Thursday, August 14, 2008




Talk amongst yourselves.
JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA

26 comments:

Amy Butler said...

Beautiful photos. And I'm loving the Olympics too!

sparrow said...

Can't.
Speechless.

((((J'Belle))))

The Fool said...

So very nice. Phenomenal composition and color. Please tell me what kind of flowers these are....as they don't grow wild in my backyard.

JBelle said...

hello, amy elizabeth butler! I have really loved seeing the graphic designs, the logos, icons and little animals that the Beijing Olympics are sporting. So Asian. So lovely. So cute! Thanks for stopping in.

JBelle said...

pixie pie! speechless? 'cause...? I sat on my front porch tonight sipping a vodka and tonic with a big wedge of lemon. Nice and icy. Thought of you. Full moon tonight. ;)

PDX Pup said...

ooohhhh. the blue one. definitely the blue. my favorite of the 3. looking good!

JBelle said...

oh, my Foolish Friend. It is so nice to see your face round the corner again. The flowers all grow in my garden. The picture with the bumblebee is a purple cone flower. The birds and the bees love them. As I was taking this shot, the bee flew in and started to feed. Serendipity. Once the bloom fades, you leave the seed cone intact and the birds feed on them all winter. Really cool to see in February.

Next shot is a lacecap hydrangea; they are a mottled lovely tie dye of purples, mauves, blues, reds, and pinks, those hydrangeas of mine. I have somewhere between 75-80. Haven't counted them lately. But they are super pretty this year.

The rose ia an own-root shrub rose, 'Robusta'. I have a long hedge of it that runs down to the street and stands at the moment, about six feet high. When my Robustas talk, I think they say, What's up, bitches? got any questions? hahaha

Finally, that's a delphinium and it is precisely that color. I was so happy with this shot because it perfectly captured this pretty blue and lavendar luscious. I can see it from my kitchen window and it stands 8 feet tall or so. Maybe 9 feet? It's fabulous. Glad you liked them. I am working hard on taking good pictures. I'm still waiting for a breakthrough....

JBelle said...

puuuup! the delphinium is your flower! actually, I guess your flower is larkspur, a very close relative to delphinium. This delphie has grown big and bad. Baaaad.

MarmiteToasty said...

I LOVE blue plants with such a passion lol.... and red.... I actually bought another red geum this morning cos for some reason my one that Ive had for years didnt show this spring.... I think Jnet that pesky chicken must of scratched around back in the spring and scratched off the shoots.... oh, I also bought a blue perrenial salvia.... and a red perrenial lobelia with the dark foliage.... and I was suppose to be getting stuff to redo me hanging baskets lol

x

MarmiteToasty said...

You do know that blue delphiniums are my most favourite flower in the whole world....

x

The Fool said...

Thanks for filling in the blanks, Cheech. I like the personality of those Robustas (they're quite vocal, aren't they?). I wonder if I could get them to take up here, and what they might say...

JBelle said...

Melsie, we dont' get the red lobelia so when I see it in the UK, I LUVS it. Hard to completely appreciate how incessant rain could decimate hanging baskets. Mother-------! xx&^%#!!@XXXX (lip curls here) And I grow clumps and clumps and clumps and CLUMPS of blue salvia. We do lots and lots of that here. hahahaha It was a brilliant summer day here: deep blue skies, hot without humidity and the air thick with the birds and the bees. Once you get here, you'll see....

JBelle said...

Foolish, You absolutely can grow 'Robusta' in Homer. Go own root. If I see one at the Farmers' Market, I'll buy it and send it to you. It's a terrific rose. Faithful. Unneedy. Unfailing. Gorgeous.

JBelle said...

Melsie, oh but that I could grow delphies like the people of the UK can grow delphies. The only other place I have seen them grow like they grow in the UK is in Canada? Just south of the Yukon? Has to be the long days of sunlight, which we don't have here. I do my best, however. I do my best.

MarmiteToasty said...

:) If I had a huge garden I would have beds upon beds of every delphinium I could find.... there are so many different shades of blue.... and the pink delphinium is to die for with its violet to salmon shades....

When I was married to TheTosser and we own our little plant nursery where we would just grow perrenials and alpines, hundreds of different varieties..... we would grow at least 2,000 delphiniums every year, they were always the first to sell at the country fairs...... and when we use to do the Broadlands House Country Fair...... The Lady of the House would always make a point to come to our display and pick out 10 delphiniums every year, cos she said she had NEVER seen such a wonderful healthy beautiful display before.....

And lupins oh my hundreds and hundreds of lupins, oh, I could go on and on LOL

It was a hard life, but.... sighhhh I so miss it....

Ok, I'll give the Tosser one compliment.. he was one hell of a grower.... dam LOL

I so miss our nursery, more then I could ever imagine and the shows and the growing etc.... that way of life had been a part of my life for near on 20 years.... and even now when walking around garden centres I find myself dead heading and picking off the dead leaves from plants lmfao - it drives me maties mad..lol.... note I said I miss the plants and NOT the Tosser lol

x

MarmiteToasty said...

ps..... I have pots and pots of delphiniums (actually most of the pots are old tin buckets) outside me back door...when they are in flower I can sit on me little back doorstep with me cuppa tea (when its not raining) and just get lost in the beauty of them......

I wonder if me and the Tosser had stayed together, I wonder if my lads would of been green fingered....

x

MarmiteToasty said...

*once I get there* - sighhhhhhhhh

x

MarmiteToasty said...

pps......yesterday was quite bright and sunny, but as I sit here at a little before noon, the heavens have opened and its tipping it down again.... there really is no summer this year here in my little corner of the world, in more ways then one....

Rushing out to get me washing in off the line....

x

MarmiteToasty said...

Ya know I meant the perrenial lobelia's dont ya and not the little dangly bedding blues and pinks and whites that people but in hanging baskets...

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/805/888790.JPG

sighhhhhhh...

x

Carla said...

Beautiful. Ahhhh...

Julie said...

Jbelle, Keep practicing. I thought (or at least on my home computer) that the shots of the hydranga and rose was a little dark. This is easily fixed on your computer by setting the exposure just a tad higher. I know, I know must NOT use PhotoShop! Don't be afraid to ajust your apture piority for each photo as well.

The delphiniums are glorious! Such a gorgeous shot!

Just curious? What kind of camera do you use?

JBelle said...

Julie, I shot these in the gathering dusk and although they ARE dark, what I liked about them is the way the color rose from the depth of the image and floated. Strictly speaking, my e/v comp was too high and I should have notched it back; to tell you the truth, I had no idea where I was as I was trying desperately to maintain focus. Should have remembered one reason I'd lose focus was because of the e/v comp. For me, the delphie had too much light. But it was not bad. I have a new Nikon D80; I thought when I bought it it would be all the camera I'd ever need. sigh. Not so. I am now deciding whether to buy a D300 or a D700. I'll let you know.

JBelle said...

Mel, yes: the cardinal lobelia. Birds love it.

Julie said...

I thought when I bought it it would be all the camera I'd ever need. sigh. Not so. I am now deciding whether to buy a D300 or a D700. I'll let you know.>>

Well, Jbelle, what can I say. I've been through a number of cameras myself and I don't think I'm done yet. It seems they come out with a bigger and better camera each year, but usually at a price I can't afford. So I usually collect everyone else's not so big and not so better when the newest models come out.

I do have to admit, the XTi does have a simplier way of downloading the photos. But as far as the other features...I've not used this camera enough yet to explore them all.

An easy fix to your dark pictures. Although try to remember the e/v comps the next time, to correct them is an easy exposure adjustment in photoshop. It will only take a nudge and you won't lose the clarity and romance of the picture.

JBelle said...

ah, geez. think anyone will KNOW if I start using Photoshop? I don't want to lose all my friends!

;) xoxo

Julie said...

hush...PhotoShop is a need-to-know basis, and no one but you needs to know.