Greenhouse during snowstorm

Many garden bloggers will recall that Gardening Gone Wild used to run a regular photo contest where people shared there images from the garden.   It was fun activity which encouraged one to take on certain challenges in photographing the garden.  Well, Saxon Holt, at Gardening Gone Wild has restarted the Picture This activity.  As a first challenge he has asked that we post our favorite photos from 2014 and select one for submission to the Picture This photography contest.  This actually struck a chord with something that I had been meaning to do anyway in response to the annual suggestion from Les at A Tidewater Gardener.  I post so many pictures in a year that it is somewhat of a task to go back through the years images and choose the best, but that being said here goes…

The picture of the Greenhouse is not so much a picture of high technical quality but one which captures a moment that sets forth the whole year.  We had a difficult winter that ended up making every flower that survived that much more of a special gift.  The other pictures are mainly of flowers that track the progress of the year.

February

Ferraria ferrariola

It was the first year I grew ferrarias.  They are spectacular in every respect.

Oxalis compressa double

Nearby and almost at the same time as  the ferraias was a delicate oxalis that was especially charming seen from the side and rear.

March

Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’ in the snow

The adonis are so wonderful at combatting the snow, even as early as they come into flower.

April

Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’

You have to kneel down to see those blue stamens, but wow are they ever spectacular.

Erythronium tuolumnense

This is a Sierra Nevada endemic that is one of the parents of the commercially successful ‘Pagoda’ erythronium.  It has an almost ethereal purity.

May

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Krinkled White’

Speaking of purity, it is hard to exceed the golden stamens on white petals featured on this peony.

June

Tausendschon rose

Sometimes the profile of a flower is more effective than the full on in your face shot.  I wish that this were actually my rose, when in fact I took the shot while touring Maryland gardens in June with the Four Seasons Garden Club.

Arisaema candidissimum

Then there are the flowers that are not strictly flowers that stick in your memory.  This is my favorite arisaema.

British Soldiers

Finding the British Soldier Lichen on our garden fence post was one of the treats of the year.  Not only are they useful, but they are exceedingly beautiful if you look closely.

July

Queen of the Night (Epiphyllum oxypetalum)

I think it was about 10pm when I photographed this Epiphyllum in bloom.  It was busy extending an invitation to the local bats.

August

Hoverfly (Allograpta obliqua?)

What I especially like about this picture is the way the colors overlap between the fly and flower…

September

Anemone × hybrida ‘Whirlwind’

There are so many of these perfectly formed anemones in September that you wonder that more people don’t given them space in the garden.

One of the constraints of the Picture This photo contest is that I now have to select one of the above for my entry.  I like so many of these, but if I have to choose one it will be the Peony ‘Krinkled White’ as it appeared in June.

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Krinkled White’