still experimenting with digital camera - pics attached

hester_2009

12 years ago

I took a walk around last night while doing a little rain dance at the same time!

My garden is about 9 months old and most of the work involved taking out old, huge plants that were very sad as well as clearing out around the old driveway. So I don't have a lot to show right now, but I'm getting there!

One little moonflower - this is the front of my house which I've posted before. This is the second flush of bottlebrush flowers!

To the right of the last pic - this used to be the driveway, I built the deck and have started planting. the circle is my butterfly area - it was filled to the brim with red lava rock which I moved wheelbarrow at a time!

Another part of the disappearing driveway-very much a work in progress.

This is in the back of the house - an empty, sandy area when I moved - it's starting to come together.

I have a few orchids and this lasts long and has a wonderful fragrance.

Last, a huge passiflora that a friend sent me from her garden up north - I forget the name, but the blooms hang down and smell like ginger. It doesn't get enough sun here to bloom well, but I put it here because I love the foliage and it also blocks the neighbors house!

Well, thanks for looking -

Hester

Ps When I preview this, I still can't figure out why some of the photos are huge - I changed the setting on the camera, as well as on photobucket - must be doing something wrong Sorry to be so "in your face!"

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (21)

crueltyfre
12 years ago
gorgeous! so serene and peaceful!
Lori
ritaweeda
12 years ago
That's the biggest bottle brush I've ever seen! Such a beautiful, restful place. You've really painted a masterpiece with your short time there and much back-breaking work. Many of the plants I see would never work here, we're too cold in the winter for the tropicals and too hot for the northern plants. Oh, well, have to make do with what we've got!
Related Discussions
Question for those with Digital SLR cameras
Q
Comments (6)
Do you normally wear glass? If so, could it be that the dioptric on the camera is set incorrectly? If you look through the viewfinder, on the right, there's a little + and - sign with a small rotating button, try turning that while looking through the viewfinder and see if it gets less blurry one way or the other. For me, it needs to be turned all the way to the " - " side. I'm even thinking I might need to replace the dioptric because I'm so blind :P You can order them at the Canon site under Accessories, though probably somewhere online has them cheaper :) I hope this info helps :) -A P.S. Now, if I could just figure out how to set the 9 dot thing properly when working with depth of field, I might get some photos that don't need to be "Sharpened" in PhotoShop! Here is a link that might be useful: Dioptric
...See More
Good Macro Feature on a low cost Digital Camera!
Q
Comments (12)
Thanks, Eloise! All of the pics I take are when my camera is on the Auto setting, because I have no clue how to use it, otherwise. LOL With my A95 (and probably all of these similar Canons), I love how I can get rid of most of the "shakes" by holding the button all the way down. The camera (usually) auto-focuses for me, which is nice, since I hardly ever use our tripod. About the only thing I don't like about this camera is the long wait necessary in between flash photos. I really appreciate the flip-out LCD screen, as well as the size of it, too! My folks have another model with a smaller screen that isn't moveable, and it's definitely more difficult to view previews on it. You're right about the quarter, Bearstate. The preview looked clear, but when I viewed it on my computer, it appeared more blurry. I haven't had that issue with the usual pics I take (flowers, nature stuff...), so I imagine a coin collector wanting to take pics of his stash might have issues. :D From about 2 ft. away, with above lighting and flash - I usually do some editing in Paint Shop Pro (size, sharpness, contrast) before sharing my pics, as well. Some day, we'll get an upgrade on this camera, but until then, I'm enjoying the heck out of it. :) Brenda
...See More
Recommendations on Digital Camera for Garden pics
Q
Comments (8)
I agree about the mega- pixel count. There will come a point where the mega-pixel count on camera's will be more than what the human eye can even see. Remember the big stereo book shelf speakers of the 80's? Many of them had a tweeter high range/bass reflex range higer/lower than what the human ear could hear. Overkill, but the dogs could hear that ultra high range! A good mega-pixel is needed for print photos. For showing pictures via the web many times people use the huge mega-pixels that make the pictures so larger you have to scroll around to see it even with a large monitor. This is because people don't resize the photo but never the less large web files can be a waste. My first decent digital was a Sony Mavica that used the crap floppy, however it had a 10x opitcal lense which was extremely great for taking macro's and the photos were decent at that time, thoough never as good as a good 35mm in general but you could take some decent close-ups of flowers. Optical lense zoom is important, digital zoom is IMHO useless and you can do the same sort of digital zoom with even a basic photo editing program. I don't ever use digital zoom. I think the most important thing is to spend a few extra bucks and get a camera with a view finder, do not rely strictly on a small LCD screen because you will be sorry if you are in bright light. You will not be able to clearly (if at all) see the subject to be shot due to the bright light. Pot luck photo shots in sunlight is what I mean. I have a small decent Olympus 5.1 mega pixel given as a gift but it only has a LCD screen, no view finder. It is no good for taking pictures of plants in the sun.
...See More
Digital cameras, cars and summer
Q
Comments (4)
I would never...ever....EVER....keep my SLR in the car. i even carry my backpack in the store with me if its hot out. On the other side of that, I used to keep my sony dsc-w80 in the car year round without any ill effects. I usually kept it in a case, up under the seat, and left a small crack in the window to vent the hot air. It was hardly ever hot when I went to use it. I would keep it down low though, since hot air rises. **This reply is for educational puroposes only. Any use of the advice herein is at the risk of the camera's owner** LOL:) Andy
...See More
CorpsmanCooper
12 years ago
Hester I may have to come visit next time I go visit my grandmother in Sarasota! It's beautiful!!!!!!!! Can you come help me with mine? PLEASE!
hester_2009
Original Author
12 years ago
Erin -
thanks and you are more than welcome to visit anytime.
You'll do fine with your gardens - you have passion and that's the main ingredient.
I will offer advice anytime, but we live in such different zones, we can't always grow the same things.
One other thought - I've been here 22 years and it took many of those to learn how to have a successful yard/garden. Many dead plants, many mistakes - as everyone here will attest to. It's sometimes an ongoing struggle, but those of us who love gardening, it doesn't seem like work - it's just what we do!!
So relax, enjoy and keep it up - from your post, I see that you are off to a good start.
Hester
gardencpa
12 years ago
Looks great! I love the combination of colors and of the pots and other hardscape mixed in. You have the eye!

Melissa
fl_southpaw
12 years ago
A wonderful garden! I love the lack of lawn. The benches and arbors are so inviting. You have created a real haven. I see some ideas I'm going to borrow. Thanks.

Julie in WPB
hester_2009
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks all
Regarding the lack of lawn - there was none here when I bought the house as there is no real "front" yard. the driveway comes up to the front entrance (or could be the back because the lot is hidden from the road). The gravel that you see used to be a circular drive and when I told people I was going to get rid of it, most said "Great, now you can have grass)
Well, after over 20 years of trying to grow healthy grass without much work, I realized I had the perfect opportunity to do without it! So I've just been planting in the driveway, with a mix of liriope and shrubs and leaving the gravel for future pathways. I like the way it's working - so the hardscape here was the easy part...digging through compacted dirt and gravel has not been, which is why it's taking awhile.
And I love pots - enables me to have tropicals that can get carted into the garage during cold snaps and also moved around when they look good/bad.
Glad you enjoyed the view!
Hester
writersblock (9b/10a)
12 years ago
What a beautiful garden, Hester! What are the climbing lavendar flowers on the right side of the 4th photo?
annafl
12 years ago
Hester, that butterfly garden area is filling in nicely. It's going to be glorious when that plumbago starts blooming more. Are your butterfly bushes blooming yet? I love that shot of your garden. Wow, that back area has really changed and grown in since I was last there. You've done an incredible amount of hard work and it shows. That morning glory bush is awesome! It's been blooming a long time now. How do you keep it that bushy? The one you gave me has two little buds on it...very exciting! What is the small tree in front of it? I don't remember that one. Keep posting- I see something new each time! It's beautiful!

Anna
hester_2009
Original Author
12 years ago
Writersblock -
(BTW are you a writer? I was a book buyer for an independant bookstore and have a soft spot for writers!)
I'm not exactly sure what that is - a friend gave me a cutting years ago and she didn't know what it was either. It might be a bush variety of trumpet vine - I don't know. Maybe someone who sees this will...It's not really a vine but is loaded with blooms all summer-froze this winter but came back better than ever. I also have a pink variety that I bought at Tropiflors's sale from a vendor who didn't know what it was either!!
One of life's great mysteries....
If no one sees this post to answer, I'll pose the question about it tomorrow!
starryrider
12 years ago
Beautiful pics...wish I could get mine to look that good.
pabrocb
12 years ago
It's all beautiful, Hester. I'm amazed that you have managed to get the new area off the deck so lush so fast.

Carol B. now on Cape Cod, thinking my garden is dried to a crisp.
gardencraze
12 years ago
Hester,beautiful garden... when can I come over and start cliping (sneaky grin on my face)it looks like a jungle.
What a great job you've done in 9 months, love it

Happy gardening
Carmen
hester_2009
Original Author
12 years ago
Morning all,
Anna reminded me of the name of that purple plant - bush morning glory or ipomoea camea. It's bushy because it froze to the ground! I have trouble pruning it now because it's so full of flowers.
Carol B - where are you on Cape Cod? I spent much of my life there and still miss it. And yes, your garden here may be fried as it was 94 yesterday, windy and still no rain...this time of year is tough on plants and people.
Have a few steamers for me (real salt water taffy too!)
Hester
writersblock (9b/10a)
12 years ago
Thanks, Hester. Yeah, I'm a writer, but mostly non-fiction tech type stuff these days. Your ipomoea is spectacular, whatever made it that way.

(Been doing my best to make it rain by putting out lots of things that can't get wet to air out the past couple of days, but no luck so far.)
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
12 years ago
Holy mackeral, is that something! Your yard is so gorgeous! It's hard to believe you have only lived there a relatively short time. You sure got it "up and running" quickly! Every plant is perfect and your groupings are wonderful. Hester, I just love it!

Carol
annafl
12 years ago
Hester, is that a palatka holly you planted in the back? Cute tree. Also, are your butterfly bushes blooming? I'd love to see a photo of those.

Anna
hester_2009
Original Author
12 years ago
A
nna,
Sorry I forgot to answer your question about that tree - yup, it's an east palaka - hardy yea!!! And here is a photo of one of the butterfly bushes - they are getting leggy but when I try and prune, the butterflies hover and I feel guilty!
Here's another pic of my desert rose - this plant has frozen at least 4 times and just keeps coming back!

and while I'm here, this is a new plant I got - not quite sure about the name alberia or something? Anyone know?

Last one I love this guy

All for today,
Hester
annafl
12 years ago
Hester, your butterfly bush is so pretty! Maybe someday I will find a spot for one. That white blooming plant is an alibertia. Mine is blooming now too and it is a great plant. You know I'm not fond of white, but when I saw it 2-3 years ago I had to have it, and it has not disappointed. Mine has only bloomed in the summer, but it is very eye-catching. Of course, I planted it it the very back of my property and I wish I hadn't. It's the color that made me do it. It does root at the nodes, but very slowly, so the expansion is quite pleasant and desired. I think I will have to find a better place for mine where I can see it more. Also, it is very cold-hardy and the foliage is disease-free and always looks nice. Great plant!

I also love your bowtie and wish I had a spot for one, but no, notime soon. I will enjoy it at your place.

Anna
hester_2009
Original Author
12 years ago
oh Thanks, Ana - I wondered if the alibertia was hardy - I have it in a pot but now I know where to put it in the ground.
Thanks.
You can always find room, my friend! Butterfly bushes are really big butterfly attractors!!
Hester
sherryocala
12 years ago
Hester, I love your garden. So green. We lived in Sarasota when we first came to Florida, and your first photo says "Sarasota" to me. All your work is beautiful. Liriope is one of my favorite plants. Thanks for sharing your garden.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

still experimenting with digital camera - pics attached

Comments (21)

crueltyfre

ritaweeda

Related Discussions

CorpsmanCooper

hester_2009
Original Author

gardencpa

fl_southpaw

hester_2009
Original Author

writersblock (9b/10a)

annafl

hester_2009
Original Author

starryrider

pabrocb

gardencraze

hester_2009
Original Author

writersblock (9b/10a)

Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)

annafl

hester_2009
Original Author

annafl

hester_2009
Original Author

sherryocala

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

still experimenting with digital camera - pics attached

Comments (21)

Related Discussions

hester_2009Original Author

hester_2009Original Author

hester_2009Original Author

hester_2009Original Author

hester_2009Original Author

hester_2009Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

hester_2009
Original Author

hester_2009
Original Author

hester_2009
Original Author

hester_2009
Original Author

hester_2009
Original Author

hester_2009
Original Author