Sunday, August 9, 2015

new camera vs. old camera

I've got a new camera for travel. After researching for days, I got the Panasonic DMC-LX100. It's light. It's quick. It's been critiqued as being a good substitute for a dSLR when traveling. I may not know how to use the camera as well as my trusty (and HEAVY) Nikon D700, but I was comparing shots today.

Abraham Darby
New Camera

Old camera

Falstaff
New camera

Old camera

Bishop's Castle
New camera

Old camera
Bolero


New camera
Old camera
The old camera is much, much better at capturing color accurately, and has better control over DOF. The Bolero photos show that the iHDR setting on the new camera is better at capturing shadows (but not necessarily the highlights), although this looks like it may just be a matter of metering. The old camera is much better at macro. So the new camera will stay what it was intended for, a travel camera.

bolero, finally

Bolero is finally doing what it is supposed to do.


Growing along with dahlias (taller white flowers), Trionfo Violetto beans, and casa blanca lilies (which apparently HATE it here).


The thrips have subsided slightly (still some damage evident), and the plants were given a bit of nitrogen, which is apparently what they needed.


Although these versions of roses are not native to New Mexico, roses are embedded in the culture of New Mexico gardens, and I will always think they belong. Somehow, they just look right, especially when combined with plants adapted to this climate.


Wednesday, August 5, 2015

rain lily

Yep. It's time for the Zephranthes. I'm finding that it's not actually true that the rain brings on the blooms. It's been raining every few weeks for the past few months, but they haven't been blooming until now. I suspect that the rain only triggers bloom during the late summer bloom season.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

winchester cathedral

'Winchester Cathedral' has a lot going for it. Here is the bigger of my two plants, both taken from cuttings only last year. This is its third flush. The plants are vigorous, and blooms are relatively frequent. Thorns are small but significant, being very sharp and needle-like, numerous but not horribly so.


Of my white or pale roses, 'Winchester Cathedral' seems to be least affected by thrips. Sometimes the flowers have this cute button eye.


More often is has this loose blowsy form.

Lacewings know that this is where aphids like to be, so they lay a lot of eggs. Maybe that's why the thrips aren't on these plants much. I hear that lacewings eat thrips. Go lacewings!

Buds are pink.

 Flowers open with a blush of pink.


There is a brief cup-shaped stage.

When the flowers fade, the petals fall neatly.

In contrast, here is the largest of my 'Bolero' cuttings from last year. It's a few months younger than the 'Winchester Cathedral' cuttings, but quite a bit smaller, and the flowers are almost always disfigured by the thrips, although the foliage does not seem prone to any diseases.

'Winchester Cathedral' is not without its problems, however. Foliage easily mildews. The flowers don't last very long. The pink blush looks dingy from a distance. The fragrance is very odd. As David Austin describes it, "There is delicious Old Rose fragrance with hints of honey and almond blossom, which becomes much stronger in warmer weather." I first smelled this rose at the grocery store, where to my surprise they were selling it, and it was delicious and strong. But growing it, to my nose, yes, there is rose fragrance, but a distinct hint of Porta-Potty.