Monday, October 8, 2018

Fall Phone Photos

I really prefer the term "autumn", but couldn't resist the fun of all those "F/Ph" words lined up.

My favorite excuse for not investing in a fancy camera has always been that my point and shoot is so small I always have it with me — in my handbag — convenient and at the ready. When it comes to spur-of-the-moment garden photos however, the point and shoot is edged out by the phone camera, literally always with me, in my pocket. Instagram wins in that regard, and the blog suffers. And that is the theme of this random photo post: all pics taken with my phone, posted in chronological order.

We begin way back on September 12th, with Bukiniczia cabulica. Cloudy Cabbages is the name I prefer (hat tip to Tim Vojt). I'm experimenting with three in the ground, and two held back in containers for the winter.

Two of my favorite things, Passiflora blooms and an Agave, together...

I took this photo while on a conference call, as I sat in front of my laptop this vignette was just to my left. The sculpture is one of Andrew's, a musician drinking. The knit barrel cactus (with bloom), was a gift from Matthew (yep, he knit it himself).

September 26th, a gorgeous day in Portland.

And what a difference a sunny day can make. This photo is also of colored-up Virginia Creeper, but Oct 1st was a cloudy day. Oddly, the Yucca aloifolia Purpurea is regaining a little of it's purple blush, it turned all green over the summer.

Schizostylis coccinea 'Oregon Sunset'

Abutilon 'Nuabyell'

Brachyglottis greyi surrounding the trunk of a Trachycarpus wagnerianus.

Syneilesis aconitifolia

Cryptomeria japonica 'Rasen'

Bocconia frutescens (Tree Poppy)

Spikes! Both of these are hardy Echinocereus crosses Peter scored for me during his July visit to the Hillside Botanical Gardens in Yakima, WA.

They won't be planted out until springtime.

*sigh* blue-sky and Tetrapanax, always a great photo...

I eventually had to admit it's time for pumpkins and the like. Andrew loves autumn, so bringing bits into the house makes him happy...

But I'm still living for afternoons like this...photo taken Oct 3rd.

And to think I once planned to get rid of the Clematis tibetana var. vernayi!

It is a rather "rambunctious" vine...

But I've found that cutting it back VERY hard is the way to handle it. Thankfully I still get an abundance of these spongy flowers.

Dyckia 'Pale Ryder' — this shot has it looking more like a Bromeliad than I've ever noticed a Dyckia looking.

The Poncirus trifoliata fruit is coloring up.

Since the end of last week was turning rainy I cut a few things to enjoy indoors. A Canna 'Durban' leaf is coiled inside the vase, a trio of Clematis flowers hang over the top, and seeds from a NOID Crocosmia are at the very top.

And I couldn't resist adding a stem from the Virginia creeper too...

The tender xeric plants, which spend winter in the basement, are all inside (the Bromeliads are next to go). I finally remembered to grab the variegated Agave desmettiana, from in front of the house, late Thursday afternoon. This guy was once small enough to sit on my desk at work (circa 2009)...

There he is (on the right) with his prisoner friends...

Friday (Oct 5th) we got our first heavy rain of the season, officially a half inch at the airport, not quite as much as was predicted. I still haven't pulled out my rain-gauge so I can't say for sure what I received here.
Our front door...

The spiky holding tank. Many of these will go into the shade pavilion greenhouse, once it's up for the season (she says, waiting patiently...), the pattern on the siding is from the rain.

The first of Clifford's MANY leaves to fall...

I threw a few small pots under the shade pavilion before the rain started.

Oh you poor Canna. I love this guy (Canna 'Durban') but he just didn't get enough water or sun to get very tall this year.

Amsonia hubrichtii (starting to change color) and Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue'...the Amsonia is bent over from the rain.

And I couldn't decide which image to share, so there are two...

Amsonia and Daphne x houtteana

Agave montana 'Baccarat' with a baby Amsonia, Cordyline Electric Flash, and raindrops!

Grevillea x gaudichaudii

Cotinus ‘Royal Purple' — not so purple these days.

Finally a side-angle shot of the front garden, shiny black Arctostaphylos bark and all...

Weather Diary, Oct 7: Hi 56, Low 45/ Precip .10"

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

14 comments:

  1. Great collection; each could have help a prominent place on Wednesday's vignette. I love the knitted cacti and drinking musician. "Spongy" isn't a word commonly used to describe a flower. Funny.
    Schizostylis and Aster are the lone bloomers left in my garden.

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    1. I wish you could squeeze that Clematis flower and you'd know why "spongy" is perfect!

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  2. I'm so surprised to see that Clifford is dropping leaves. My tiny bigleaf Magnolia "Mopsy" (she still looks a lot like a mop stuck in the ground), is hanging on to all her leaves. Maybe she's going to just drop them all at once.

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    1. Not dropping leaves, just that leaf. It was random. I feel like it was a warning: "get ready...we're coming!"

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  3. Hard to believe those are phone photos. One of the real joys of tech/computerization. My Synellisis never turns such a beautiful color and my Amsonia is looking a bit sad as well. I think it is our wet weather. Love the Cloudy Cabbage; kind of looks like a big succulent Cyclamen. And that Clematis is great. I was just reading about yellow fall Clematis so thanks for that inspiring shot.

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    1. I think my Synellisis is helped into its golden color by summer drought, which as you mention, isn't something you've been dealing with. As a person who seems to be rather "clematis challenged" that one is a good one!

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  4. Your phone takes excellent photos! Of course you compose them well. So much great stuff in this post. Rained here all day Friday, let up on Saturday but now we're in the middle of at least three days of solid rain. Summer, come back!

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    1. The end of the week looks dry and warmer here, hopefully there too. Oh and I loved your comment "Of course you compose them well", reminds me of a photographer friend who tells of people always wanting to know what make/model his camera is, as though it's the device that makes the photograph. Of course they help, but...

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  5. You've made impressive progress on your fall migration and your Halloween decoration as well. Your phone photos are stellar. I still get my fat fingers in more shots than I'd care to admit but then I didn't upgrade to a phone with a camera until early this year and I regularly forget to carry it.

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    1. When it comes to taking photos having the device with you is the most important part! ;)

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  6. I soon forgot that the shots I was seeing were taken with a phone. Isn't tech amazing?
    rickii

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  7. Oh wow, this is fun! All amazing photos, and they illustrate how far phone cameras have come. The cameras/photos seem to continue to get better, to the point where point-and-shoots are nearly unnecessary. I rarely use mine anymore. Your Cotinus with the water droplets is dreamy!

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    1. Thanks Beth, and I've heard others say that too, their phone has made their point and shoot worthless. But I still get much better results with my camera, maybe because I've been using the same model for YEARS and I know it well?

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