About Me

My photo
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Last Gasp


Click on the photos to see them in larger format.


Has anyone ever seen a pink hydrangea? I saw this one on my walk today and was absolutely stunned at its beauty! With the change of season, it won't be like this for much longer.










At the end of my street are four of these cabbage-type flowers. The curls on the edges of each petal are phenomenal and reminded me of the lace on a bridal gown.













Scattered among the
rhododendron leaves are a few that are turning a spicy gold and pumpkin orange.














A typical hydrangea is blue or purple like this one. The petals are drying out, though. Can you see the purple on some of the leaves?
















Just around the corner and down the street, I spied this lonely flower in its last gasp of life. I love the colours here that range from pale yellow to orangey-red to purple.






14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hydrangea and cabbage flower pics are STUNNING. Photo contest worthy for shiz.

jmb said...

All my pink hydrangeas turned blue except for one dwarf. Unfortunately it has very small flowers, not as beautiful as this one.
It is indeed the last gasp of the flowering season.

Mickle in NZ said...

Hi Leslie

Been following your great blog for a wee while now. My Grandma had pink and blue hygrangeas, pink on one side and blue on the other of her front steps. Is all to with the soil ph and what you feed it. And I can't for the life of me remember what to feed for which. Mine was blue but in the last few years is going purple. I'll ask Dad just what his Mum did to hers.

Hey - I'm an INFJ too!

Kind thoughts and wishes from downunder, Michelle and Zebby-cat

A Colorful World said...

Hi Leslie!
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and commenting on my My World Photos! Love your photos, too! They are really nice! Wish I had posted the peanut plant growing, instead of just the peanuts after they were dug out of the ground, as I had a lot of comments that these were the first growing peanuts people had seen....incidently, hydrangea color is determined by the soil in which the plant is growing. Acid soil yields a pink flower, while alkalai yields blue....and a mix of the colors into purple would mean a more mixed soil composition. It was interesting for me to learn that in your part of the world, the soil must be mostly alkalai or mixed. Thanks! Take care!
Marie

Claire said...

It is cold and grey here and definitely feels as if winter is knocking at the door. Hydrangea heads dry easily and placed in a big pot can be enjoyed until they fade too much. Lovely bright photos Lesli.e

sally in norfolk said...

happy beautiful photos when its cold and dark and rainy outside :-)

CherryPie said...

Lovely :-)

To change hydrangeas to blue you have to have a lot of iron in the soil.

Ellee Seymour said...

I love the hydrangeas, but have never been keen on the cabbage plants as part of a flower bed.

Jo said...

I have tried about three times now to post a comment here, and every time I go to do it, my boss makes me do some work...! *heh*

That photo of the hydrangeas is absolutely spectacular. You should consider having it printed and framed, and putting it up in your house. It would look beautiful...!

Hilary said...

Lovely photos, Leslie. That pink hydrangea is so vivid, I'd be hard pressed to believe it wasn't taken at the height of summer. Hard to believe that winter is just around the corner. Thanks for bringing some beautiful colour to my day.

Rinkly Rimes said...

The flowers are lasting well! And I loved reading about New Brunswick.

Russell said...

Love the photo of the rhododendron leaves turning that pumpkin shade of orange.

The white cabbage type flowers are like some I planted for my parents. They don't bloom until the weather gets cool and they are really nice.

Take care.

Ruth W. said...

great pictures....so how does one make your soil acid? I want those pink hydranges.

heiresschild said...

absolutely beautiful Leslie. your photographer skills are excellent.