Ready for Spring!!

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I am definitely ready for Spring! I always feel like once my birthday is past, it's time for warm weather immediately. For now, though, let's enjoy some shots from last year at the Atlanta Botanical Garden during Atlanta Blooms!

I'm a huge fan of tulips, and I thought these lovely pastels were awesome!

But then, the vibrant colors of the pansies are also excellent!

I was happy to catch this guy in action. Check out his iridescent wings. I upped the shutter speed so I could catch the action.

We have a ton of Japanese Magnolia (or tulip) trees around Atlanta, but most of them are the purple or white varieties. I love this creamy yellow! I used the macro lens to capture the interior of the flower.

One thing I love about Atlanta Blooms! is that they always do several color combinations of tulips around the gardens. I love this rich scheme as much as the pastels.

I also love seeing the different varieties. Last year, Spring came slowly due to the super-cold Winter, so each week we visited the Gardens, different colors and varieties were waxing or waning.

I loved the pots of daffodils by the reflecting pool outside the main building. See that little boy at the end of the pond? A couple minutes after this picture, I heard his dad say, "Just be careful, so you don't fall in like last time!" But was it a fall or a jump?? LOL!!

I love the color combination of the pink tulips, green leaves and blue/green stoneware pot!

Speaking of daffodils, they were EVERYWHERE in the gardens before the tulips started to show their faces. There's a whole hill right when you enter covered with them. These were some of the late-blooming ones that stuck around to party with the tulips.

I love the color combinations, but the monochromatic scheme is nice, too. =)

Wonderful with the cherry trees!

JiffNotes
I hope Spring comes early in your neck of the woods...I'm ready and waiting here!

Orchid Daze: Lasting Impressions - Part 2!

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Part 1 was a long time ago, and these pretty orchid pictures have been sitting around for far too long without my showing them to you!

Orchid Daze happens at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens every year starting in February. The orchid house is always fabulous, but during Orchid Daze it is simply overflowing with orchids. If you plan your trip for March, you can also enjoy Atlanta Blooms!, where thousands of tulip and daffodil bulbs are added to the Garden landscape! Although I may be very late posting this, it's not to early to plan a trip for next year. ;)

Midway through Orchid Daze, there is an orchid show, but I always forget which weekend it is! And that's why I showed up for the show with only my wide-angle lens, because I thought I was only going to the Garden to look for early bulbs.

However, we were in for some extra treats!

There were many large, beautiful displays. But even though I only had the wide-angle lens, I was more interested in getting closeups of some of the orchids I'd never seen before.

These two bulbous beauties were just fascinating, and so PERFECT.

The color on this next orchid was simply fantastic. A deep, Deep, DEEP purple that eventually made its way to black.

The next week when we went back, I wasn't going to get caught without my lens again, so I took the macro lens and my awesome new tripod! (If you remember, part 1's pictures were taken with a sub-standard tripod.) As Orchid Days goes on, they replace some of the varieties with new ones, so I was anxious to subject some new specimens to my endless adjustments. Good thing the orchids are so patient. =)

Heather asks...how close can I get?? (You can click the pictures to embiggen.)

For perspective, here's an entire spray of the above orchids...each bloom is about 3-4 inches across.

I think this orchid did a good job trying to fit in with the Surrealist theme.

Hey, look...it's more bulbous orchids like in the show!

Well, not QUITE as bulbous as the ones in the show, but still very cool.

A lot of the new orchids they added had fantastic bright, saturated colors.

Others were more subtle, but still beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed part 2!

JiffNotes
Finally, more orchid pictures!

Orchid Daze: Lasting Impressions - Part 1!

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Gracious, this year's Orchid Daze opened at the beginning of February, and I am just now getting around to posting about it!

Like last year's display, 2014's theme was inspired by three artists. This year, however, instead of Surrealist artists, the orchids paid tribute to three Impressionistic artists.

In the lobby, it was Van Gogh.

This little guy was posing so prominently, I couldn't resist. =)

But back to the orchids!

Moving on to the atrium, we have what I think is the most easily identifiable of the three...Monet and his waterlillies, of course.

Lots of gorgeousness all around the "bridge" (it's really just a hanging prop...very clever).

These orchids foreshadow the daffodils that would come up in just a few weeks.

There were also some beauties in giant pots set around the perimeter of the atrium.

Now we move on to the main greenhouse.

Can you guess the artist??

The focus here is more on individual blooms than a profusion.

Did you guess the artist was Gauguin? I have to cry foul here a little bit...he is technically a Post-Impressionist. And, c'mon, there are plenty of awesome Impressionists left! Renoir, Pissarro, Cassatt, Manet??? Color me disappointed.

The orchids, though...they do not disappoint. =)

Thought I'd throw in a little leaf texture to make sure you're still paying attention. =)

Now, although a lot of these shots were taken with the macro lens, I was using a crappy tiny tripod (a cheap GorillaPod knockoff). Just wait until you see round two (and three...), taken with my spiffy birthday tripod!

JiffNotes
More orchid photos to come...not to mention the fantastic tulip photos after that!! I'll concentrate on those as I endure the suddenly-cold temperatures and FREEZE WARNING for tonight!! =(