Visitor

Bee Pollinating Pink ZInnia

Visitor © 2010 Bo Mackison

Bee pollinating pink cosmos. Allen Centennial Gardens, Madison Wisconsin.

Composition in Rock Garden

Hens and Chicks in Rock Garden at Allen Centennial Garden on UW Campus

Composition in Rock Garden © 2010 Bo Mackison

Macro-photograph of Hens and Chicks in the Rock Garden at Allen Centennial Gardens at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Prickly Pear Rose

Cactus Rose in Allen Centennial Gardens

Prickly Pear Cactus Rose © 2010 Bo Mackison

The prickly pear cactus is in bloom…in Wisconsin. This cactus rose was photographed at Allen Centennial Gardens on the University of Wisconsin- Madison campus.

Ecstatic

White Peony with Pink Tear Drop Petal

Ecstacy © 2010 Bo Mackison

Our peony season in Madison has been over for a week, the victim of torrential downpours which soaked the flowers and sent them drooping onto the garden’s earth. So when we took a visit to Racine for a Frank Lloyd Wright Tour this weekend, I was happy to see peonies in full bloom. Lake effect. We were only a mile inland from Lake Michigan and spring was later in coming. The peonies were at their peak.

As we headed up a driveway to one of the homes on the tour, I noticed this peony plant. Each flower was pure white save for a tear-shaped streak of deep pink and a single petal with pink edging. I hadn’t planned on doing any macro photography – not on an architectural tour – but luckily my lenses were in the car. Sherpa was hurrying me more than usual, as the skies were graying and raindrops were splashing around us. But I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture this white peony with the unusual pink markings. So we went back to the car for the right equipment and I studied the peonies.

Fifty shots later, and we were back on the tour. But I’m glad I stopped to smell the roses…wait, wrong saying.

Glad I stopped to photograph the peony.

Inner Sanctum

abstract macro photograph of pastel tulip

Inner Sanctum © 2010 Bo Mackison

Palest of color gradations, a close look at petals of the tulip flower. Photographed at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.