Water Lilies on the Trail

The yellow water lilies have begun to bloom on the ponds along the Chehalis Western Trail in Olympia, Washington. Click on the image to get a closer view.

It is just the beginning and I plan to return for more photos as water lilies are one of my favorite subjects.




A lovely spot to sit and observe nature......



Stay tuned, there might be a watercolor painting one of these days.

Spring Surprise

Having purchased my home last summer, I have not experienced the unfolding of spring. I knew that there were two large lilac bushes, but I did not know more than that. To my surprise, I have a lovely dark purple lilac and a light purple one.

I took photos today, but even with photoshop I cannot correct the color. I do not know why purple is such a challenging color to reproduce. I have that same situation with prints of my watercolor paintings.

Here is what I came up with...

light purple(?) lilac
dark purple(?) lilac
You need to use your imagination :)

My favorite place to see and smell lilacs this time of year is Hulga Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, Washington.

Their goal is not only to preserve the lilac heritage developed by Hulda Klager, but to maintain the gardens for visitors to experience the tranquillity of a pioneer Victorian farm and garden. The Hulda Klager Lilac Society fully funds the care and upkeep of the farmhouse and grounds from donations, sales of lilacs and proceeds from our gift shop sales. With the help of volunteers, friends, and members the Lilac Gardens continue to carry on the work of growing and showing the beautiful lilacs hybridized by Hulda Klager many years ago.

It is a MUST SEE GARDEN!

Exquisite Color

I could not pass by this exquisite display of color without stopping to capture it on my camera phone.

These two patches of tulips flanked the entrance of the driveway. Someone had excellent color awareness when he/she planted this spectacular tulip garden.

Wouldn't you agree?

Native Dogwood

The Pacific Dogwood is a species of dogwood native to western North America from the lowlands of southern British Columbia to the mountains of southern California. Its glorious floral beauty makes dogwoods beloved trees.

I found a lovely specimen this morning on the Chehalis Western Trail, Olympia, Washington.



Don't you just love the grace and beauty of the flowers?



Interesting facts:

The Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttalli) is also known as Western Flowering Dogwood, Mountain Dogwood.

John James Audubon (1780-1851), the American ornithologist and artist, who painted this tree in his famous work Birds of America, named it for its collector, Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), the British-American botanist and ornithologist.

The theory is that 'dogwood' comes from the Sanskrit word for 'skewers' - 'dag'.

'Cornus' means horn and is supposedly refers to the hard wood.

'Nuttallii' is for the botanist Thomas Nuttall.

The Pacific Dogwood is prevented by law from being dug up or cut down.

The Pacific Dogwood is the floral emblem of British Columbia.

The elongated, dark, red berries are edible but bitter, and stay on the tree after leaves have fallen.

Herb Robert

Meet Herb Robert

A lovely, little pink flower that is a member of the geranium family and profusely growing along the sides of the Chehalis Western Trail in Olympia, Washington.

One of the easiest ways to spot Herb Robert, even when it's not blooming, is by its leaf structure. The leaves, which usually grow in sets of three, have three to five rounded-toothed lobes. The leaf and flower stems are also covered with hairs.

The Herb Robert flowers bloom from May to October. Each flower has five petals, each with a distinctive fold or wave toward the center of the flower.

OH NO!

Herb Robert is a Class B Noxious Weed.

Why is it a noxious weed?

Herb Robert poses a threat to the forest understory and to plant biodiversity in forests of western Washington. It is capable of growing under full canopy closure in very dense populations and is considered a vigorous, plant. Where it occurs there appear to be fewer native herbaceous species.

Who would have ever guessed?

Spring Arts Walk In Olympia

This weekend was the Olympia, Washington's, famous Arts Walk.

Famous because the "Procession of the Species," the Arts Walk parade which takes place on Saturday, has been noted in many regional sources. The Procession of the Species — Olympia’s celebration of Earth Day, creativity and community spirit — was honored by Readers Digest last summer as America’s best procession and parade.

An estimated 3,000 participants with masks and costumes honoring nature gather accompanied by chest-thumping drums, and parade downtown with an anticipated 30,000 spectators cheering them on. The big art pieces — whether it be a whale or rhinoceros or zebra - are always popular.

The parade is part of the spring Arts Walk celebration, which continues from noon until 7 p.m. at various businesses in downtown Olympia. Dozens of artists have their creativity on display — from metal art to photography to oil paintings. Arts Walk and the Procession of the Species provide a perfect opportunity to showcase talent and the great businesses, restaurants and entertainment venues that populate downtown Olympia. And it’s free.

Friday night's "Luminary Parade"

This was my first year in many that I did not show my watercolor paintings, but it gave me the opportunity to see other artists and their art. My favorites were Alan Adams, wood & stone sculpture at the Black Box in the Washington Center for the Performing Arts; Stephanie Holttum, mixed media sculpture at Mixx 96.1 KXXO; and Alica R. Lewis, ceramics at the Painted Plate.

Tulips

Today a friend and I took a walk around the Olympia Capitol and its historic district to see the array of flowers in bloom.

I found these tall, stately (pun!), colorful tulips near the Capitol absolutely stunning.


I like the blend of colors and those tulips that appear marbled.

I learned that what is considered a variegated color pattern was caused from an infection called the Tulip Breaking Virus or the Mosaic Virus that was carried by the green peach aphids. While the virus produces fantastically colourful flowers, it also caused weakened plants that died slowly. Today the virus is almost eradicated from tulip growers' fields. Those Tulips affected by mosaic virus are called "Broken tulips"; they will occasionally revert to a plain or solid colouring, but still remain infected with the virus.

Origin of the name?

Although tulips are associated with Holland, commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Ottoman Empire. The tulip is a flower indigenous to a vast area encompassing parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The word tulip, which earlier appeared in English in forms such as tulipa or tulipant, entered the language by way of French tulipe and its obsolete form tulipan or by way of Modern Latin tulīpa, from Ottoman Turkish tülbend ("muslin" or "gauze"), and is ultimately derived from the Persian language dulband ("turban"). (The English word turban, first recorded in English in the 16th century, is a cognate.)

We have several Tulip Festivals in the state of Washington.
Here is one of my paintings after a visit to the fields.