Favorite Photos 2016
Les at Tidewater Gardener has posted his annual meme challenging other garden bloggers to present their 10 favorite photos of the year. I was surprised to find I have 3779 images in my photo files for 2016; I probably ought to do my annual winter image clean-up since many are sub-par or near duplicates and just eat up space on my external hard drive. It was actually fun to go through them all and try to pick out 10, it brought up great memories of gardens and landscapes visited, and reminded me that there were actually some positive aspects of 2016. These are not necessarily the best, but they are those that have meaning for me.
This was taken in April at a wetlands trail in south Napa County. Napa is known for wine, vines and food, but we have a beautiful network of wetlands that feed into the San Pablo Bay and to some extent reach east to the Sacramento River Delta. I have really neglected the rich photography opportunities here and hope to capture more in 2017.
I took a boatload of pics at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in 2016, and could have easily filled up my top ten from those. This was taken (I think) at the spring plant sale and I just like the simple placement of the yellow flower on this Opuntia against the blue sky.
This is our friend Doobie who left us this year. He was a sweet boy, and lived a fine life full of kitty treats and pleasant days in the garden.
This is a Boophone I processed as a black in white , taken at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden in January. I have severe Boophone lust, thus this image was selected.
Another from the Ruth Bancroft Garden; I like the juxtaposition of the dead palm fronds and the vibrancy of the blooming Aloe.
This was taken at the entry to Round Pond winery in Rutherford. I was shocked to find that every one of these beautiful Agaves had been removed when I drove on this back road last month.
And speaking of Agaves, I took this at a photo workshop at the Bancroft.
Mendocino Botanical garden in July. How I love this garden and I try to visit at least once a year. I took almost 300 photos this day and it was hard to pick one. This may not be the best, but to me it really displays the atmosphere of the garden.
This is the Great Beach at Pt Reyes National Seashore.
And finally, I give thanks to this lady who walked through these grasses at the Pacific Horticulture Summit visit to the Reid garden in Sebastopol Ca. I turned around and there she was in her purple cape against the golden grasses.
This was taken in April at a wetlands trail in south Napa County. Napa is known for wine, vines and food, but we have a beautiful network of wetlands that feed into the San Pablo Bay and to some extent reach east to the Sacramento River Delta. I have really neglected the rich photography opportunities here and hope to capture more in 2017.
I took a boatload of pics at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in 2016, and could have easily filled up my top ten from those. This was taken (I think) at the spring plant sale and I just like the simple placement of the yellow flower on this Opuntia against the blue sky.
This is our friend Doobie who left us this year. He was a sweet boy, and lived a fine life full of kitty treats and pleasant days in the garden.
This is a Boophone I processed as a black in white , taken at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden in January. I have severe Boophone lust, thus this image was selected.
Another from the Ruth Bancroft Garden; I like the juxtaposition of the dead palm fronds and the vibrancy of the blooming Aloe.
This was taken at the entry to Round Pond winery in Rutherford. I was shocked to find that every one of these beautiful Agaves had been removed when I drove on this back road last month.
And speaking of Agaves, I took this at a photo workshop at the Bancroft.
Mendocino Botanical garden in July. How I love this garden and I try to visit at least once a year. I took almost 300 photos this day and it was hard to pick one. This may not be the best, but to me it really displays the atmosphere of the garden.
This is the Great Beach at Pt Reyes National Seashore.
And finally, I give thanks to this lady who walked through these grasses at the Pacific Horticulture Summit visit to the Reid garden in Sebastopol Ca. I turned around and there she was in her purple cape against the golden grasses.
All these images are wonderful, Kathy! They're also all relatively different from one another, which makes it hard to pick a favorite but, as the photo from the Mendocino Botanical Garden made me sigh when I saw it, that's the one I'd say had the greatest impact on me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kris, time for you to do a road trip and do the Mendo Botanical and Digging Dog loop !
DeleteThese are all good photos, but I really like the last one of the lady in the grasses. I can almost see her cape, and those grasses swaying. I also like the forms of the palms fronted by the agaves. I am so sorry you lost Doobie this year, he looks like a very easy going cat.
ReplyDeleteI think it's my favorite too Les, and I was in the right place at the right time.Doobie was extremely laid back, and he lived a very long and stress free life-we should all be so lucky !
DeleteSome great images of the year past. Sorry to hear that Doobie left you this year but am glad that he chose to spend his too-short life with you. The Boophone plant porn is fabulous & sent me on a search for information about it. Is it considered cyber stalking when the object of our search is a plant? One wonders why the agaves were removed and what became of them. Did you have your truck and shovel with you by any chance?
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter . Gardeners have inherent plant stalking rights, cyber or otherwise-an unwritten rule ! I don't know what they did with those Agaves, but there isn't a single thing planted in that area at the moment. I have to believe it's going to be landscaped at some point.Must monitor the situation !
DeleteOh that photo with the now missing Agaves is fab! As is the one from the RBG workshop. But that one of Doobie, the way he's looking at you, very sweet.
ReplyDeleteDoobie was a sweet boy. You can imagine how shocking it was to drive down that road and see all those Agaves just gone, and there were more of them than is shown in my photo, and they weren't small either.
DeleteWonderful photos, all of them. Most of my pets sailed serenely though life no matter what--a wise example in these anxious days.
ReplyDeleteYou don't suppose someone came and swiped all those Agaves?
I hope not ! I am acquainted with the garden manager here,and the next time our paths cross I will ask her. Knowing her , I expect the plan is to replant with more regionally specific Calif natives. I will report back !
DeleteExcellent selection of photos! We got to visit the Ruth Bancroft garden in summer - I wish I could go back in fall or spring.
ReplyDeleteI try to go at least once in each season-this weekend is a photo workshop and I hope for many Aloe blooms.
DeleteWhat would compel anyone to remove those agaves (other than some kind of horticultural kleptomaniac) is beyond me... Stunning photographs, Kathy - I love them all!
ReplyDeleteThanks Anna, see my response to Hoov above.
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