Photos

zxgirl posted a photo:

Cape Sundew
Drosera capensis

lostash posted a photo:

Bog Garden - March 6, 2010 - closeup

jimf_29605 posted a photo:

This is a closeup of a Sarracenia flava which I have trimmed - even the phylodia. I've used this procedure every year I've had the garden, and the plants seem to do quite well.

Bog Garden - March 6, 2010 - after preparing it for spring

jimf_29605 posted a photo:

It still doesn't look much better, but when the flowers appear, it will have a much better presentation without those dead leaves/pitchers.

Took one hour to trim the plants, and it took two additional hours to pull up the pesky, invasive moss... ;-(

Bog Garden - March 6, 2010 - before preparing it for spring

jimf_29605 posted a photo:

Wow, it really looks a mess! I really wanted to burn it this year, but I found out that there is a city no-burn ordinance with no exceptions... So, I decided to trim it as I did last year. Burning would be much better, since that is what the plants experience in their natural habitat (longleaf pine savannahs along the Atlantic coastal plain).

Most of the taller leaves are actually pitchers from native pitcher plants. At the end of summer, they all turn dark red in preparation for winter.

The garden is experiencing an invasion of a Polytrichum moss species that is taking over. It forms a dense mat, and I'm afraid it will crowd out some of the smaller plants such as my Venus' fly-traps. I know of no other way to rid the garden of this pest except by manual extraction. When it reappears (which it will), I'll spot treat it with Round-up (herbicide) using a small, artist's brush. Certainly don't want to get Roundup on the carnivorous plants.

Shoe Tree

• ian posted a photo:

While waking with my daughters in the park around Towne Lake in McKinney, I happened to notice this large open knot on a tree next to the walking path. For some reason I wanted to look inside. When I did, I was somewhat taken back by what I saw. For some reason there was a kids shoe coved in, what I could only assume, feed for the ducks at the lake. I kicked myself for not bring my camera. This was family time and the camera stayed home.

I went back the next day, but a storm had started moving in. By the time I had finished taking pictures of railroad tracks in Fairview, a light rain has started. When I finally made it back to Towne Lake and set up the tripod, winds were blowing spay up from the lake in addition to the rain. I felt like 45º and I forgot my coat. As I snapped the photos, I hoped it was worth it.

See where this picture was taken [?] or see it large.

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Photo Details: 5 exposure shot with a tripod using Canon EOS 7D with EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens at f/5.0. Tonemapped generated HDR using Photomatix's details enhancer option. Processed in Lightroom to increase clarity and contrast.

All comments or criticism are, as always, welcome.