The 134,000-square-foot (12,400 m2) Central Garden at the Getty Center is the work of artist Robert Irwin.A tree-lined walkway descends to a plaza, while water in a stream criss-crosses the walkway, continues through the plaza, and goes over a stone waterfall into a round pool. A maze of azaleas floats in the pool, around which is a series of specialty gardens. More than 500 varieties of plant material are used for the Central Garden, but the selection is “always changing, never twice the same”. (Wikipedia)

3 x 3xp HDR panorama

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Sambucus nigra is a species of elder native to most of Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. It is most commonly called just Elder or Elderberry, but also Black Elder, European Elder, European Elderberry, European Black Elderberry, Common Elder, or Elder Bush when distinction from other species of Sambucus is needed. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations.
FruitIt is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 4–6 m (rarely to 10 m) tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, 10–30 cm long, pinnate with five to seven (rarely nine) leaflets, the leaflets 5–12 cm long and 3–5 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The hermaphrodite flowers are borne in large corymbs 10–25 cm diameter in mid summer, the individual flowers white, 5–6 mm diameter, with five petals; they are pollinated by flies. The fruit is a dark purple to black berry 3–5 mm diameter, produced in drooping clusters in the late autumn; they are an important food for many fruit-eating birds, notably Blackcaps.

Sambucus nigra L. è una pianta angiosperma dicotiledone legnosa a foglie decidue. È una specie molto diffusa in Italia soprattutto negli ambienti ruderali (lungo le linee ferroviarie, parchi, ecc.), boschi umidi e rive di corsi d’acqua.
Il sambuco è un arbusto alto 4-6 m. I rami portano delle foglie composte, di colore verde scuro, lunghe 10-30 cm. Le foglie sono imparipennate con margine dentato-seghettato; la forma delle foglioline è lanceolata con apice acuminato, la fillotassi è opposta. I fiori sono ermafroditi e portati in infiorescenze (corimbi) molto vistose, larghe 10-23 cm. I singoli fiori sono formati da 5 petali fusi alla base (fiori gamopetali), calice anch’esso gamesepalo, ovario infero, 4 stami sporgenti. Fiorisce tra aprile e giugno. I frutti sono delle bacche nerastre, lucide.
Il sambuco presenta proprietà medicinali-erboristiche riscontrabili nei frutti e nei fiori.

Font : Wikipedia

White Satin, Leucoma salicis.

An almost pure white moth, apart from its black and white striped stockings – which can be seen in this view. Quite a few come the garden trap from July. When I put this one on some lavender it flapped a bit before settling, so I thought I’d post this shot of it in uncharacteristic pose. Blurry, but I hope it gives a sense of movement.

Scalloped Hook-tip 1
Chinese Character 1
Blood-vein 1
Small Blood-vein 2
Small Fan-footed Wave 5
Riband Wave 6 (all f. remutata)
Red Twin-spot Carpet 1
Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet 2
Large Twin-spot Carpet 1
Yellow Shell 1
Lime-speck Pug 5 NFY
V-Pug 1
Early Thorn 1
Light Emerald 1
Yellow-tail 2
White Satin 3
Dingy Footman 2
Common Footman 3
Ruby Tiger 2
Shuttle-shaped Dart 2
Lesser Yellow Underwing 1
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 4
Least Yellow Underwing 4
Double Square-spot 2
Nutmeg 1
Cabbage Moth 1
Campion 1 NFG
Smoky Wainscot 3
Marbled Beauty 1
Dun-bar 3
Dark Arches 6
Light Arches 1
Double Lobed 1 NFY
Cloaked Minor 3
Common Rustic agg. 1
Dusky Sallow 1
Uncertain 2
Silver Y 7
Spectacle 2
Herald 1
Snout 3
Fan-foot 1

Plus quite a few micros I’ll add when I know what they are.

Very small flowers

source: Giovanni88Ant

In the gardens of Vaucluse House Vaucluse a beautiful old mansion built on the shores of Sydney Harbour
……..

One of the most treasured estates, dating back to 1803, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Vaucluse House is surrounded by 10 hectares of picturesque gardens and grounds stretching down to Sydney Harbour. The sandstone mansion was built in the 1830s and was the home of William Charles Wentworth, barrister and explorer, and his family. The estate is a peaceful oasis away from the hectic city bustle.
Courtesy of Historic Houses Trust.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/illawarra/5487890393/

EXPLORE April 8, 2009

via _ØяAcLә_

I love sunflowers and have been nurturing some in my garden that I
grew from seed. I was hoping that it wasn’t getting too late in the year
for them to flower. It’s been lovely watching this one gradually opening.

Highest position in Explore: 457 on Sunday, September 19, 2010

Featured on my blog.

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This was taken from my garden. These are TINY flower buds that are starting to form. I took this image, this morning as the rain fell.

The botanical garden of Padua

Created in 1545 on the property of the Benedictine monks of St. Justine, the Botanical Garden of Padova is the oldest existing university botanical garden in the world.

he Botanical Garden of Padua is the original of all botanical gardens throughout the world, and represents the birth of science, of scientific exchanges, and understanding of the relationship between nature and culture. It has made a profound contribution to the development of many modern scientific disciplines, notably botany, medicine, chemistry, ecology, and pharmacy.

L’Orto botanico di Padova

L’Orto botanico di Padova, fondato nel 1545 su un terreno dei Monaci Benedettini di Santa Giustina, è il più antico Orto botanico universitario del mondo tuttora esistente.

L’Orto botanico di Padova è all’origine di tutti gli orti botanici del mondo e rappresenta la culla della scienza, degli scambi scientifici e della comprensione delle relazioni tra la natura e la cultura. Ha largamente contribuito al progresso di numerose discipline scientifiche moderne, in particolare la botanica, la medicina, la chimica, l’ecologia e la farmacia.

http://www.ortobotanico.unipd.it

© 2011 Boscardin Francesco. Photos are copyrighted. All rights reserved. Pictures can not be used without explicit permission by the creator.

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Hidcote Manor Garden is one of England’s great gardens. It was the life’s passion of one man, self-taught gardener Lawrence Johnston who created his ‘garden of rooms’ here.

The creator of Hidcote

Lawrence Johnston was born in Paris of American parents. He came to England to study at Cambridge University.

After graduating, he fought for the British Army. He was so badly wounded in the First World War that he was laid out for burial. His colleagues realised that he was still alive only after he moved slightly.

In 1907, Johnston’s mother, Mrs Gertrude Winthrop, bought the Hidcote Manor Estate. Johnston came to live at Hidcote and soon took to gardening.

Developing a masterpiece

Johnston spent 41 years creating what would become one of England’s most influential 20th-century gardens. He began work in 1907, becoming interested in making a garden out of the fields surrounding the house.

The garden was developed in the fashionable Arts & Crafts style: a series of outdoor ‘rooms’ offering surprises and discoveries at each turn.

By the 1920s, the transformation was well under way. Johnston employed 12 full-time gardeners to help shape his 10-acre creation. He always took advice and read extensively on the work of eminent gardeners, such as Gertrude Jekyll.

‘A garden of rooms’

Johnston designed Hidcote as a series of outdoor ‘rooms’, which combine sensuous masses of colour with traditional garden crafts such as topiary. Each room has its own distinct atmosphere and character.

The hedges that divide the rooms sprung up due to the plot’s exposed aspect. Johnston planted hedges of holly, beech, hornbeam and yew for shelter and structure.

Exotic plants

As well as a gardener, Lawrence Johnston was an accomplished plantsman. The range of plants he used was huge.

In a never-ending quest, he secured rare and exotic species by sponsoring and taking part in plant hunting expeditions. Trips took him to the Alps, Kenya and South Africa. He also plant-swapped with the Australians and the Japanese.

The expeditions introduced over 40 new plants to cultivation in the UK, many of which bear Johnston’s name. He was awarded three Awards of Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society for his plant hunting achievements.

The National Trust learns to garden

In 1948, Lawrence Johnston retired to Serre de la Madone, his home on the French Riviera where he had created another spectacular garden.

Hidcote Manor Garden came to the National Trust, the first property acquired specifically for the garden.

While carrying forward the spirit of Lawrence Johnston, Hidcote has changed over time since the 1930s. Lack of funding has led to areas of the garden becoming overgrown and many of Johnston’s tender plants being replaced.

‘This place is a jungle of beauty. I cannot hope to describe it in words, for indeed it is an impossible thing to reproduce the shape, colour, depth and design of such a garden through the poor medium of prose’

- Vita Sackville-West

For more information about Hidcote Manor Garden, please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/…