Wild flowers have been allowed to grow unmolested by the lawnmower at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston and this morning there were more types than I ever remember seeing there. A nice patch of these pink beauties, perhaps some kind of mallow, caught my eye.
A single bloom off on its own shows delicate pink shades.
The ground was dry and after scanning for snakes, ants and other creatures I got down on the ground for a few images
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I cannot resist these beautiful blooms.
Nature at her finest.
When I first saw these flashes of white from the road I thought they were birds. It was a nice treat to find water lilies, even though I couldn’t get very close.
There was a small grouping of lilies closer to the dike that runs along the side of the pond.
A stiff breeze was flapping the lily pads out of the water in an open area where a single Cormorant was fishing.
A planting of red tulips along a fountain edge provided a show and a multitude of focus options.
Yellow Snapdragons on my side of the water added another layer of color.
A higher shutter speed captured the details of the brick wall beyond as well as the water and flowers.
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Or perhaps “Saucer Magnolia” depending on where you look. Google quickly overwhelmed me with information in my search for how many varieties there might be. I’ll just say this particular tree has huge blossoms, 8 to 10 inches (20-25 cm) across, and they have a more delicate coloring than those in my post Tulip Magnolias in Bloom.
These blossoms didn’t seem to have the outer fuzzy covering as other tulip magnolias I have seen.
The blossoms emitted a sweet, but not overwhelming, fragrance. Some other varieties I have encountered could almost be said to stink.
Many Azaleas are also in bloom in this area and these made a nice backdrop to another unopened bloom.
Taken March 13, 2019.
Pause on way to swamp
for purple iris standing
in sun dappled woods
The color of the Tulip Magnolia Blossoms often outshines their mis-shapen form.
It’s not yet spring, but Tulip Magnolias started blooming throughout the greater Charleston, SC area at the end of January.
We had a few days in the high 70s (around 25 C) last week and the blossoms popped out like crazy.
The daytime temperatures have since dropped back to more seasonable mid 60s (15C). I’d like to think we’re past having an overnight freeze, which would turn these beauties into black disappointment. However, two years ago we had a hard frost at the end of March so I won’t hold my breath.
The Charleston area daylight is down to 10 hours as we approach the last week until winter solstice, technically December 21, which I like to think of as “making the turn”. The flowers still in bloom stretch to get what sun they can.
These pink ones, Gerber Daisies I think, were surprisingly robust with very little actual plant to support them.
Roses will form buds and flower throughout the winter here, although they often don’t make much of a showing as a blossom when the temperatures flirt with freezing over night.
