botanical gardens

the gardeners sometimes talk on cell phones while they work

odd relative of the Yucca a native "rattlesnake master" plant caught my eye in bloom

mourning dove and sparrows were bathing together in a stream

"Dan Mahony" was kind of pink

even orange day lily has a new twist at the botanical gardens

"Wayside King Royale" was one of my favorites in the shade the yellow throat seemed to glow

water features always make the gardens more restful and invite birds and people to enjoy the cooling green... note the closeness of federal offices in the background

white day lily shows all sorts of colors when the background is dark

very tall coneflowers related to black-eyed Susan

no name on this lovely lacy patch of day lilies but most were labeled clearly

"Dominic" is the name of this dark velvet lily

looks like a thisle but it's the more elegant cardoon

regale trumpet lilies and white perennial sweet peas

this spidery day lily called "red ribbons" was a favorite

a nearly all black bee on the tall verbena was very odd looking

this bumble bee was crawling all over the edges of this group of day lilies like it was covered in honey or opium he seemed to be experiencing some sort of overload

the first day lily that caught my eye was this one that looks a lot like one I have only this is greener in the throat and the petals are a little wider and more substantial.

view over the gardens looking back at the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indians sandstone curves.

Yesterday I had a date to meet with an old friend who happened to be in town for a national research meeting. On my way down to pick her up and whisk her off to the flower gardens on the national mall she called and said she was not going to be able to get away. I was crushed a little after getting up early and rushing around to be ready for a 9 AM call but I made the most of the effort and kept going. I went right down to the national mall and promptly found parking. Paid my meter and took off with my camera and found lots of beautiful new day lily and other fine sites. The National Botanical gardens run by Smithsonian Institution has a natives garden and roses and a bunch of flowering plants that make it well worth a visit. Perfect sunny weather to be outside I really enjoyed my visit. I spent the rest of the day downloading and editing the photos and scanning sketches which I am still editing. I wanted to show you these images as soon as I could. I hope to see my friend another time and take her to the most beautiful place I know, away from the noise of the city, right smack in the middle of Washington DC.

smithsonian gardens & Darwin

orange coneflowers mixed with lark's spur

Ripley gardens next to the Arts & Industry building and Hirshhorn Museum.

It is early June and I took some time Sunday to go visit the NGA for a short history lecture on Charles Darwin's theories on evolution and beauty upon the artists of his day. Last year was the anniversary of Darwin's birth in 1809 celebrated around the world. It was art historian in England now taking note of the impact his work had on leading artists of his day Renoir, Degas and many post impressionists. I was surprised how much even a man like Darwin who claimed he didn't know anything about art had an eye for the beauty in nature. He said it was due to natural selection that beautiful patterns and colors evolved to delight the eyes of creatures hunting for a mate. Other science was also looking at how we see and what the nature of beauty is in our world but Darwin's books were required reading at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris only a couple years after publication. This lecture was scheduled last Feb. but got delayed because of our massive snow storm, then again by Iceland's volcano, so I was very fortunate to stumble in, not knowing much about the subject but trusting the curator to give me some new understanding. It closed with a big round of applause from the crowd.

After this lecture on how science impacted art of the 19th century, I went out and had a walk through the amazing gardens of the Smithsonian Institution's Ripley and Haupt gardens near the Arts and Industries building now under renovation. Repointing of the bricks and repairs to the roof on the exterior under way thanks to the money from last year's stimulus bill. There was lots of beauty. You can see my eye was drawn to the brilliant orange coneflowers and various stalks of lilies that are in bloom in the Ripley garden. I have never seen coneflowers this orange before except in catalogs that I didn't trust to be accurately colored. I also was excited to see them mixed up with purple blue flowers one of my favorite combinations. More photos in my flickr.com set Smithsonian Gardens.