Well, it's feast or famine, isn't it! I've sometimes gone for long periods without posting because I have little to offer. However, lately, I've been taking photos like a madwoman, but I have had almost no time to look at them, much less do anything with them! Sigh... Hopefully, things will calm down towards the end of January. Fingers crossed!
In the meantime, here's an orchid from the botanical garden on Awaji Shima. (I've seen it referred to by several different names but it's most commonly known as the Kiseki No Hoshi Greenhouse.) Apparently, the ownership has changed, and some of the displays were quite different from those in the past. Regardless, it was a peaceful oasis of greenery and flowers, and the orchids were especially gorgeous. We visit every chance we get. It's never enough... This information about the botanical garden is somewhat dated, but it's still a good introduction to the location and what it has to offer: setouchifinder.com/en/detail/3710
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Today we drove by a rose garden not far from our home. Whenever I pass it, whether I'm on the car or on the train, I always make a point of checking to see if there are any roses blooming. The rose season usually finishes towards the end of November but although today is December 12, there were still roses blooming! Not a lot, of course, but still... I'm originally from Canada where this time of year brings snow and cold and so, even after all these years in Japan, the fall blooming season continues to delight me. It always seems miraculous!
This rose was blooming in the Nakanoshima Rose Garden in central Osaka, in mid-November. We've been enjoying temperatures that hovered around 20C• but the winter winds have finally arrived! Today the high is 13°C and it looks like more of the same ahead. Oh, that wind is strong and cold!
And yet, I still have flowers blooming in my garden! YES! There are just a few purple toadlilies in bloom at the moment. Their season is coming to an end. However, a white and yellow one I bought this year is still blooming away. They are quite small compared to the others and, at first, I wasn't sure if I was going to have any luck. Looks like they really are "late bloomers"! (^.~) More chrysanthemums from the exhibition in Hirakata. This particular variety is called a "spider mum" or "spider bloom chrysanthemum". Click here to see more images of spider mums. Such an amazing range of colours and shapes!
Well, so much for any changes! Ah, well. Life has seasons and my season for the past year or so has me pulled in many different directions, leaving me with little time to focus on photography or this website. Hopefully that will change come early spring. We shall see.
In the meantime, I intend to start post photos here more regularly and less on Facebook. Today's photo is from the annual chrysanthemum exhibition in Hirakata, a small city not far from here. I had no interest in chrysanthemums at all until my first visit to this exhibition. I had no idea there were so many different kinds! Now I'm hooked! (^.~) For more about chrysanthemums in Japanese culture, click here. For more about the chrysanthemum exhibition in Hirakata in 2020, click here. |
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I'm a photographer based in Osaka, Japan. I love to take photographs. I like to share.
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