Rudbeckia hirta-Black-eyed susan-pictures

Rudbeckia hirta, also known as Black-eyed Susan, is a popular garden flower. It blooms from summer into fall and is still beautiful now, end September.
Its golden daisy-like flowers with dark purplish brown center and its long blooming period has made it a favorite of gardeners.
Rudbeckia hirta flowers measure 5-8 cm in diameter but in some cultivars, as the Gloriosa daisy in the next picture, the inflorescence can reach even 15 cm.This bi-color cultivar with its gold and rusty brown petals and chestnut colored center is more than 1 m high.All Rudbeckia look good in flower beds and meadow gardens. They are an excellent choice for butterfly gardens.Some species of Rudbeckia hirta are true annuals and others are true perennials.Rudbeckia hirta occurs naturally in prairies, dry fields, and open woods. It prefers full sun to light shade and evenly moist soil.

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Butterfy-bumblebee in the park-Macro Flowers Saturday #29

Welcome to a new Macro flowers Saturday and thanks everyone for a weekend with beautiful flowers!

Walking in the park and admiring fall flowers, I've found this white butterfly on an island of asters.
While wondering if it's a small Cabbage White Butterfly or a large Cabbage White Butterfly, I've found out that there is another white one, looking almost the same, called green-veined white butterfly.
This is it, in the following pictures.

The so-called green veins on the underside are, in fact, an illusion created by a subtle combination of yellow and black scales.

Cosmos flowers are still beautiful but swinging in the wind all summer is a hard job, so they laid down on the ground, till frost comes.

Bumblebees are still enjoying their sweet nectar.

The ever beautiful marigold with its striking rusty colors takes good care of its visitors too.

Join Macro flowers Saturday and share your beautiful nature colors with us!

In some parts of the world, there will be less and less flowers in the gardens, from now on.
Please remember that you can post not just flowers, but a great variety of any other parts of plants, leaves, beautiful foliage, interesting seeds and fruits like chestnuts, pumpkins, pine cones, mushrooms, beautiful berries and close-ups of many other things.
Autumn is the most colorful season, there are so many beautiful photo themes at this time of the year.

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Dendrobium Phalaenopsis orchid-care-photos

Dendrobium Phalaenopsis or Dendrobium bigibbum is native to South East Asia and Australia. The name comes from the flowers resemblance to the Phalaenopsis or moth orchid.

Dendrobium Phalaenopsis are very popular orchids, not just for the multitudes of colorful flowers they produce but they like the same temperature range that we also live with in our homes.

The color of the flowers varies from pinkish-mauve to lavender or purple and sometimes almost white, with the base of the labellum (modified petal in the middle) being a much darker purple.


Dendrobium Phalaenopsis may bloom at any time during the year and the flowers on each stem can last up to 4 months.
The flowers come on stems emerging out of the top of each newly developed cane or from previously flowered canes.
This Dendrobium, in the picture bellow, was in flower when I bought it but it was not in a very good shape.
Now it has two new stems emerging from the sides of the old cane.

Dendrobium Phalaenopsis care:

Light: Dendrobium Phalaenopsis hybrids require medium to high light levels. In an East, West or South window sill, two to four hours of sunshine is needed for the a healthy plant with light green leaves. Fluorescent tubes may also be successful for miniature varieties, grown indoors.

Temperature: These hybrids are warm growing, with minimum temperatures of 18°C nights and our normal ambiance temperature, with maximums of 32°C, during the day.
Ensure fresh air and air movement for plants grown indoors.
Watering: Water thoroughly, with naturally soft water or rain water.
When the plant is in active growth, roots should be moist at all times but should dry out somewhat when the plant is not actively growing.

Re-potting:
- in the smallest possible pot, just big enough to hold the roots;
- when the medium is beginning to decompose, usually after about two years;
- when the growth has reached the edge of the pot;
- the best potting mediums are mixtures of 1.5 to 2.5 cm chunks of bark, perlite and charcoal;
- best time to repot: as new growths are just starting to form.

Fertilize weakly and frequently with a balanced fertilizer; every week in spring and summer and every two weeks in autumn and winter.

Recently, the Dendrobium bigibbum complex has been separated into the genus Vappodes. The new name of Vappodes phalaenopsis has now been accepted by the World Checklist of Monocotyledons, as a synonym of Dendrobium bigibbum. (Wikipedia)

And what about this gorgeous Odontocidium with its petals on fire?
I'm sure you'll love it!

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Maple leaves - photos of beautiful autumn colors

Maple leaves, autumn leaves are falling but before they go, they delight us with the beautiful fall foliage colors we enjoy each year.
The bright green of the leaves is already fading away changing to yellow and orange colors.

Some years are more spectacular than others depending on the weather; drought years produce the most intensely colored autumn foliage.


Leaves receiving the most sunshine are those that turn the warmest hues, though few of our trees' leaves turn to red, as they do in some parts of the world.

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White chrysanthemum-macro pictures of chrysanthemums

White chrysanthemum, this high regarded, beautiful flower is the symbol of honesty and nobleness.
With its elegant look and pleasant scent, the chrysanthemum is regarded as positive and cheerful all over the world.

The chrysanthemum has the most beautiful meaning in Japan where a Supreme Japanese honor awarded by the emperor is called the Order of the Chrysanthemum.

In China, there are 3000 chrysanthemum varieties grown.

Tongxiang city is referred to as the city of chrysanthemums because it produces 4000-5000 tons of chrysanthemum flowers each year. The annual chrysanthemum festival is held here, also.

Chrysanthemum tea is one of China's most popular Herbal teas. This tea is well-known for its cooling properties that help to decrease body heat and is recommended for those with fever, sore throat, and other heat-related illnesses.

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Fluffy aster head-aster close up pictures

Asters (Diplopappus) are the flowers of this time of the year.
These asters with the big, fluffy flower head are hybrids and they bring much color in gardens.
The aster is early fall's flower queen, till the chrysanthemums fully open.

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Brugmansia-Angel's trumpet

Brugmansia, often mistakenly called Datura is a woody tree or bush with large, very dramatic, pendulous trumpet-shaped flowers. Though Brugmansia and Datura are closely related and both share the same common name-Angel's trumpet, in fact they are very different.

Brugmansia has pendulous flowers, in different colors, white, yellow, pink, orange or red, and have a delicate, attractive scent, most noticeable in early evening and at night.
Datura species are herbaceous bushes with erect (not pendulous) flowers, and most have spines on their fruit.
The building in the background is a recently built reformed church in my neighborhood, designed by Imre Makovecz, the famous Hungarian architect.
The light peach Brugmansia trees are in front of the church entrance. Though many of their flowers are wilted now, at the end of summer, there is still much beauty left on these trees.

All parts of both Brugmansia and Datura contain dangerous levels of poison and may be fatal if ingested by humans or animals.
The odor of the flowers in a room causes considerable psychological aberration.

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Orchid-Odontocidium Tiger Hambuhren

This gorgeous orchid with its petals on fire is an Odontocidium Tiger Hambuhren hybrid, at least I think so.
Orchids are the largest flowering plant family on the planet and there are so many hybrids that is is very difficult for me, as a beginner orchid lover to identify them correctly.

Odontocidium orchid is a cross between Odontoglossum and Oncidium. This orchid flowers even twice a year and each spike can have up to 25 or more flowers.
The petals are deep golden yellow with burgundy markings and the lip is a brilliant yellow with just a few spots.

Hybrid orchids usually can survive in poor growing conditions which makes them great choices for beginner orchid growers, like myself.
Seeing these orchids and carrying for a few of them, its easy to understand why are so many people obsessed with orchids?

This will be my next orchid, a companion for my Beallara, as soon as I find one with a healthy, not shriveled pseudobulb, at the flower center.

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Fall flowers-my autumn bouquet in reflection

Fall flowers seen in a different way - my way.
My raindrop images are probably boring for everyone, but I can't help it. I'm bored of seeing things the usual way, so here is my autumn bouquet, in the mirror.




Visit Macro Monday at Lisa's for many amazing macros.

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Macro Flowers Saturday #26-Peacock butterfly macro

Today I have a beautiful Peacock butterfly to share with you.
At the beginning of the week I visited a farm, outside the town, with the intention to take some sunflower photos.

Well, I can say, it's autumn on the fields.
Though the sunflowers are still gorgeous and I took many photos, the day's main attraction was chasing butterflies in the owners' flower garden.


Flying from flowers to flower after butterflies it was interesting to see that Peacock butterflies like these bright yellow, double African Marigold flowers (Tagetes erecta} and Painted Lady butterflies like Zinnias, so they don't have to share the yummy nectar.

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Touch-Me-Not - Impatiens Balsamina

Impatiens balsamina or Garden Balsam is an old garden flower, very showy in the landscape.
Little children like to play with its ripe pods of seeds that explode when touched, hence its other name "Touch-Me-Not".
Its beautiful blooms, single or in small clusters grow close to the thick-juicy stems and each of them have a columbine-like spur on the back.

Garden Balsams, also called rose balsams, come in a wide variety of flower colors from white, pink, rose, red, violet to bi-color and they bloom all summer. These are the last ones of this summer.
The double petaled variety, in the last photo, resembles to camellias.

It is interesting to mention that different parts of the plant are used to treat diseases: the juice made from balsam leaves treats snakebite and warts while the flower can be applied to burns to cool the skin.

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