Hoverfly (also known as a flower flies) photographed on a Coneflower (Echinacea). These tiny flies have honey bee-like markings, but are harmless. Many species of hoverfly larvae prey upon pest insects, such as aphids and leafhoppers, making them a natural means of reducing the levels of pests. Hoverflies also like alyssum, buckwheat, chamomile, parsley and yarrow.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
I think this is the ‘Nasinga Cream’ variety. Osteospermums are also known as African Daisy and Cape Daisy. Photographed at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine 8.23.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Bee on Echinacea ‘Milkshake’ Coneflower, photographed at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, 8.23.2010. We just got back a few hours ago from my weekend photo assignment in Providence, Rhode Island and our short road trip to Maine afterward. More photos and a write-up about the gardens to come!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
I first saw a Tibouchina ‘Grandiflora’ shrub at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, a few years ago. I was drawn to its beautiful velvety leaves, but hadn’t seen the flowers until my visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden this past weekend. Tibouchina is a neotropical plant that is native to the rainforests of Mexico, the West Indies, South America and Brazil. The plant is also known as Large-leaf Princess Flower or Glory Flower and is hardy in Zones 8-12.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Here’s another shot at a different angle—even more menacing looking!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
X Amarcrinum is a hybrid between Amaryllis and Crinum; photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8.15.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
White Ginger Lily, native to India, is a tropical perennial and related to culinary ginger. Photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8.15.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Unidentified type of Skipper butterfly on the very fragrant White Ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium). Photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8.15.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Photographed in the lily pond outside the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8.15.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
This beautiful spider, Argiope aurantia, is commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider, Banana Spider or Corn Spider. This common orb web spider (orb means the web is spun in a circle) is a female. Females are about an inch and a half long; males are about 3/4 inch long. And despite their menacing size and appearance, they are considered harmless to humans. Click here to learn more about this spider and how it builds its web to catch prey. Photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8.15.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8.15.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8.15.2010
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Photographed at the Wings of Fancy exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Photographed this afternoon at the Wings of Fancy exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. More images to come!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Photographed at Green Spring Gardens. © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
See more of my work in my zenfolio garden photography galleries:
I think flower is Rudbeckia ‘Goldstrum.’ It was blooming alongside several other types of Rudbeckia varieties at Green Spring Gardens this afternoon. If I am incorrect with my identification, I welcome input anytime! Anyone?
From the National Garden Bureau website:
This premier group of plants was given its Latin designation in 1740 by famed botanist Carl von Linné, better known as Carl Linnaeus. The genus name Rudbeckia honored Linnaeus’s botany professor, Olaf Rudbeck, and Rudbeck’s father who had founded the botanical garden at Uppsala University in Sweden. Linnaeus told Rudbeck that “so long as the earth shall survive, and each spring shall see it covered with flowers, the Rudbeckia will preserve your glorious name.”…Rudbeckias have been known by a variety of common names including conedisk, conedisk sunflower, tall coneflower, and brown-eyed Susans. Today they are most often called coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, gloriosa daisies or rudbeckia….There are 25 species of Rudbeckia, including perennials, biennials and annual. All are native to North America.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Gomphrena, sometimes called globe amaranth or bachelor’s button, is a sun-loving, drought tolerant annual plant. I think might be the “All Around Purple” variety. These intense magenta-pinkish purple flowers are tiny, no more than an inch in diameter—making them a bit of a challenge to photograph. Just imagine paired this color with lime green foliage! Although they were too quick to photograph, there was a bounty of skipper and sulphur butterflies darting through this bank of Gomphrena at Green Spring Gardens this afternoon.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Lobelia cardinalis is a perennial herbaceous plant often found in wet places such as stream banks and swamps. This Virginia native wildflower blooms in August and is pollinated by hummingbirds. Photographed at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
I shot this image at Green Spring Gardens this afternoon. First, this was a hard shot to get—these little guys are fast! Second, I couldn’t set up the tripod quick enough, so this image was shot handheld. Third, this was the sharper of only two shots I could fire before he flew away. Fourth, this guy is tiny—no more than an inch long and extremely hard to track. So, considering the shooting conditions were far from ideal, I think it’s a pretty decent shot!
This is a male Common Blue Damselfly. Females are usually dark with dull green replacing the blue areas. It is one of only two species of damselfly that can be found in both North America and Europe.
Know how to tell the difference between a dragonfly and a damselfly? Dragonflies rest with their wings held perpendicular to the body, while damselflies hold them almost parallel. Also, damselflies are usually smaller and slimmer than dragonflies.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
I’m fairly certain the top photo is a Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda) photographed at Green Spring Gardens. It’s called a lily, but it’s actually a type of iris. Say what?
I know the second photo is definitely a Blackberry Lily. This coloration is far more common than the solid yellow color. I read that it can also be found in black, pink and purple hues. This hardy perennial is also referred to as a Leopard Lily or Leopard flower.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Does anyone else find it difficult to maintain detail in flowers that are in the pink-red spectrum? This was photographed under a bright, but overcast sky.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), photographed this morning at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden near Richmond, Virginia. I just read that these plants are biennial and only live for two years. No wonder mine didn’t come back this year!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Garden Muse 
Recent Comments