Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Fernymoss Having Fun Shooting 'Sun Showers'

I've got a couple of pretty intense work weeks ahead of me, so my posting may be somewhat spotty, so bear with me if I don't keep up with my regular schedule. Come early July, things should have calmed down a bit and I'll be back in the usual swing ... In the meanwhile, Fernymoss is having even more fun with the S700 so he'll be doing a lot of the photography in the interim, though I hope to have the chance to shoot a few myself ... it all just depends on the work demands. Enough Whining. (Bring on the triple crème Brie!), here's some fun shots of our new tropical Hibiscus, 'Sun Showers,' who I introduced to you all last week ....
We had a quadruple blast today, but you can only see three of the blooms in this shot, but it's a good one, I think! (Fernymoss did great, as always!) Keep your eye on the leaf hopper in the first flower, because you'll see more of him in greater detail later ....
This shot really blows me away by the range of intense colors represented in just one flower ... It's difficult to describe (or photograph) the incredible range of color variations in each flower and you could spend hours peering up close and comparing different blooms. More and more, I'm glad we sprang for the (gulp) $40 price tag on this specimen, and believe me, we're going to pamper it!
Ok, Olivia, here you get not only IBs, but the shadow of IBs, how's that? Kind of a sort of meta-photography, eh? Again, note the leaf hopper on the upper right of the flower.
And finally, a crop of another shot where Fernymoss got up really close to get the leaf hopper in focus ... who knew they were so pretty up close! My first thought was to compare it to those 'Neon Tetras' I used to have in aquariums when I was a kid ... how about you?

So ... are you ready to go out to the garden centers looking for this hibiscus? Ok, I realize that not everyone is as hibiscus-obsessed as I am, but it truly is a spectacular plant that we're really excited to have in our collection now, even if it does have to winter indoors and suffer a bit in the process. But there's always Summer to watch them spring back and truly show their best assets!

Oh, by the way, have I mentioned how much I love all sorts of Hibiscus in the garden? I'm irreversibly hooked on them, and always have been, since I got my first double blooming red Chinese Hibiscus back in 1977....

12 comments:

Roses and Lilacs said...

I didn't think I liked hibicus. That one is stunning. The color is just like a sunset. Wow!
Marnie

Gail said...

That is a good looking bug! I am looking forward to my H Copper King blooming in a few weeks...but I really grow it for the leaf shape and color. Have you seen it? Maple shaped burgundy leaves.
http://www.mobot.org/GARDENINGHELP/PLANTFINDER/Plant.asp?Code=Z150.

Gail
clay and limestone

Larry Kollar said...

Holy moly, IVG… if that thing had any more color it would have scorched the camera's imager!

Tropicals are fun, huh? Too bad they can't winter over.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Marnie,
Glad this one helped convince you a little more that they are truly remarkable flowers (nope, no bias here!) :-)

The color ranges of hibiscus are enormous (and yeah, some of them sure don't do anything for me!)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Gail,
I'm jealous ... you're way ahead of us down there. Our Kopper King is only about a foot tall now, and won't be blooming till about mid July. I think it was the second Hibiscus we ever planted, right after a 'Lord Baltimore' and it's still a stunner. Totally unique foliage unlike any other Hibiscus I've seen. (And, trivia: that variety was developed back some 40 yrs ago by a pair of hibiscus obsessed horticulturist brothers, not so far away in Omaha!)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey FAR! LOL, it is rather saturated in the fire colors, eh? Yeah, too bad I can't just plant it as a hedge, but it will have to come inside when it gets cold. Oh well, I'm increasing my stock of the perennial kinds every year (I got 2 new red ones this year).

Oh, and I planted a pepper on Sunday called 'Bulgarian Carrot.' It's supposed to have "fluorescent bright orange" fruit ... excited to see that!

Annie in Austin said...

Before you show that flower you should have handed out MaiTais and ChiChis, IVG. If they can't make Iowa look tropical, nothing can!

I like tropical hibiscus, but terrible mealy bug problems have put me off owning them for the present time - hope yours thrive without problems.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

boran2 said...

Bravo fernymoss! These are some beautiful photos, and welcome now that Olivia is away. I'll have to go out to look for some hisbiscus.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Annie! MaiTais are a great idea, but I think I'll stick with Margaritas ... like most folks I know who've had them, I once had an unfortunate drunken incident involving MaiTais! LOL We do have the little umbrellas and plenty of cocktail foofery though...

Fortunately we don't seem to have problems with mealy bugs (I hate those nasty suckers), though sometimes in the heat of summer, something will munch on the foliage and flowers a bit, but nothing too bad. It seems like everything in the Mallow family is popular with some kind of insect or other ... you should see our Hollyhocks in late summer when the leaves look like lace....

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey B2, so we're "welcome now that Olivia is away" eh? Hmmm... /snark LOL

Check out that Bahama Bay website and take a look at some of the stuff they have to give you ideas. If you remember Erin Rachel from last year, she's one of theirs too. If you decide to buy one of theirs, prepare your wallet for a substantial hit (just fair warning), as these are exclusives and patented varieties.

Shady Gardener said...

Those are the most vibrant blossoms I've ever seen! Are you sure you didn't "doctor" the photos??? ;-)
They're amazing... and the beetle just happened to be the right contrast!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Shady, no, these have not been "doctored" in any way (I'm not that good at that yet!)and went straight from the camera to flickr, then here.

Actually that's a leaf hopper (I never imagined they were so pretty!), you know those little hopping things that get inside and hop all over the lampshades when the lights are on? That's what he is ... Fernymoss assures me they're the same, and he's the resident bug expert.