I spent several happy and restful hours at the Missouri Botanical Gardens yesterday. We're in a period of cool weather, and the day was overcast up until getting ready to leave.
Overcast skies make prettier flower photos, especially when the sprinklers are still going, dusting the petals with plenteous fairy tears.
Yesterday I took what will most likely be my last photographs of the annual orchid show at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Though the flowers still charm, trying to focus all my attention through the lens while simultaneously avoid stepping on an elderly man, or rambunctious child, has proven too much and I decided yesterday the pictures taken will be my last.
The Missouri Botanical Gardens is celebrating its 150 year anniversary, and the show is focused on the Garden, itself, rather than on some whimsical tale or story. I think better of the show for returning focus to the Gardens, and for its simple and elegant design. In particular, I liked the foyer decoration this year, with its emphasis on Victorian and turn of the century gardens and flowers, centered on a collection of tussie mussies and an antique book the Garden people pulled out for inclusion in the show: the handmade booklet titled, "The Language of the Flowers", given as a gift from husband to wife. The front of the book contains a lovely little poem, perfect for Valentine's Day
There is a language 'little known,'
Lovers claim it as their own.Its symbols smile upon the land,
Wrought by nature's wondrous hand;And in their silent beauty speak,
Of life and joy, to those who seek.For Love Divine and sunny hours
In the language of the flowers.
Though the sophisticate may find the poem overly simple, he or she may change their mind when they look at the book where the poem is contained, and at the page after page of flower names and their meaning, all written out in the gift giver's best copperplate, and each hand decorated.
The language of flowers had its roots throughout history, but in Victorian times, flowers and their meanings formed a new language, a secret form of communication between friends, lovers, and would be lovers. One could not say, "I love you" to a maiden, but one could imply his love with a gift of red roses. Whether the rose had its thorns or not provided a separate message, as did the number of petals and leaves. Gentlemen would send entire bouquets of different flowers, all combined to create a complex message, and a favorite parlor game was trying to decipher the message so given. What an elegant form of communication.
In the language of the flowers, an orchid means beauty and refinement, so my gift of beauty and refinement for you.
My last trip to the Botanical didn't just result in some butterfly photos. I was also able to grab some photos of birds, including a rather proud looking goldfinch.
Our bright fellow wasn't by himself, though. This female goldfinch, with more subtle coloring, was busy either trying to hack loose a leaf, or sharpening her bill.
I spotted my first monarchs this week, and managed to get a couple of photos of them and some of their friends at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.
Monarch butterfly:
I was finally able to capture an image of a Cabbage White. Though they are common, they're difficult to photograph because they move about more than most of the other butterflies. They're also a very aggressive butterfly, chasing away other types of butterflies and, on a couple of occasions, small birds.
The following dainty beauty is most likely a male Clouded Sulphur :
There's always room for one more Painted Lady photo:
At first I thought this butterfly was a male Taxiles Skipper, but the Butterflies and Moths of North America guide say that this species has never been spotted in Missouri. Running through all of the Skipper photos, I then found the Fiery Skipper, which is known to be in Missouri. The two are very similar, at least to someone new to butterfly identification.
A quick note to readers: if these photos seem a little washed out, it's because I use color management with my photos. What this means is that the photos are edited using a specialized "sRGB color profile" common to Windows, and then the color profile is inserted into the photo in order for the color to be properly managed in other environments. However, only Safari and Firefox 3 with a special color management add-on correctly interpret the profile on the Mac.
