Unknown's avatar

Magic Orchid

I bought an orchid at a grocery store a couple of years ago, for $9.99! I of course was heartbroken when the blooms fell off and it turned brown, but I was assured numerous times it would come back. And sure enough it did!

But it hasn’t just come back, it came back with gusto! Our office’s flower of choice for client meetings are orchids, so I see a lot of them. But I’ve never seen one with two separate blooming stems. Trust me when I say I do not have green thumbs, but I must be doing something right :)

This is the stem for life #2 – 6/14/13

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The buds are popping out – 7/10/13

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The first couple of blooms open – 7/30/13

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Almost fully in bloom! 8/9/13

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As I said, the office tends to have a lot of orchids lying around. Some of my co-workers don’t have the patience, or a window, to care for their orchid, so I volunteered to tend to them until they bloomed. I’ve amassed quite a garden. I think a couple of them have passed the point of no return, but I continue to keep my eye on them. 4/2/14 – also take note of the progress on the hotel in the background.

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New stem growing on life #3, while there is still a bloom left on #2! – 4/2/14

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There seems to be new activity on the old bloom too!

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Buds popping out while the August 2013 bloom is still going strong! – 4/29/14

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Dueling blooms! 5/2/14

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New May

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Bloom #2!  5/6/14

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My wonderful orchid has a new home, at my home. When I’m not around, it sits up on the mantel, but when I can keep an eye on it (CATS!), it sits in between two windows in my living room – 5/14/14

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The old bloom is finally starting to wilt and die, but the new blooms are still going strong.

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Blooms #3 & #4

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Blooms #5 & #6, only one more to go! – 5/25/14

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Bloom #7 – finally the last bud has opened! It is 6/19/14 (the bud opened a while ago, just now getting around to taking a picture and posting it). Can’t wait to see how long the flowers will last!

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Unknown's avatar

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

What a perfect Spring day! Rather than go to Lewis Ginter again, I decided to take a jaunt an hour and a half east to Norfolk. The map online made it look big, but I had no idea just HOW big! The brochure said it was 155 acres with over 12 miles of paths and walkways. I only saw about half there was to see. Which was just fine because not everything was blooming, so I plan to go back in a few weeks and see the other half, hopefully more will be in bloom by then.

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Pretty daffodils and hyacinths greeted visitors at the entrance to the Visitors Center.

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Japanese Garden

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I normally try to avoid people in my pictures; I either wait for them to leave or I shoot from a different angle, but this was the angle I wanted and he didn’t look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. By the time I had moved for a different angle, he left. But I felt like keeping the human element in this one.

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Boat Basin

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Fragrance Garden

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Daffodils! Lots and lots of daffodils!

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The Hydrangea Garden was pretty barren, but I’ll be back!

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There were some Magnolias in bloom though.

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Friendship pond

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Camellia Garden – I’m not sure if they had bloomed early, or they just didn’t do well this year. Judging by the amount of petals on the ground I have to assume they were bloomed out and done for the year.

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Renaissance Court

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I cut through on a path somewhere that wasn’t named on the map, so I’ll call it the yellow-moss road.

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Statuary Vista

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There was an overlook (Nato Tower) looking over just about the entirety of the gardens, this was one of several vantage points.

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I love Forsythia!

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Random monkey-holding-a-bowl statue…there were numerous statues around the various garden, all bird-themed, but I thought this one warranted posting because of the odd, uncommon nature of it.

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I think I was in the Colonial Garden and had my camera pointed toward the Conifer Garden.

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Nato Tower

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Path leading to the tower

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Flowering Arboretum

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This bridge was in-between gardens so it’s the “no name” bridge.

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Bicentennial Rose Garden – nothing bloomin’, but I bet it will be spectacular come Summer.

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One of the boats as it toured the gardens from the water.

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Can’t wait to go back and see it in full bloom!

Unknown's avatar

Flagstaff & Sedona AZ

I went to college in Flagstaff, Arizona, and I really wish my penchant for photography had blossomed when I was there. I developed a curiosity for it during my Black and White Photography class (pun intended!), but that was in my Sophomore year and was back in the day before digital cameras.

Now that I have a strong passion for photography, I really want to go back! Most of these were shot with my Ricoh, the SLR my mom bought me for my photography class, and scanned in, so the quality is not anywhere near what I wish it were. Which is why I want to go back ;-) That and I miss the west side.

This is a shot from my dorm room window my freshman year. Miss those mountains!

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Snowbowl – Yes, it snows in Arizona. Campus was around 7k ft up and I think Snowbowl, at the top, was around 11k.

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Lake Mary

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Lots of Aspen trees in Flagstaff.

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Sedona is about an hour south of Flagstaff. I spent many Saturdays driving down there and enjoying the scenery. It has the most amazing colors you will ever find in nature. These pictures in no way shape or form do it any justice. MUST GO BACK!

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Bell Rock – probably the most recognizable formation in Sedona. This is maybe the only shot I have that actually comes close to the awesomeness that is Sedona.

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Slide Rock – exactly like it sounds, a free, natural water park ;-)

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Grasshopper Point – a popular place to go cliff diving. That was one of my roommates jumping. It’s exhilarating, to say the least!

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Also nearby Flagstaff is the Grand Canyon. I would have gone more often, but the $20 entrance fee was a little steep for a poor college student. Again, NEED TO GO BACK AND TAKE BETTER PICTURES!

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I went back to Arizona a couple of years after I graduated to go to a college roommates wedding (the jumper!) and a classmates’ baby shower. Even after living there for four years, I never made it to Lake Powell or Antelope Canyon, places I ended up driving to on a whim while I was back in town. WHY DIDN’T I SPEND MORE TIME EXPLORING WHEN I LIVED THERE?!?!

They are right on the border of Utah.

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I’ve never seen a lake that color before.

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There is an upper and a lower canyon. I don’t remember which I went to, but I do know it was the less popular of the two. The other one has the famous light streaming through it into a cave. Not.the.one.I.went.to! But the one I hiked was amazingly beautiful. Broken record; I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed to go back!

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College would have been super boring had it not been for the beauty of Arizona.

Unknown's avatar

GardenFest of Lights 2013

Lewis Ginter is a rotating bucket of natural fun!

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Each year, they deck the grounds in lights and stay open after dark so that folks can stroll around and Ooh and Aah at the sparkling splendor. I haven’t been in several years but thought this year was as good as any to head over and snap some festive light shots.

I arrived early so I could scope the place out before it got crowded and ended up catching the sunset. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.

I checked out the conservatory first. One wing was decorated with cute little woodland creatures (and some cactus, an odd combination, but I’m not complaining).

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And another had train tracks set up with little miniatures (and a big, gorgeous tree!)

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After the conservatory, I started meandering around the grounds, catching the last bright rays of the sun.

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Once the sun went down, the lights started to come on. I played with the settings on my camera for a bit waiting for it to get a bit darker.

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Finally, it got dark enough to really start seeing some contrast. The next three sets are comparing right after the sunset to about 20 minutes later.

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And now…the lights!

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