plants « ((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘plants’

Hummingtree

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: animals, future, observation, pictures, plants

13 March 2011

Someday, I want a tree like this in my yard so I can watch hummingbirds come feed.

tree with large pink flowers that attract hummingbirds

The hummingbird blends in with the flowers on this tree!

I dub it the "hummingtree" since it works just as well as a hummingbird feeder!

Fruit flower

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: food, pictures, plants

23 February 2011

three flowers blossom from a strawberry plant

Yay, I can finally get some strawberries this year! Those flowers should all give way to fruit soon...

Fall(ing) leaves

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: los angeles, observation, pictures, plants, season

10 November 2010

The ginkgo leaves fade from green to yellow to brown as the season changes and they begin to die.

Huntington Gardens: pond & desert

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: experiences, huntington gardens, interesting, los angeles, pictures, plants

01 October 2010

The final installation of the gallery of pictures from the Huntington Gardens. See Part 1 and Part 2. Click pictures for original size.

: This plant seems to want to be 2D.

: A dragonfly resting on a reed.

: A cluster of lily pads hides two secrets! Little turtles!

: One of them swims off and the other follows suit.

: I wonder if their necks get tired like that.

: A wasp takes a rest by my feet.

: I was really hoping to see a frog…

: This turtle was working on its tan.

: I figured a flower petal wouldn’t scare the koi as much, and was pretty much able to touch it with my ploy.

: I think it’s fascinating how large and tall lotus flowers are.

: Don’t step here! It’s a pond underneath! Check out the turtle poking out. 🙂

: That bird is up really high on this cactus tree thing.

: I love the wings! A bit of flash as they open up, then they retract and it goes away.

: Some of these desert plants grow really tall!

: I wonder if they get water up to the top the way the sequoias do.

: These cacti decided it wasn’t worth it to fight gravity.

: This is a pretty cool cactus. Looks like someone designed it with layers.

: This pretty much looks like a tree.

: They stand up so straight! They kind of look like fingers.

: Perhaps these flowers grow larger because they are closer to the ground and get more nutrients and water?

: They can grow pretty elaborately. It reminds me a type of coniferous tree, but I can’t remember what.

: These things grow almost as tall as palm trees!

: Cousin It in old age.

: This is one happy cactus!

: It looks rather like a snow globe. So perfectly round!

: This is quite the menacing cactus.

: So geometric… these would work as a great fence.

Huntington Gardens: Chinese & Japanese garden

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: animals, doc, flowers, huntington gardens, opti, pictures, plants

12 September 2010

A continuation of the last gallery of pictures from the Huntington Gardens. Click images for full size.

: Entering the Chinese garden, so of course there are lotuses!

: It’s good to walk barefoot on these to stimulate your feet and get some self-reflexology treatment.

: Enjoying a bit of massaging on my feet.

: A momma duck led her ducklings around to have some fun and enjoy the day.

: Enjoying my vantage point.

: It looks just like the Menchies logo!

: Using a dead stem as its platform.

: On one stem, a dead lotus. On the other, a dragonfly.

: Holding up the bridge, that one.

: I used my plate from lunch to attract koi that thought they’d get food.

: They blend in quite well to the floor of leaves.

: Having a little family outing/field trip.

: This is a duck herding her young.

: And plop, in they go to follow mom.

: There they go, off to the next adventure.

: Among the blur of the scenery is a dragonfly passing by.

: We enter the Japanese garden and find a bridge with the highest arch I’ve ever seen.

: I dub it “beta koi” because it’s a koi that wants to be a beta fish.

: Another blurry shot as I catch a dragonfly in action.

: So I’m guessing it’s a princess ant since it has wings.

: Check out how one pair of wings is flapping down while the other is flapping up!

: With the huge lotus leaves as a backdrop, a dragonfly rushes past.

: Captured both a dragonfly and a koi in this shot!

: This one had that “feed me” look, but I had nothing to offer.

: A smaller, cuter dragonfly with a head like a hammerhead shark’s.

: Using plants to create a canopy, now there is something I like! Definitely want to consider that for my future backyard.

: A mini bamboo forest greeted us at the top of the hill.

: The ripples of water are carefully raked into zen gardens.

: So small and delicate! There are these plastic pieces that kids use to make jewelry that look kind of like this when put together. You know what I’m talking about?

: I found a baby leaf yet to completely unfurl into its adult self.

: Off they go into the bamboo forest.

: Deeper and deeper they go… if there was a horizon or sunset, they’d disappear into it.

See the final part here.

Huntington Gardens: Shakespeare Garden & greenhouse

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: beauty, interesting, nature, panda, pictures, plants, pretty

06 September 2010

Part 1 of a 3-part series from pictures taken at the Huntington Library & Gardens. Click to see the whole image.

: Teeny little strawberry growing under the protection of the leaves.

: You don’t often see flowers so blue/purple.

: A huge bush with lots of flowers.

: Among those flowers was a giant black bee buzzing around.

: The bush was also teeming with bees pollinating.

: I spot two pomegranates in a tree!

: It’s a fuzzy plant that looks like it belongs in the lettuce or cabbage family.

: Hidden amongst all that fuzz was a grasshopper perfectly camouflaged.

: We went into the greenhouse and immediately came across these bean pods.

: Do the leaves turn this dark red when they get old?

: Funny how they dangle, yet their petals grow up and expose the stems (versus most plants where the petals protect them).

: I’m thinking these are plantains? Or do bananas grow upwards as well?

: These are for you to see how certain plants have seeds that will float along with the wind.

: Our friend Opti spun too hard and blew it all the way to the top, where it got stuck.

: I pose with these huge highlighter yellow flowers.

: I think this is a root of some sort.

: Well, now I’m not so sure it’s a root. What are they??

: In the kid’s garden, there was this sculpture of a tortoise that I decided to get a ride on.

: Trying to maintain my balance while being told by Panda to smile.

: It looks more like a vegetable than a fruit to me.

: The baby versions of that vegetable-looking plant.

: I love plants like these that eat bugs!

: It’s a quite a long way to the bottom. I think I see some bugs in there.

: These have quite the design on them.

: Now these are my favorite plants! The one and only Venus flytrap.

: Check out those little claws. So delicate yet so menacing.

: Here’s a magnified look.

: A little camera was available for taking a closer look.

: And here’s that plant with my camera’s zoom.

: Looking up to see what there is.

: This flower hadn’t opened yet, but I could get a peek inside.

Click here for the next part.

My dream plant

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: huntington gardens, interesting, pictures, plants

21 August 2010

I have always wanted to have my own Venus flytraps, but they are hard to come by. So instead I took time to admire the ones at the Huntington Gardens.