dusk blooms

I almost invariably photograph flowers right before I lose the daylight.
It may be because that's when I water my bits of the garden. I'm too lazy to get up early and water my flowers before the hot sun can interfere with moisture absorption.  So I rush out to water the garden after dinner, while there's still enough time that the flowers can dry off a bit before the sun goes down.

The drought has cowed almost the entire garden.  The begonias are soldiering on, and the sedum is unfazed, but everything else is dry and despairing.  Except for my zinnias.  They are sunshiny, cheerful, abundant, and resilient. They are such a joy.

They are the only flower blooming in enough of a quantity to cut for arrangements.  Here, in no particular order is the highlights from recent arrangements.

See more beauty after the jump.

The Sweetest Thing...

It is a sweet thing, friendship, a dear balm,

A happy and auspicious bird of calm,

Which rides o'er life's ever tumultuous Ocean;

A God that broods o'er chaos in commotion;

A flower which fresh as Lapland roses are,

Lifts its bold head into the world's frore air,

And blooms most radiantly when others die,

Health, hope, and youth, and brief prosperity;

And with the light and odour of its bloom,

Shining within the dun eon and the tomb;

Whose coming is as light and music are 'Mid dissonance and gloom—a star

Which moves not 'mid the moving heavens alone— A smile

among dark frowns—a gentle tone

Among rude voices, a beloved light,

A solitude, a refuge, a delight.

                          -Percy Byshe Shelley

photo critique 2: graffiti

Dear Friends,

My excellent friend and I continue to exchange photos once a month, so that we can give each other feed back and encourage each other to improve.  We aim to exchange photos at the beginning of each month, but then, well, life happens. 

This month, I was very good, and sent off my email promptly on the 1st off August...and forgot to attach the photos.  So my friend still hasn't seen them to comment on them. C'est la vie.

I also couldn't for the life of me pair the series down to just 10 pictures.  I was lucky to get it under 15.  There were too many that intrigued me for too many reasons.

This month, I chose to explore some local graffiti.  It's very interesting to me, because it breaks so many social taboos, and discusses and or subverts ideas of ownership, propriety, beauty, and artistic cannons.  It can be at the same moment joyful and angry, and how it both harmonizes and clashes with its environment.  It also is very, very site specific.
I was surprised to realize how much the surrounding plants and weather change it physically, or obscure it.

 

So, what do you think?

I'd love, love, love your feedback!