Monarda citriodora CU (Lemon Mint) and Monarda fistulosa CU (Wild Bergamont)

Bee balm culitivars can be seen blooming the summertime and are pollinators for bees. . The image on the right is Monarda citriodora (Lemon Mint, Lemon Bee Balm)  which is a plant I got for my garden from Deborah Crumpton when she had her summer open house.   You would not think of it as a monarda as it has stacked blooms.  The image on the left is the Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamont)  which is growing in my neighbor's yard.  These blossoms have one pale lavender bloom at the top of each stem. Both are herbaceous perennial plants and members of the mint family. Taken with iPhone 6 Camera+ app.  Edited with PSE 11.  The image on the right has a vignette applied to make the colors stand out.    

Yucca Blossoms - Summertime. + Prisma App Artistic Effects

Yucca can be a pretty plant to photograph in the summertime.  However, their blossoms don't last long.  Trying to get in close for a macro shot of a single blossom can result in getting pricked with the leaves which have spines and are "ouchy".   This was growing in my neighbor's yard.  The left image was taken about noon on a bright sunny day.  I did try to decrease the exposure to prevent blown out highlights- no additional edits.   The image on the right was an attempt to play with the Prisma app which gives images artistic effects depending on what filter you choose.   I did change the image to square.  After I choose the filter, I did some additonal editing of contrast, sharpness in PSE 11. This looks like a modern art painting and you are able to see more texture.
.

Ornamental Peppers and White Blossom CU

I was at Friendly Shopping Center last week and saw several large containers with different kinds of flowers. Since Capsicum is "Herb of the Year 2016" I saw an ornamental one with 3 different colors of small peppers.  It had some blossoms which are very small and usually hang down. On the right I tried to take a macro image of it.  The actual size of this white blossom was about 3/8".  If you see the purple ornamental peppers, their blossoms can be purple around the edge.  I did not have a tripod with me and so a macro image can be difficult to photograph. especially with an iPhone.  I did not try to use the self timer or the volume control button to capture the image. There is definitely digital noise present which I could not really decrease in PSE 11.  I did try to use clarify filter to bring out more texture in the blossom but I think it also gave it a more painterly effect  I did label the blossom using the text tool in PSE 11. It was about noon and the subjects were in bright sun.  Maybe sometime I can capture when overcast or late afternoon. Ornamental peppers can be eaten but they may not have the flavor of jalapeno, serrano. Some like NuMex can be as hot as a habenaro. They definitely add an element of color to your garden.      

Rose of Sharon - Neighborhood

I love Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus synuacus).In the USA, you can see this deciduous flowering shrubs blooming in private and public gardens in the summertime.  There are different varieties.  I took these two images of a pink double petal one which the center is less evident and then a white single petal with elongated stamen.   These blossoms do not last long.  They will not do well as a cut flower in a vase.  If it is raining or cold in the morning they will wait until temperature warms up and sun comes out. It is the national flower of South Korea and a member of the Malvacea family not the Roseacea family of plants. Both images were taken with iPhone 6, Camera + app.  Since it was bright noonday sun I did try to change the exposure using the exposure slider.  Further adjustments which included healing brush & clone tool used on the white image using PSE 11.  The white one has a vignette appled.   

Sea Holly - Nannette's Garden

This year I decided to grow some Sea Holly.  I have seen the blossoms on stalks as part of dried arrangements.  I thought it was a tropical plant and some culltivars are.  The one I have is Eryngium amethystinum and is the hardiest species. It can be referred to as puryngium amethystinum, the amethyst eryngo, Italian eryngoor amethyst sea holly. It is a clump-forming, perennial, tap-rooted herb. Its stem is 30 to 50 cm long. Because I only had one plant with 2 stalks I needed to support with a stake.  It is light blue to purple in colour. It has a basal circle of obovate, pinnate, spiny, leathery, mid-green leaves. Remind you of some thintles. It flowers in mid to late summer with cylindrical umbels, 2-3 cm long atop silvery blue bracts and branching stems. The plant is native to the eastern Mediterranean and prefers dry places and soils that are rich in calcium. It can grow in zones 2-10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eryngium_amethystinum  The image on the left is closer to the real color which was taken lateafternoon with iPhone 6.  The image on the right I used the native iPhone 6 app with changing the tint more blue and then using flourescent filter to get the color I liked as an altered image.   I did use a black vignette Resized for blog posting.. Minimal post processing done in PSE 11.  

Monarda (Raspberry Wine) & Borage

 This should have been posted the week of July 3rd, 2016.   Now that it is July, summer is here and we are seeing some of our periennials blooming. Cone flower are another great summer flower. Will post some of those later.  These two CU images are of flowers in my garden.  The image on the left is of a "Raspberry Wine" Monarda cultivar.   The image on the right is of the Borage blossom. Both are considered herbs.and their blooms add color to your garden.         The borage blossom is very difficult to photograph because it usually droops down and is blowing in the wind.  When the weather gets really hot the plant tends to bolt in NC.

Both images taken with iPhone 6 and edited with PSE 11.