Ladybug

Pin It

Look who was hiding on a leaf when I was taking these photos.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Ruby Tuesday - Ruby Red Mystery Flowers

Pin It

I've lost the tag to this plant and can't for the life of me remember its name. Can anybody help?

[Ed. note: Found it! 

Leycesteria formosa gold leaf. Common names: Himalayan Honeysuckle; Pheasant Berry.]

Check out more ruby red photos this Tuesday and every Tuesday on Mary's blog, Work of the Poet.



© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Cucumber Beetle on Buddleia

Pin It

Before you say awwww, how cute, this little guy can wreak havoc in a vegetable garden.  Green bean plants can disappear before your eyes.

And while the combination of lime green on purple is not lost on my artistic senses, hence the photo, that dratted bug was toast right after the photo shoot.

I have been very successful in thwarting them from devouring the garden by using diatomaceous earth. They don't like it. Heh, heh, heh.




© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Zucchini Blossoms

Pin It 

Squash blossom abstract




Zucchini squash blossoms

 These are from my vegetable garden which is flourishing this summer.  I'll tell you why in a future post.

I harvested the first two zucchini this week (yay!) and made a frittata which you can see by clicking over to my cooking blog Christine Cooks.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Crocosmia Buds

Pin It

I love the circles and swirls so had to let you see it too. 

More photos of my crocosmias can be seen here, here, here, here, and finally here.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Mellow Yellow Monday - Geum macrophyllum (Yellow)

Pin It

Geum, or avens as it more commonly known, which was news to me, is a North American wildflower that grows rather rampantly throughout my garden.  It's easily pulled and discarded from places where I don't wish it to settle so I don't find it particularly invasive.  The tiny flowers are from 1/2-inch to about 1-inch across and small wasps like to hide in the stamens.

The seed heads are small, hairy little things that will snare all number of things including strands of my hair.  Hard to believe this little flower is in the Rose family, Rosaceae.

More photos of yellow await you at Mellow Yellow Monday, so please click on over and take a look. 

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Spider on Daisy

Pin It

Shadows are often cast in the details of a photo only noticed after the shot is taken and then viewed with a more critical eye in one's photo software.  Here, I was just trying to get the spider to hold still enough for me to take a clear photo. The spider was not cooperating.  But the shadows were a nice surprise.

Take a look at more shadow shots at Tracy's blog, Hey Harriet.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Emotion In Motion

Pin It

"Emi"  4/22/1983 - 7/6/2011
My sweet, sweet girl - run free.

Somewhere in time's own space

There must be some sweet pastured place

Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow

Some paradise where horses go,

For by the love that guides my pen

I know great horses live again.

~Stanley Harrison

 

 

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Summer Squash - Cavili

Pin It

As one can readily see, the squash blossom is four times as large as its progeny.  I've been measuring the growth rate of the squash and it's about 1/8th of an inch per day.

All this in glorious sunshiny days with highs tippy-toeing to the 70s.

Evidently not hot enough.

One could starve waiting for this to become dinner.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Red Leaf Lettuce - Happy 4th!

Pin It

Six different types of lettuce are growing in my garden this summer.  Lettuces are the plants that grow best in our climate.  And peas, but they're not even close to being photogenic yet.

I go out each morning to measure overall growth of my vegetables and snap a photo here and there which I've been featuring lately on this blog.

One of these days I'll post a photo of the whole garden, but for now I'm happy with the macros.

This one is for Ruby Tuesday - Mary's ever-so-popular Tuesday meme.
I know she'd be please if you took a peek.



Happy 4th of July!

and ...

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Morning Sun and Shadow

Pin It

A serendipitous shot, to be sure, as I was focused on the water droplets clinging to the rose leaf in early dawn shade and not to the rising sun and how it would light up the leaf in an instant, a stem casting a horizontal shadow from behind.

Visit Tracy at Hey Harriet this Sunday for intriguing shadow shots from around the globe.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.