BEST OF 2011 MACRO MONDAYS ~ SLIDESHOW from MY GARDEN

I am one of those gardeners entranced with Macro Mondays. Here are some
of  my best shots from 2011. Visit our gracious host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/
for more wonderful closeups. Thanks, Lisa, for another year of hosting!
David/:0)
For beautiful background music, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e5DVNb6bCA&feature=related  (El condor pasa), then open a second tab on google and type in Tropical Texana.  By the time you get the second tab up and going, the music should fit. The music FAR outlasts the little slideshow, but hey, free music....free garden blog to tour around....and free pictures to download...what more could you want! :0) LOL

A recent leaf from our Rain tree (Koelreuteria elegans)
Note: Most shots are from my garden with a few from other gardens or along the highway.

Why I Garden: Reason #2: A Garden is Filled With Hope ~ Happy Macro Monday

My friend gave me a Kalanchoe baby this week. This little tyke is bursting with hope that the roots will touch soil. (They did)

Here's the macro of the unique silver gray 'skin' .

My wife has been discourged this week with some unsettling medical news.  She said for me to pray and look for signs of hope. So I made this little pond for her (plus I needed to look at some water during this seemingly endless drought). As I was arranging the rocks, I found this...

I had gathered these rocks from all over the yard and had picked up a plain white one (look back in the previous photo...it's the one directly below the white triangular stone ).

As I arranged the stones, you can imagine how startled I was to find a message under this rock! God works in mysterious ways. I told my wife I had found some hope while working in the garden.

Hope you find some hopeful signs in your garden this week. New flowers, new baby plants, new butterflies, and maybe the hope of precious rainfall here in the South.

David/:-)

Earlier Post on March 1, 2011... Why I Garden: Reason #1~ A Garden will Always Surprise You

HELLO, DEAR RUELLIA: HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

It sounds like the name of my great aunt, but I'll call anything dear that blooms in 100 degree heat here in Texas. This is Ruellia humilis and it is a Texas native (according to websites). I have 4 Reullias and I really want to get more since they seem impervious to heat and dry conditions. Most come back from rootstock or self-seeding. Anyone have a favorite Ruellia I can try? Thanks.
Visit our wonderful host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/ to see more Monday Macros. :-) David

I almost stepped on the bloom! It makes a great ground cover.

Thanks for visiting my garden.

David/ :-)

BLUE EGGS: HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

Our elementary school has a patio just outside my classroom. It has two yaupon bushes for well-camouflaged nests. Once again, a mockingbird has chosen the smaller bush. I thought the nest was abandoned, but to my surprise it had 4 beautiful eggs inside. The momma bird was NOT happy to see me nosing around her nest and I could hear her fussing up on the rooftop. I took these with a steady nerve since mockingbirds will swoop down and give you a peck on the head if need be.
I told her I was not going to hurt her eggs.
For more great macros, visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/ . Thanks for stopping by. David/ :-)

This mockingbird used pine straw to line the nest. The rest of the nest is built with live oak sticks.

Blue with brown mottling best describes colorful mockingbird eggs.

Never mind the security camera, look who's watching me! Momma bird!

I walked past the nest several times before seeing it. So did dozens of others.

Mockingbirds build their nests low. This one was only 5 1/2 feet above ground.

The mockingbird's hundreds of imitated calls enamored early naturalists. It is the state bird of more U.S. states than any other bird. Somewhere around 6 or 7 states have it as their state bird.

UBIQUITOUS OXALIS: Happy Macro Monday

UBIQUITOUS: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread

This most beautiful flower is everywhere in my garden. It spreads and spreads and I couldn't get rid of it if I tried. Judging from this close up, I guess I should be happy to have such a pretty problem.
Visit Lisa, our host, for some beautiful macros. http://lisaschaos.com/
David/ Tropical Texana/ Houston

CHICKWEED NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD ~ HAPPY MACRO MONDAY!

I found my first little bloom today and it's an old friend.  Really, you say?  Well, it is because it's such an easy little guy to control. It's fancy name is Stellaria media and it's scary name is CHICKWEED!  Chickweed looks like it has 10 petals when in fact it has 5 deeply lobed petals.  There's more at the bottom of the post and yes, chicks like to eat it...hence the name.  To see more macros, visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/ . :0)

Do you see the green star?

Actual size compared to a pencil.

Other facts: native to Europe, very fragile root system so it's easy to pull up, cannot take heat or drought, edible (I'll try some tomorrow!) and filled with Vitamin C, a late Winter groundcover here in South Texas, seeds can stay dormant for 25 to 40 years, can be fed to chicks, described by Linneaus long ago.

Thanks for visiting! Happy Macro Monday.

YOUR FIRST 10,000 PHOTOGRAPHS ARE YOUR WORST ~ HAPPY MACRO MONDAY!

That famous quote by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson seems to be haunting me right now. Have I taken 10,000 yet?
It feels like it!  These shots are from a single sycamore seed floating in my rain barrel this weekend.
To me, it looks like a space craft silently floating through time and space. To imagine it contains new life makes it even more surreal. And...real or surreal, you can see a whole set of macros over at Lisa's blog by clicking http://lisaschaos.com/   It's such a fun group and our host, Lisa, is terrific! Thanks Lisa.
Happy Macro Monday. David/ :-)

                                               sycamore seed in my rain barrel

                                   with the camera facing towards the reflected tree branches

with the camera facing towards the dark rain barrel interior

SIGNS OF WINTER/ SIGNS OF SPRING~ MACRO MONDAY IN TRANSITION

I first just want to say how fun it was to read comments today. It's so nice to know that fellow gardeners stop by to 'visit'. :-)  Thanks.
I think I'm getting more and more critical of my photos and lately, I've trashed just about everything I take.
Ever had one of those times?   So here are the last 3 that jumped back out of the trash can. It's been too muddy (when was the last time I said that!!!) to garden, so I've been trimming trees and shrubs and trying to find something to photograph. Happy Macro Monday.  And...to see some people NOT struggling to find a photo or two, visit Lisa's blog at http://lisaschaos.com/  . Her photography blog is gorgeous.

Cardboard palm (Zamia furfuracea) The individual pieces feel stiff and are kind of like botanical poker chips.

It can regrow brilliantly from a hard freeze. I love this plant!

A ladybug! Maybe Spring is on the way. (click on photo to get MACRO)

The wild elderberry bush takes the lead and starts budding this week. Doesn't it know it's still January?

Today's Garden Chuckle:  You would never want to sprinkle this on your plants!

MACRO MONDAY ~ BLOOMING RICE PAPER PLANT

It just so happens that our Rice Paper Plants dodged the frosts and put out their otherworldly bloom spikes. They attract quite an array of flying insects including this strange little guy in the bee or wasp family.
Visit our wonderful host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/  to see this week's macros.

Click on photo to enlarge for the macro. As I stood under these hundreds of flower balls, the bee and fly traffic sounded like a tiny airport with miniature planes taking off and landing. :0)

A few fun facts about this plant.

Rice paper plants look very tropical, but are root hardy in zones 8 and 9.

They grow very large, palm-like leaves. They can grow in full sun or shady spots.

They can grow up to 15 feet tall and even develop a trunk about the size of a broom handle.

They bloom every year starting in November...as long as it doesn't freeze.

Once mature, the stems can grow back their leaves even after a hard freeze. Amazingly, my plants regrew after a 21 degree freeze last year.

Handle the leaves with care! Some people find the 'dust' on the leaf surfaces irritating to the throat and nose.

Baby plants can come up as suckers up to 10 feet away. I just pull up any baby I don't need.

They don't transplant easily. Cut all the leaves off except the top one and replant in early Spring.

Rice paper plants needs water, but they can take a short dry spell. They like high humidity.

Thanks for stopping by my tropical garden blog. David :0)

Bonus shot: Palm shadows across palm leaves.

THE SECRET SIDE OF A CYCLAMEN ~ HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

Here in Houston the local garden shops bring us winter flowers that can bloom in the colder months. I wish I could afford a hundred cyclamens, but today I bought one. The cyclamen is a strange plant because as soon as it gets warm, it starts to die. If you keep it cool and bone dry all summer, you might get one to come back for a second year. It is from the Mediterranean area, so it is excited to grow in the winter when the rains come. It then goes dormant in the summer in its native habitat of Turkey and southward to Israel. Does anyone else grow cyclamens outdoors? I know they like good drainage.
Visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/ to see the other Macros. She's our terrific host. Happy MM!

                                   on the surface

                                                  below the surface

                                               deep inside the cyclamen

                                           edge patterns look almost like they're made of liquid

All of this makes me wonder if Georgia O'keeffe ever painted a cyclamen. While she lived in New York, she would go to the local flower shops and buy a flower, then turn it into one of her gorgeous paintings. I have had the honor of seeing 3 of her original paintings here in Houston art museums. Her paintings are stunning.

Here's a Cyclamen growing wild in Israel. You can see why they like fast draining soil. (source: Wikipedia)

MACRO MONDAY ~ AROUND THE FRONT YARD

I was going to do a macro on primary colors (blue, red, yellow), but could not find a vivid yellow leaf. So something blue, red, and green will have to do...along with some other surprises. We haven't had a frost yet, so I've still got some variety instead of brown, brown, and more brown.  Pick your favorite and tell me in a comment. Comments are always read and always appreciated. Visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/ to view the source of all the fun. Happy MM to all, and to all a good night!

                                 BLUE       (blue daze flowers)

                                                RED (Pittosporum berries)

                                          GREEN  (Giant white bird of paradise leaves)

                          This grumpy stink bug was highly annoyed by the photo session.

                         The black triangle leads deeper into the fall leaves.

                               Mysterious white dots on an Oxalis leaf.

                          Mosaic patterns with a brown pattern on Fall leaves.

                                               Mixed up wood fern thinks it is Spring?!

MACRO MONDAY ~ LAST OF THE FLOWERS....I HEAR JACK FROST COMING!

Unless I make it to December 15th and GBBD, this will be the last of the flowers for this season.
Pick your favorite and leave a comment. Comments always are appreciated. And visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/ to see the rest of the collection. So many macros...so little time.
David :0)

Mexican Butterflyweed ~  Asclepias curassavica

Mist flower

Aloe saponaria with some cool geometric patterns.

Purple Setcreasea with green leaves

Cyperus alternifolius (Umbrella papyrus) and some serious leaf geometry

HAPPY MACRO MONDAY ~ LACEWINGS LAST FLIGHT

I had to wait on the backporch last week for a chicken to finish cooking. So instead of being bored, I started exploring the window and outdoor light to see if there were any interesting photos waiting in the wings. The green lacewings are attracted to the porchlight and are quite beautiful, but this one crash landed or got tangled up in the ever present spider webs surrounding the window. By the way, lacewings are very beneficial to the garden. Their larva are called aphidlions and they are great hunters.

                                                   click on image to get the Macro.

You can see the location on the window, and a rare glimpse of the photographer. I'm shy.

To see the rest of the MM bunch, visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/. There are some serious photographers over there.

GETTING TO THE POINT: AGAVES AND MACROS...HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

I could not decide which Agave shot I liked the best, so I'm posting the collection. Agaves leave what's called bud imprints; a ghost of where the last layer of spikes were pressing into the leaf buds below. I find them hauntingly beautiful. It's especially nice when the leaf color is blue...my favorite color of Agave. I have about 30 species and cultivars and I love them all. Speaking of collections, visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/ to see the rest of the photo phanatics and their phantasia of phun photos.

                                     Agave parrasana   'Confederate Rose'  (you absolutely MUST click on this one to see the cool scales and bud print!)

Agave lophantha, bud prints, and oak leaf

                                               Agave ferox (just plain bizarre!)

                                                  Agave americana with pine needle and shadows

Agave americana (side view with an attempt at symmetry)