tropical flowers

Orchids – 2016

/ Pat / 9 Comments

Spending some time cleaning out old files and smiling that my criteria for photos worth saving has changed a lot in just a few years. I am deleting a lot of them but here are some orchids worth saving because they still bring me pleasure. They were taken in November of 2016 – I’m looking forward to visiting them again when we return to Naples Florida in the fall.

These orchids were blooming in the Naples Botanical Garden, that has the largest outdoor orchid collection in the country. Well worth a visit if you are an orchid lover and in the southern part of Florida. They have over 1,000 orchids with different blooming seasons.

A Most Unusual Orchid

/ Pat / 14 Comments

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Brassia maculata ‘Majus’ (Spider Orchids)

I spent a long time at the botanical garden last Tuesday – because it was my last visit of the season and I had a hard time saying good-bye. After my ginger limeade and chocolate chip scone, I started for the exit and realized that I hadn’t visited the orchids. I was really tired and there were a lot of people but I couldn’t walk past and possibly miss a new one – one I hadn’t noticed before or had just been added.

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I moseyed around, took some photos with the less-than-optimal care that comes when my body is tired and my brain is foggy. I was reaching the end when I spied this beauty and tried to identify the best way to capture its uniqueness. I wasn’t very successful, because I can only show you by using three images.

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It seems like some things are beautiful because of their simplicity. In many ways I’m simple and enjoy simple beauty. But sometimes the beauty comes from complexity, and those things I enjoy spending time with, pondering.

Jaded in the Garden

/ Pat / 4 Comments

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Twice this winter, as I was walking through the Caribbean section of the Naples Botanical Garden, I had a volunteer tell me not to miss the Jade Vine growing in the columned walk – where the beautiful purple Queen’s Wreath grows. The first time I saw it I didn’t think they were growing naturally – they had the color that comes when florists dye plants. My reaction was that nature just doesn’t produce this color. I took photos but didn’t post them because – well, they just weren’t natural.

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The second time I was still amazed by the color and once again took photos. This time I’m sharing because they are such an unusual color, have a graceful shape, and the fact that the petals come out of a small purple bead has enamored me. I’m also in the process of posting those images from my walks through the garden that don’t fit into a garden story but are worth a post. I’m engaging in my getting-ready-to-go-north rituals.