the stars twinkling throughout the Universe.

Sometimes goals are in vivid colors — bright and eye-catching, appealing. Sometimes goals are in gray-scale — black, white, and every tone in between. They don’t call out for attention, but all the details are there if you look closely.

Goals may be easily attainable or require a lifetime of planning, but I’m learning this. When I take a big goal and break it into small, doable steps, it is achievable — as long as I am willing to show up and do the work.

I’m evaluating her 2011 goals for the first half of the year and considering new goals for the last half of 2011.

 

View from the Stone Bench

Tree Shadows

Tree Shadows © 2011 Bo Mackison

The trees above this bench are mostly bare. (I won’t mention the late arriving spring–if you read my blog at all, you already know about my relationship with late arriving springs.)

Okay. Deep breath. Shake out those recalcitrant brain cells. Appreciate the many photographs I took last week when the sun was shining, and the sky was a deeper than usual blue. And resume…

I walked through the tree park in the arboretum. I was especially drawn to the many shadows that contrasted with the grassy patches bright with the mid morning sunlight. Tree shadows–especially tree branch shadows–provide great patterns of light and dark.

White Branches, Blue Sky, University of Wisconsin - Madison Arboretum

White Branches, Blue Sky © 2011 Bo Mackison

The tree branches above this solid, full-of-character bench appeared mostly bare, but then I stopped to rest on the bench with my back against the cold stone and gazed upward. I was surprised to see thousands of waving catkins near the top of the white birch tree. And a never-ending view of the bluest blue sky I have seen in recent weeks.

White tree branches, yellow catkins, deep blue sky–I love this color combination.

I watched for a while, actually a long while. The catkins were like wind chimes, whistling and rustling against each other, a birch tree with a thousand catkin wind chimes in its far reaches. A lovely sensory experience–a warming sun on my face, whistling catkins, birds singing, the faint smell of the damp earth.

I’ll put this in my memory container labeled “spring”.

I am working on a new adventure in Wisconsin–one where she embarks on a daily outdoor exploration, no matter what the weather or season.