My Bleeding Heart -- The Spring Garden

I love watching the garden come to full bloom in spring. My tulips are finished and mowed into the grass once more, but my French Lilac is in full bloom (covered) and the Bleeding Hearts are some of my favorites. They don't last all that long, but they look amazing, especially on a day like today where there is soft rain and perfect light. The Ostrich Ferns have control of much of my garden now, having wiped out all of my Astilbes, but the Hostas, Bleeding Hearts and Lilies of the Valley are fighting the brave fight. A few shots from today ...

The Bleeding Heart plant that has become completely dominated by the Ostrich Ferns has begot a pair of child plants in the main front garden, and they have come into full bloom this year.

Remember to click on each image to see the larger version ...


I have tried for years to truly capture the beauty of the French Lilac. Here's my best yet, aided by the tiny water droplets from today's misty rain.


Here's a shot of the Lilac from a low angle against a neighbour's Red Maple. Very nice, but there was a tiny bit of wind movement, so not as sharp as I would have liked.


Ah, the Lily of the Valley ... a pretty little ground cover that blooms these tiny white bells. It is slowly spreading, and when it reaches the Ferns' area, a battle royal will ensue for dominance of the garden. Stay tuned about 5 years from now :-)


Another angle on the bleeding hearts ... yes, I can never get enough of a good thing.


While I consider the Ostrich Fern an evil weed, there is no denying their inherent beauty on days of soft misty rain ... they add a lush greenery that is pretty hard to come by any other way.


But let us not forget the stunning Honeybell Hosta, a rain catcher extraordinaire ...


See the rest of the series in my gallery.

For any techies out there, these were shot on the Nikon D300 with a Nikon 300mm F4 AFS and a TC17e teleconverter for an effective focal length of about 750mm. Since it was raining and the light was soft and low, I was forced to shoot from tripod, a Feisol 3471 and Markins M20L ball head. It is nice to remember now and again how sharp a pro lense can be when shot from a tripod.