Lilies #10201CR, 10201BR & 10201AR

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September 25, 2021

Lilies, whose scientific name is Lilium, has more than one hundred gorgeous species in its family. However, there are many plants that have Lily in their common name; yet not all are true Lilies. A few examples of this misnomer are Day Lilies, Calla Lilies, Peace Lilies, Water Lilies and Lilies Of The Valley. True Lilies are mostly native throughout the temperate climate regions of the northern hemisphere of planet Earth, although their range can extend into the northern subtropics as well. This range extends across much of Europe, Asia, Japan and the Philippines and across southern Canada and throughout most of the United States.

There are a number of different sub-species of Lilies, such as Oriental, Asiatic, Trumpet, Martagon, Longiflorum, Candidum and several others. The most commonly grown are the Orientals and the Asiatics, especially for gardeners in more northern regions. Both the Oriental and Asiatic sub-species are hybrids. They are possibly my most favorite flower to photograph, as their design and colors makes it so easy to do so. Friends might think I am a little nuts when I tell them that they like having their picture taken, as they are so photogenic.

Asiatic Lilies, who gets its name because they are native to central and eastern Asia, are probably the easiest to grow, reproduce effortlessly and are very winter hardy. A healthy bulb can often double in size from one season to the next, and produces many smaller bulblets near the surface of the soil. Asiatics can reach heights up to six feet tall and have long, slim, glossy leaves, all the while producing flowers in a wide variety of colors, including white, pink, plum, yellow, orange and red. The one color in which they do not bloom is true blue. Blooming in June and July (depending on one’s region), the flowers produce no fragrance, unlike that of Orientals. Another distinguishing difference between the two is its petals. Whereas Asiatics have smooth edges, Orientals are rough.

Oriental Lilies, native to Japan, are a little harder to grow and tend to reproduce much more slowly, mainly by bulblets sprouting near the surface of the soil. They look somewhat like a football when they first surface from the soil, rather pointy, and its leaves hugging the stem tightly. Their deep green leaves are wider, further apart and less numerous than those of the Asiatics, which first come into sight similar to an artichoke in appearance. Orientals are usually taller than Asiatics, reaching a height up to eight feet tall. Because of their height, many refer to them as Tree Lilies.

Orientals tend to bloom in pastel shades of white, yellow and pink, although some such as Stargazers and Starfighters produce very deep pink blooms. One more characteristic difference between the two types is that Orientals often will be rimmed with a different color, or having two or three colors, whereas the Asiatics most often have just a single color, although there are some exceptions. This sub-specie of Lilies also blooms after Asiatics, usually in August and September, again depending on your region. Other sub-species, such as Trumpets, bloom even later, so it is possible to have Lilies blooming all summer long by planting different varieties.

Most Lilies are very easy to grow. They are not especially particular about soil neither type nor pH level. Their only requirement is a well-draining soil. Lilies grow best in full sun; however, they may thrive in partial sun as well. An interesting fact about this plant is that most Lily bulbs have very thick roots that have the ability to pull the bulb down into the soil at a depth that is most optimum for their continued survival.

If I am fortunate to have you view my photographs and you find the color saturation too much or the color schemes of the mats do not match either themselves or the photograph, please let me know via a comment. Being color-blind, what might look great to me might look like sh*t to everyone else!

Steven H. Spring
Earth

Lilies #9797BR, 9799AR & 9795BR

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September 18, 2021

Lilies, whose scientific name is Lilium, has more than one hundred gorgeous species in its family. However, there are many plants that have Lily in their common name; yet not all are true Lilies. A few examples of this misnomer are Day Lilies, Calla Lilies, Peace Lilies, Water Lilies and Lilies Of The Valley. True Lilies are mostly native throughout the temperate climate regions of the northern hemisphere of planet Earth, although their range can extend into the northern subtropics as well. This range extends across much of Europe, Asia, Japan and the Philippines and across southern Canada and throughout most of the United States.

There are a number of different sub-species of Lilies, such as Oriental, Asiatic, Trumpet, Martagon, Longiflorum, Candidum and several others. The most commonly grown are the Orientals and the Asiatics, especially for gardeners in more northern regions. Both the Oriental and Asiatic sub-species are hybrids. They are possibly my most favorite flower to photograph, as their design and colors makes it so easy to do so. Friends might think I am a little nuts when I tell them that they like having their picture taken, as they are so photogenic.

Asiatic Lilies, who gets its name because they are native to central and eastern Asia, are probably the easiest to grow, reproduce effortlessly and are very winter hardy. A healthy bulb can often double in size from one season to the next, and produces many smaller bulblets near the surface of the soil. Asiatics can reach heights up to six feet tall and have long, slim, glossy leaves, all the while producing flowers in a wide variety of colors, including white, pink, plum, yellow, orange and red. The one color in which they do not bloom is true blue. Blooming in June and July (depending on one’s region), the flowers produce no fragrance, unlike that of Orientals. Another distinguishing difference between the two is its petals. Whereas Asiatics have smooth edges, Orientals are rough.

Oriental Lilies, native to Japan, are a little harder to grow and tend to reproduce much more slowly, mainly by bulblets sprouting near the surface of the soil. They look somewhat like a football when they first surface from the soil, rather pointy, and its leaves hugging the stem tightly. Their deep green leaves are wider, further apart and less numerous than those of the Asiatics, which first come into sight similar to an artichoke in appearance. Orientals are usually taller than Asiatics, reaching a height up to eight feet tall. Because of their height, many refer to them as Tree Lilies.

Orientals tend to bloom in pastel shades of white, yellow and pink, although some such as Stargazers and Starfighters produce very deep pink blooms. One more characteristic difference between the two types is that Orientals often will be rimmed with a different color, or having two or three colors, whereas the Asiatics most often have just a single color, although there are some exceptions. This sub-specie of Lilies also blooms after Asiatics, usually in August and September, again depending on your region. Other sub-species, such as Trumpets, bloom even later, so it is possible to have Lilies blooming all summer long by planting different varieties.

Most Lilies are very easy to grow. They are not especially particular about soil neither type nor pH level. Their only requirement is a well-draining soil. Lilies grow best in full sun; however, they may thrive in partial sun as well. An interesting fact about this plant is that most Lily bulbs have very thick roots that have the ability to pull the bulb down into the soil at a depth that is most optimum for their continued survival.

If I am fortunate to have you view my photographs and you find the color saturation too much or the color schemes of the mats do not match either themselves or the photograph, please let me know via a comment. Being color-blind, what might look great to me might look like sh*t to everyone else!

Steven H. Spring
Earth

The Twin Towers #73A

September 11, 2021

The Twin Towers was the name most people referred to 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower) and 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower).  These two buildings, along with 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 World Trade Center, comprised the World Trade Center complex, which stood in lower Manhattan, in New York City until September 11, 2001.  The total cost of the complex was $400 million.  When the Twin Towers, designed by Minoru Yamasaki and Emery Roth, were opened on April 4, 1973, they were the tallest buildings in the world, standing 110 stories.

On September 11, 2001, in arguably the most horrific act of terrorism ever committed in a single day, members of al-Qaeda, an Islamist militant group that was founded by Osama bin Laden, flew a Boeing 767 jetliner into each tower.  One hour later, the South Tower had collapsed followed a half hour later by the North Tower.  By the end of this ghastly day, 7 World Trade Center had also collapsed, leaving 2,753 people dead and many more injured.  All other World Trade Center buildings were later demolished due to being damaged beyond repair.

In the coordinated terrorist attack on that fateful Tuesday morning twenty years ago, nineteen members al-Qaeda hijacked a total of four planes.  One of the four crashed into the Pentagon, located in Washington, D.C., the fourth plane crashed in a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers, who learned of the other hijackings via cellphones, attempted to retake control of the plane.  All told, nearly three thousand innocent people lost their lives that horrendous day.

This photograph was taken, I believe around 1982, thus it was obviously shot on film. The 4×6 print was then scanned onto my computer, at which time some digital adjustment was made to both the color and brightness/darkness levels. Due to the scanning process, some sharpness was lost, and as such the image I view on my flat-screen does not do justice to the original 4×6 print.

If I am fortunate to have you view my photographs and you find the color saturation too much or the color schemes of the mats do not match either themselves or the photograph, please let me know via a comment. Being color-blind, what might look great to me might look like sh*t to everyone else!

Steven H. Spring
Earth

Spiderworts #372BR, 313BR & 367AR

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September 4, 2021

Spiderworts, whose botanical name is Tradescantia, are a genus of approximately seventy-five species of perennial plants in the Commelinaceae plant family. Named for the English naturalist, gardener and explorer John Tradescant the elder (1570-1638) who traveled to far away lands in search of foreign flowers, the plant gets its common name because when its stems are cut or broken it secrets mucilage that hardens into web-like threads. The wort part of its name comes from the old English word for plant.

The deer resistant and drought tolerant plant forms a dense, wide-spreading clump of weakly upright leaves, growing up to a height of three feet tall and three feet wide, depending on the variety. Some of the longer stems and leaves tend to sag, giving the plant an ungraceful look. However, for me, the exotic blooms of the Spiderwort more than make up for its ungraceful appearance. The individual leaves are blade-like, long and thin growing to a length of nearly twenty inches and come in a variety of different shades of green, ranging in color from blue-green to chartreuse.

Also commonly referred to as day-flowers because their blooms are open for less than a day, the flower’s delicate petals curl up during the afternoon heat. The flowers can remain open during cloudy days until evening. Composed of three sepals, three petals and six stamens, Spiderworts’ bright yellow anthers proudly stand upright in the middle of a fuzzy looking puffball of filaments that sit atop the triangular petals. The plant blooms during late spring through early summer, and the blossoms can be either purple, violet, pink or white, but are most commonly blue.

Native to the Americas, from as far north as southern Canada down to northern Argentina, including The West Indies, these flowers have become naturalized throughout parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In the wild, North American Spiderworts are found in dry, sandy, sunny locales where they bloom in abundance for a short period of time, and also along the edges of wet woodlands where they can bloom for months. In the early years of the Seventeenth Century, Spiderworts were among the first native plants from the Americas to be introduced to European gardeners. An individual Spiderwort plant is self-sterile, in that by itself will not produce seeds, requiring a mate to do so.

Hardy in USDA zones three through ten,, Spiderworts are considered an easy to care for plant that prefers moist, well-drained, acidic (pH 5-6) soil, though it is adaptable to many different types of soil. The plant flowers best in full sun, however in regions with really hot summer days, partial shade is required. As summer days become longer and hotter, flowering comes to a stop and the plant may even go dormant. Spiderworts can re-bloom during cooler days of late summer and early fall if you cut the plant back by two-thirds after the blooming cycle ends, and by deadheading the spent blooms. Spiderworts should be divided every three or four years for propagation, either in the spring or early fall.

The types of Spiderwort shown in these photographs are Tradescantia Andersoniana. If I am fortunate to have you view my photographs and you find the color saturation too much or the color schemes of the mats do not match either themselves or the photograph, please let me know via a comment. Being color-blind, what might look great to me might look like sh*t to everyone else!

Steven H. Spring
Earth