by hankinslawrenceimages | May 30, 2011 | Flowers, Liliaceae Family, Wildflowers
| I spent an incredible 2 1/2 weeks in April photographing Southern Appalachian wildflowers. I spent some time in places I’ve visited before – and discovered some wonderful new places to photograph. I thought I’d share some of them with you in case you’d like to check some of them out for yourself. |
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I visited two Botanical Gardens this trip – the Asheville Botanical Gardens and Reflection Riding Arboretum.
The Asheville Botanical Gardens are one of my favorite places to visit in western North Carolina. Located on the grounds of the University of North Carolina – Asheville, the gardens focus on native plants of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Every time I visit, I discover species I’ve never seen or had the chance to photograph. The gardens are open from dawn until dusk and admission is free.
Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in Chattanooga, Tennessee is a spectacular 300 acre preserve dedicated to the native plants of the region. There is a long drive that winds through the property, as well as several hiking trails. If you visit in late April through mid-May, be sure to spend time at the native azalea garden. Their collection is incredible. Reflection Riding is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily, except Sunday when it opens at 1 pm. Admission is $6 per car. |
| On this trip, I made my first visit to the Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area outside of LaFayette, Georgia. I first learned about this wonderful location from one of my twitter friends @USWILDFLOWERS who is photographing and documenting many of the native plants of the region. The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail includes a boardwalk through a hardwood cove and a rougher trail to Pocket Falls. There are also other trails and old logging roads to explore. |
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The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in Graham County, North Carolina is wonderful spot located off the Cherhola Skyway. Named in honor of Joyce Kilmer, the author of “Trees”, the forest includes a 2 mile hiking trail that winds through the woods including a stand of yellow poplar trees over 100 feet tall. Since this location is higher up in the mountains than many others, I often find a different set of wildflowers in bloom here than I do at other locations in the area. |
| Fall Creek Falls State Park near Pikeville, Tennessee has been on my to visit list for a while. I finally got there on this trip – and it was well worth visiting. Known mainly for it’s spectacular waterfalls, this wonderful state park has some wonderful hiking trails with wildflowers winding through the park. If you enjoy photographing waterfalls – you really should visit Fall Creek Falls State Park. Not only are the waterfalls beautiful, many of them can be photographed from overlooks on trails that are pretty easy hiking. More adventurous hikers can take more difficult trails to the bottom of the various waterfalls. |
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My last stop on the trip was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park – my favorite national park to visit. I hiked several old favorite trails including Cove Hardwood Trail, Chestnut Top Trail, Schoolhouse Gap Trail, Twin Creek Trail. I also checked out some trails that were new to me including Cucumber Gap Trail, Kanati Fork Trail, Laurel Falls Trail, Middle Prong Trail and a section of the Appalachian Trail. As I hiked the various trails I began to understand how different the various eco-systems in the park are. Each eco-system had a distinct set of wildflowers blooming (and available to photograph).
I’m already trying to figure out when I can get back to the Southern Appalachian Mountains – especially the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. |
| The flowers accompanying this article are
Yellow Lady’s Slipper – Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Bleeding Hearts – Asheville Botanical Gardens
Bent Trillium – Crockford-Pigeon Mountain WMA
Crested Dwarf Iris – Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Rockhorse Falls – Fall Creek Falls State Park
Pink Lady’s Slippers – Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Speckled Wood Lily – Great Smoky Mountains National Park |
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by hankinslawrenceimages | Nov 3, 2010 | Flowers, News, Photo of the Month, Wildflowers
Yellow Lady’s Slipper (c) 2010 Patty Hankins
A few years ago, I saw and photographed my first Pink Lady’s Slipper. Since then, I have been looking for a Yellow Lady’s Slipper to photograph. A native orchid, Lady’s Slippers are one of my favorite wildflowers (and they seem to be very popular with others as well). I’ve done a fair amount of hiking in the Smoky Mountains and along the Blue Ridge Parkway when the Yellow Lady’s Slippers should be in bloom – but I still haven’t found one in the wild. This one was photographed in a private garden in the Gatlinburg area. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph in the garden of a wonderful woman who saw my work and a show and invited me over to her house to photograph. I hope you enjoy my Yellow Lady’s Slipper photograph as much as I do.
Until November 30, 2010, SAVE 20% off the regular prices for Yellow Lady’s Slipper. The photograph is available through my website in two sizes of gallery-wrapped canvases.
Save $ 20 on the 12X18″ Canvas – regular price $ 99 – November Photo of the Month Price – $ 79.00
Save $ $ 80 on the 20X30″ Canvas – regular price $ 399 – November Photo of the Month Price – $ 319.00
Free shipping to U.S. Addresses for either size photograph.
As with all photographs from BeautifulFlowerPictures.com, Yellow Lady’s Slipper comes with my Unconditional Happiness Guarantee. You have one year to decide that it is the perfect photograph for you. If it’s not, just return it (in original condition) for a full refund.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Aug 23, 2010 | New Photos
Yellow Lady’s Slipper (c) 2010 Patty Hankins
I’ve just added a new photo – Yellow Lady’s Slipper – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.
I am so happy to be announcing this new photo. I’ve been searching for a Yellow Lady’s Slipper to photograph and hopefully offer for sale for a couple of years now. This past spring, I finally had the opportunity to photograph some yellow lady’s slippers. I photographed this one in a private garden in Gatlinburg. I love the color of the blossom and the shape and texture of the leaves.
This photograph is available as either an 12X18″ or 20X30″ gallery-wrapped canvas. You can order Yellow Lady’s Slipper from my website and I will have it available at shows this year.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Aug 3, 2010 | Flowers, Orchidaceae Family, Wildflowers
This past April when I headed to Tennessee and North Carolina to photograph wildflowers, one of the flowers I really hoped to photograph was the Yellow Lady’s Slippers. I’d seen and photographed the pink variety in the past – but had never seen – much less photographed the yellow ones. One of the challenges to finding the yellow lady’s slippers is that when people know where they are located in the wild, they are often reluctant to share the information. Too many of the rarer wildflowers such as the yellow lady’s slippers are being dug up and stolen from public lands. So while I fully understand people’s reluctance to share exact information about locations – it can be a bit frustrating.
I saw my first Yellow Lady’s Slippers in a private garden in Gatlinburg. A local woman stopped by my booth at the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage – asked if I had photos of the yellow lady’s slippers – and I said I didn’t. We talked for a while – and then she invited me to visit her home after the show – where she had some growing her in garden. Needless to say I was thrilled – and I quickly accepted her invitation.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Later in the trip, I had the opportunity to photograph several more Yellow Lady’s Slippers at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Yellow Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium parviflorum) are members of the orchid family. There are several types of native Yellow Lady’s Slippers in the US – only California, Nevada, Oregon, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Hawaii and Florida do not any native Yellow Lady’s Slippers. Despite their wide range, they are threatened or endangered in many states.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Yellow Lady’s Slippers grow to about 2 1/2 feet tall. They usually have 2 or 3 leaves on alternate sides of the stem and one or two flowers at the top. Like other orchids, the Yellow Lady’s Slippers have 3 petals – the top two are fused together – while the third forms the open pouch or slipper.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Yellow Lady’s Slippers grow best in woodlands and forests with moist soil. They tend to bloom for about three weeks in late spring through early summer. When you find a cluster of Yellow Lady’s Slippers, most likely many in the group are daughter plants to one mother plant that spread it’s seeds.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
There are a few recorded medicinal uses for Yellow Lady’s Slippers. Cherokee Indians created a drink from the roots to treat worms. Other traditional uses include use as an anti-depressant and anti-spasmodic. As with all information about medicinal uses for native plants – the information is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered a recommendation for medicinal use.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
I was absolutely thrilled to have a chance to see and photograph the Yellow Lady’s Slippers in a private garden and in a botanical garden – now I just need to find some to photograph in the wild. There’s always next year . . .
And if you do see them growing in the wild – please enjoy seeing and photographing them – but don’t dig them up and take them home.
If you’d like more information about the Yellow Lady’s Slippers, there is information online at
USDA Plant Profiles
eFloras.org
Wisplants Database
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Illinois Wildflowers
University of New Hampshire Extension Service
