purple

Japanese iris blooms later than the bearded and Siberian varieties, allowing me to enjoy this beautiful flower as spring turns to summer.

This one lives in a sea of purple.

wild roses

The entry to the greenhouse at the Stevens-Coolidge Place is draped in wild roses. The pop of pink is wonderful in late day light.

opening

The petals of a Japanese iris uncurl as it opens, decorating the landscape with bright purple and yellow.

moody

An overcast sky in early evening creates a moody reflection.

dancing

I see a dancing figure in this late-in-the-season poppy. Do you?

photos! two gardens

Last week's visit gave me the opportunity to visit flowers on several properties: Chanticleer, Jenkins Arboretum, and Stoneleigh. It was interesting to see the difference in emerging flowers when comparing northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern Pennsylvania. The warmer temperatures in the Philadelphia area promote earlier blooms.

Most of the photos that I took were from the gardens of Chanticleer. That's a place I would visit often if it was close to home.

More photos from last week's visit can be seen in the gallery two gardens :: 2018 starting with this photo and ending here.

yellow

As I was walking at Chanticleer a coneflower in bright yellow caught my eye.

magic

There was a bit of magic in the woods at Jenkins Arboretum. A space designated as a Children's Garden has a few items that jumped out at me, a wonderful birdhouse, and a tiny door in the base of a tree.

There were a few rhododendron and azalea still in bloom. The arboretum must have been bursting with color a few weeks ago.

Most of the flowers in bloom were small beauties. Bright pink flowers were climbing a fence around the pond.

a garden walk

Chanticleer Garden called to me this morning. It was a wonderful day for a garden walk, gray and misty at the start, clearing and dry by the end of my visit.

Warmer temperatures earlier in the season feeds floral bloom. Many varieties of flowers here haven't started blooming at home yet. The garden delighted my eyes with color from many flowers.

tiger lily

a first visit

This morning felt like a good time for a first visit to Stoneleigh, a natural garden in Villanova. It's a beautiful property for walking.

I'm glad I saw the sign pointing to the edge of the property where the hare sculpture lives. The sculpture was commissioned in 2002 by John and Chara Haas (the original owners of the property) to depict the Haas family as hares. This is a play on their name since Haas means “hare” in German. It's a delightful sculpture.

The restoration of the sculpture is detailed in the article Hares Under Repair.

Stoneleigh first opened to the public in May of 2018. I hope it stays intact. That is in question right now as the local school district is attempting to take the land by eminent domain. Seizure of land like this feels very wrong to me.

For information and actions to preserve the gardens, jump to Save Stoneleigh!

cactus blooming

I didn't expect to see cactus flowers in a garden in Pennsylvania. While the northeast isn't the usual location for these plants, my sister's garden currently includes some cactus in bloom.

The flowers are delicate and beautiful.

summer flowers

The solstice is just a few days away. Summer flowers are emerging, decorating gardens.

on the wall

Yesterday I headed to Salem to (re)experience the murals of the Punto Urban Art Museum. I discovered a couple of new murals and also enjoyed walls that I had seen before.

Painted stacks of brick in a courtyard of a building were disappearing; only one remained. I wasn't totally surprised given that these were not immovable objects. The one piece remaining was wrapped in plastic.

Although I haven't found any articles about timing of new additions this year, I believe this project is intended to be ongoing. I look forward to seeing new art in Salem.

For more information, check the Urban Art Museum Punto web site or read the article in the Peabody Essex Museum blog.

More photos are available in the gallery murals in Salem :: 2018.

clearing sky

The weather today was cool and cloudy with a bit of rain early in the morning. By mid-afternoon everything changed. The sky was painted bright blue with clouds in shades of white and gray and the temperature started to move up a (little) bit.

It was a good time for a walk.

delicate

Flowers continue to adorn local trees and shrubs. I've always been fascinated by the delicate blooms of the mountain laurel.

a wild rose

Flowers were dancing in the wind I wandered through the garden this afternoon. This wild rose was hugging the side of a greenhouse in a perfect pose.

looking inland

As I walked back to the Portsmouth side of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge last Friday I looked inland. The I-95 bridge pops above the horizon, adding to the sky's decorations.

curled

Leaves curl, bending over, allowing glimpses of chamomile flowers in the next bed.

bridge celebration

A few weeks back I saw a notice for a bridge walk celebration on the new Sarah Mildred Long Bridge. I blocked the time on my calendar, planning to take advantage of the celebration to walk on a bridge that normally doesn't allow pedestrians.

Yesterday dawned with clear blue skies, a good day for a celebration. I headed to Portsmouth early. I had plenty of time to walk the bridge and to talk to others (people and dogs on leashes too) enjoying a morning on the bridge before the scheduled speeches started. While I initially thought about going only to walk on the bridge, I stayed for the speeches. The speakers included Senators Susan Collins (of Maine) and Maggie Hassan (of New Hampshire). It was interesting to hear from both of them.

I was fascinated to see the surface of the lift section of the bridge. The bridge serves both as a transit point for motor vehicles and as a means for trains to enter the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The lift section has a set of railroad tracks between the two driving lanes. When a train needs passage, the bridge is lowered to connect to the railroad tracks that are much lower than the road deck. The bridge deck sits much higher than the deck did on the old bridge; it is estimated that the new bridge will need to be lifted 65% fewer times than the old bridge. Amazing!

I looked through the expansion joint to see the (connecting) railroad tracks far below.

a view of the bridge from the Portsmouth side


looking up at the lift towers

It's a beautiful bridge.

More photos of the bridge can be seen in the gallery new Sarah Mildred Long Bridge.

color in the woods

Maudslay State Park continues to burst with color.

Azalea and rhododendron are scattered through the property. Different varieties bloom at different times, providing an extended bright color season.

buttercups

Tiny yellow flowers decorated a field, popping up in the grass. They were in a state of constant motion in a light wind.

stages

Tree peonies are beautiful in any stage of life. Today I found side-by-side peonies, one past prime flowering season and one still holding on to its petals.

in the rain

Rain was falling early this morning; it's still falling now.

When the raindrops became a bit smaller I headed to the garden to wander among the flowers. Drops of water decorated petals as the rain continued to fall.

Do you hear wings? I looked from the iris to some flowers with small blooms to see a hummingbird hovering, drinking. It was a good afternoon for a garden visit!

If you click on the photo to see a larger version you can see the falling rain in the background as small white lines against color.

Oh, don't worry about my gear - both the camera and the lens are weather resistant.

reflecting blue

Calm water in the Parker River National Wildlife refuge reflects the blue of the sky.

curves

I've always been fascinated by bearded iris. The structure of the flowers is complex and the colors can be striking. Today it was the curves of the petals that stood out.

view from a bridge

As the tide headed out I stood on the lift bridge to Plum Island, looking, absorbing the view. Bright blue, green, and white were the colors of the day.