Maureen Budny, in North Reading, Massachusetts, is a talented amateur photographer who has shared her beautiful images with us before (Garden Photos from Maureen). I always love when I get photos from her in the GPOD inbox, because she zooms in to see the beauty in details that you might otherwise overlook. Her images are a good reminder not just to stop and smell the roses, but to stop and enjoy all the other details you might miss if you just focus on the roses.
A dark purple large-flowered clematis, probably the class variety ‘Jackmanii’ (Clematis ‘Jackmanii’, Zones 4–8)
In this image, Maureen zoomed way in on the clematis bloom to emphasize the intricate, almost alien beauty of the center of the flower.
These simple and simply beautiful daisies are either the wildling oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare, Zones 3–8) or its more cultivated relative, a Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum, Zones 5–9). Both are beautiful, durable plants.
I love how the wing of each developing seed of this Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, Zones 5–9) blushes magenta, contrasting beautifully with the dark foliage and stems.
A bumblebee rests on a bloom to gather nectar and pollen. I’ll admit that my plant identification skills are a bit at a loss in looking at the flower this close. Possibly an Astilbe?
This is a simple scene most of us would just walk past, but Maureen’s eye and camera have captured the incredible beauty of raindrops sitting like jewels on simple green foliage.
Crown vetch (Securigera varia, Zones 5–9) has been planted to control erosion and help restore disturbed soils around road construction. Though not native, it seems to be generally well-behaved, sticking to the general areas where it was planted.
Incredible pink bracts of a flowering dogwood (Cornus florida, Zones 5–9) contrast sharply with a perfect blue spring sky.
We think of the cones of conifers as generally brown, but in many species they are shaded beautiful colors while young. These look to be the young female cones of a Norway spruce (Picea abies, Zones 2–7).
It’s hard to deny the beauty of a bearded iris (Iris hybrid, bearded group, Zones 3–9). I love the way the purple beard contrasts with the soft tones of the rest of the bloom.
Hens and chicks (Sempervivum species and hybrids, Zones 3–8) are usually grown for their succulent foliage, but this is what their flowers look like. Each individual rosette dies after sending up a flower spike, but new offsets carry on.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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