I guess you could say that our Pacific Northwest spring is officially here when the cherry blossoms are bursting in bloom, and that’s exacting what’s been happening. With the warm temperatures hovering around 60 plus degrees all week, I knew I would have more photo opportunities with each passing day. Last weekend I headed back out to the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, but I did not like the bright light conditions at the time, and it made for harsh photos with too many intrusive shadows. I waited for just the right light conditions this week, and Friday was the day. Rain would be moving in for the weekend and there was just enough cloud cover to mute shadows on the flower petals, etc. Often, too much grey cloud cover will wash out colors and one needs to pay attention to this, too.
I was absolutely thrilled to be able to photograph a Magnolia species from China that was beginning to bloom. Its blossoms are gigantic and so gorgeous! Here are a couple images.
Many of the Camellia species are still in bloom, but some of the earliest bloomers have already faded away. I tried to photograph as many different varieties and colors that I could find still thriving. Below are a few samples.
And, of course, the tour through the garden would not be complete without photos of the colorful and gorgeous Rhododendron species that are now getting into the blooming action. Another week or so and it will be like a tropical jungle out there, with all the different Asian species in bloom. New blooms are making their appearance every week now.
Inside the Rutherford Conservatory are the tropical Rhododendron species from Asia, as well as some Orchid species. Here are a few samples.
Below is a tropical Rhododendron species from India that is a real show-stopper! Its blooms are very large and fragrant, smelling like vanilla. They are really beautiful!
As mentioned, there are some species of Orchids in the conservatory.
Back outdoors … There’s lots of lush, green ferns of all types in the garden. I found one type to be quite interesting (Ostrich Fern) with its multiple fronds growing out from the center, forming a circle of sorts. I photographed it from above, looking straight down into its center.
Here is another Magnolia Tree, one of the white Saucer variety.
I hope you enjoyed my walk through the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden with me. Stayed tuned for further blooming adventures!
PS If you enjoy my photography, I invite you to visit my Northwestphotos Zazzle store.
All photographs property of Peggy A Thompson
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Beautiful. I could almost smell the stunning blooms.
Thank you, Ingrid! The fragrance of the tropical Rhododendrons from India was heavenly! And some of the pink Magnolias had a light spice smell to them. I love spring!
Gorgeous!! I love our early spring!!
Thank you! I love the early spring, too. I only hope we don’t have too bad of a drought this summer.
Looks like spring has arrived. I haven’t seen any rhododendrons blooming down here yet, but the camellias and azaleas are about done and the magnolias look to be following soon.
Everything looks to be ahead of schedule by about a month up year. It’s simply amazing!
Such perfect images, Peggy. Gorgeous blooms! 🙂
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoy them as much as I enjoy taking photos of them.
Gloriously colourful, particularly that deep red.
Thank you, William! I love the deep red too! Red flowers are difficult to photograph and I’m glad this one showed its true color.
I believe this is the exact flower, too. The one that’s in your collection of stills. The flower is like 4″ to 8″ diameter. It’s pretty large…
Hello…thank you for visiting my blog! I’m not sure which flower you are referring to in the set of stills. The largest one is the Chinese Magnolia, which are the first few
photos shown. They are not heavily scented. They have a faint smell. The orchid flowers shown are small and I did not notice any fragrance from them. I’m sorry that I could not help you identify the flowers you saw and smelled. There are so many varieties. I hope you find out what they are. Best of luck!