The rhododendrons at Meerkerk Gardens weren’t only attracting the people to visit. It was awash with bees. The flowers were heaven for these insects and they were on so many of the plants. The sound of buzzing was a constant accompaniment. It was also interesting to see the different types of bee. Some plants had large, fuzzy bees while others had a thinner and shinier species. Clearly, the bees are very specific about which plant is their favorite.
Spring is a good time for rhododendrons and there are a number of gardens known for their flowering in the Seattle area. We decided to take a trip to Whidbey Island to visit Meerkerk Gardens. I hadn’t heard of it before but Nancy had done some research so we gave it a go. While it was not in full bloom – peak blooming was one to two weeks away – it still was a gorgeous sight.
You can get blasé about the beauty of some places as each next view is as pretty as the preceding one and you have to remind yourself that this is not normal. It is a peak of color and shape that doesn’t last long and has to be appreciated while it is there. I lack the vision to come up with a good way of conveying just how pretty it is but I will have to make do with sharing some of the shots I took while strolling around.
Some plants bloom frequently. Others bloom once a year. What is slightly more unusual is a plant that only blooms once every 7-10 years. The Titan Arum is one such plant and an example lives in the Amazon Spheres in Seattle. Purely by coincidence, we happened to visit the Spheres when it was blooming. We had actually missed the peak opening by a day and it was starting to close up again. It had also had a hole cut into the side to allow pollination artificially. But this was a small price to pay for seeing something so unusual.
One feature the plant is known for is a smell of rotting flesh when it is blooming. This is supposed to attract insects that then assist with pollination. There was a bit of an odor but, to be honest, I wasn’t conscious of it being too bad. Maybe there is a peak period of stinkiness and we missed it or maybe the story has been slightly overblown. Either way, it was very lucky that we happened to be there during the blooming process and now we might have to wait a few years before it happens again.
The Rose Garden in Point Defiance Park was a feature but there weren’t only roses. They also had a dahlia section. Nancy loves dahlias so we checked this out. The variety of these blooms was almost as good as it was for the roses!
I thought tulips came in one shape. I was wrong. Walking around the gardens at RoozenGaarde in Mt Vernon, I got to see so many varieties of tulip and I was amazed at the different shapes and sizes. Color varieties was something I expected but I didn’t realize just how large some blooms were and I was even more surprised at some plants that, had I not been told that they were tulips, I would never have known. Fringing of the petals, curvatures that were totally different to the norm and all sorts of variations in between were eye opening. I guess tulips are a complex subject!
I knew that gorillas were vegetarians, happy to chomp on branches and leaves for hours at a time. What I didn’t know is that they have what I guess might be considered a sweet tooth. They were scattered throughout their enclosure but two of them were together in one section that had a glass viewing wall for the other apes to watch them. The staff had recently put a load of food out for them and this included some bunches of flowers.
When I first saw the flowers, I was slightly perplexed. It seemed like an odd thing to have put out. However, the alpha male homed in on them. Even then I assumed he would eat the leaves. Not so. He was happy to strip the flowers from the branches and chew them up. The rate at which he went through them made it seem pretty clear that this was a preferred treat for him. Having never tried eating flowers, I have no idea what they taste like. They smell nice so does that translate into a nice flavor? I’m not going to try eating some to find out but, judging by his approach, there must be something to them.
The Botanic Garden in Balboa Park is apparently one of the most popular visitor locations in the city. It isn’t hard to see why since it is densely packed with all manner of vegetation, much of which is beautiful to look at. From tiny plants and delicate orchids to great ferns and palms, there is plenty for the visitor to see. And, there are plenty of visitors! The place has never been quiet whenever I have been there and this visit was certainly no exception.
Not only is it a popular place for people, the local wildlife also seems to like what it has to offer. Birds are flying around at the entrance all the time. I also saw a pretty cool looking caterpillar on a plant just outside the door. I don’t know whether it considered the plant life inside to be tastier and couldn’t get in or whether it was happy munching on what it had. It certainly seemed to be well fed, though.
The garden is not huge so, with everyone squeezed in, it feels pretty busy. Some people are looking at everything, others seem to be just enjoying the overall ambience. For many of the children it seemed to be a chance to see how many of the signs they could ignore by standing on things that weren’t to be stood on or touching things that were not supposed to be touched! I enjoyed the shape and style of the building as much as the plants. It calls out for playing with either a really wide angle lens or a longer lens to compress features. I had to make do with what I had with me.
Taking a hike through the hills, sometimes the opportunity to stop and look at stuff is rather welcome. I was looking at a flower when I saw a bee busily doing what bees do. I figured a quick shot was in order. Some of the other flowers looked pretty cool too. I have no idea what these flowers are. I thought they looked like bluebells but, since they aren’t blue, maybe they are purplebells?
Early in the morning of my half day in Tokyo, we had a stroll across towards the Imperial Palace. I guess we had missed the peak of the blossoms in the city but there were still quite a few of them that were in bloom. It just wouldn’t be right to have walked by without grabbing a few shots for the collection. Yes, they could have been taken anywhere but they weren’t. They were taken in Tokyo so they are Japanese blossoms. Whether they were cheery or plum I don’t know so I guess the story is only half complete.
