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15 January, 2012

Some Of Our Garden

The other day,, actually, the day before Christmas, I went around and shot several photos of flowers in our yard. I had been waiting for inspiration to hit to come up with an idea for a Christmas card. Finally, I thought of using our pink Poinsettias somehow.

So, I shot the pink Poinsettia tree below for starters, then decided to take a closer shot of one of the nicer pink bits.
Pink Poinsettia Tree
 Which is what you see below. Then I got the idea of trying to remove the background from the flower. I wasn't sure at all how that would go, especially since I hadn't used Photoshop to any great extent before.
The One I Picked
I got lucky with Photoshop and even managed to add in a radial gray tone behind it which really seemed to class it up some.
After PhotoShoping
 As a final touch, I added in the lettering on a curve. I almost always have problems doing this. This time, however, it turned out fine. And there we had a Christmas card.
Finally, Our Christmas Card
Here's the shots of several of the flowers from our yard. We have a pink poinsettia tree (about eight feet tall), and then, right next to it is a red poinsettia tree, about the same height.
The Red Poinsettia Tree
We have several hibiscus bushes all around the yard, which produce myriad flowers, all gorgeous.
Hibiscus Flower
More Hibiscus Flowers
 We've got Bougainvillaea all along the fence line. Bougainvillaea also feature long, stiff, and very sharp spikes, which make them idea as a perimeter planting. Sort of a grown-in security plant, and flowering as a bonus.
Some Other Bougainvillaea Flowers
 We've got some species of vinca (thanks Emily).
White Vinca
Purple Vinca
Purple Vinca With Raindrops
 And more Hibiscus.
Nice White Hibiscus
Yet More White Hibiscus
And some yellow ones, that Dianna thinks may be hibiscus, but she wasn't sure. I have no idea. I just like 'em. Gunnar commented and corrected us. It's an Allamanda.
Allamanda or Yellow Bell (Thanks to Gunnar)
And several bushes of Firecrackers. BTW, doves love to roost and nest under them. Why they like to be so near the ground is beyond me. They're not the brightest birds in the area.
Red Firecrackers Look Like Ladyfingers
 And we have some mystery flowers that kind of look like miniature hydrangeas. Gunnar says they're a Penta.
Penta (Also thanks to Gunnar)
 And lastly, some beautiful red celosia (thanks again, Emily) flowers. We're not sure what their actual name is either.
Celosia or Cockscomb (thanks Gunnar)
Closeup Celosia
There's more here, but that's all I shot this time. I'll take some others later on and share those with you as well.

8 comments:

Wilma said...

Thanks for the garden update! Love the garlic from the earlier post, too. Not sure about that yellow flower; it doesn't look much like a hibiscus, but the leaves do. Is the plant that you are calling tropical azalea also known as periwinkle? Anyway - the garden is looking fabulous with so many colors and textures.

Dave Rider said...

Hi Wilma,
Thanks for the nice comment. We'll check on periwinkle vs. azalea.
There's some others that I either forgot to include or have come and gone before I could shoot them. Oh well.

Cheers,
Dave

Emily said...

Love the flower photos! Definitely think the "tropical azaleas" are vinca. Also, I think the "red chenille" may be a variety of celosia. Google and see what you think. Thanks for the pretty photos.

Dave Rider said...

Hi Emily,

Thanks for the nice comment and for the pointers on names. I'll look them up and make some corrections.
I'm glad you liked the photos.

Cheers,
Dave

ajbaxter said...

Nice work on the photoshop!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pictures.
I think the yellow flower is an allamanda, also known as Yellow Bell, Golden Trumpet or Buttercup Flower, is a genus of tropical shrubs or vines belonging to the dogbane family (Apocynaceae).
The "mystery flower' looks like a penta. Celosia cristate is sometimes called "cockscomb" or "cresta de gallo" (in Spanish.) Another form, celosia plumoso is known as "feather amaranth" or "amaranto plumoso". You may know that poinsettias are known as "nochebuenas", or Christmas eve flowers but in Spanish, it is sometimes called "flor de pascua" or "Easter flower".
Happy gardening in 2012!

Gunnar

Dave Rider said...

Hi Gunnar,

I appreciate the tips on the flowers. I'll Google them on the morrow.

Cheers,
Dave

JRinSC said...

Dave, I don't blame you on the names. I have stuff in my yard that I refer to as "variegated what'its" and just keep right on going.

Your yard looks great -- my compliments to your better half!

Julian