Washington DC | Beautiful Flower Pictures Blog

Some of My Favorite DC Area Botanical Gardens

by hankinslawrenceimages | May 15, 2011 | Flowers, Photo Locations, Washington DC

When I’m home in the Washington, DC area, some of my favorite places to photograph flowers are at some of the local botanical gardens. Most have professional staffs of gardeners who maintain the plants in spectacular condition, and are often available to answer questions about the flowers. They’re are often happy to let you know about plants that are at their peak bloom. Another great feature of photographing at professionally maintained gardens is they often have identification signs by the flowers – letting you know what you’ve been photographing. These signs are how I’ve learned to identify and classify many of the flowers I photograph.

Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland is the local garden where I spend the most time. In the spring, their daffodil and tulip displays are unmatched in the Washington DC area. Throughout the summer, there is an ever changing display of flowers in bloom. One summer highlight at Brookside Gardens is the Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit in the Conservatory. This year’s Wings of Fancy Exhibit will run from April 30 – September 18.

Brookside Gardens is located in Wheaton Reginal Park. The gardens are open daily from sunrise to sunset.

McCrillis Gardens in Bethesda, Maryland is a little-known part of Montgomery County’s Parks Department. Primarily a shade garden, McCrillis has an incredible variety of shade loving plants in natural settings. The gazebo and pavillion provide wonderful seating areas to enjoy these beautiful gardens. McCrillis Gardens are the smallest of the local public gardens and the least crowded. I’ve rarely seen more than one or two other people at the gardens when I’ve been there. So if you’re looking for a quiet peaceful garden to explore, McCrillis may be a great choice for you to visit.

McCrillis Gardens is located in Bethesda on Greentree Road. The gardens are open daily from 10 AM until sunset.

Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia is another garden on my frequently visited lists. With a variety of gardens from demonstration gardens to incredible perennials there is always something wonderful to photograph at Green Spring Gardens. One of my favorite areas of these gardens is the native plant garden and wooded path to a stream. There are literally hundreds of native plants growing in the woods, many have identification signs. This is one of the best places in the area to discover plants that are native to the region.

Green Spring Gardens is located on Green Spring Road in Alexandria, Virginia. The gardens are open daily.

The U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC is one of the largest if not the largest public garden in the area. With over 440 acres of land and 9.5 miles of roads, there is always something to see at the National Arboretum. Some of my favorite areas of the garden are Fern Valley (full of native plants), the Pepper Garden, and all the wonderful flowering trees, including magnolias, azaleas and cherry trees. If you want to see cherry trees in bloom in the spring, the National Arboretum is one of the best places in DC to see them – they have more varieties than the Tidal Basin – and many fewer people.

The National Arboretum is located on New York Avenue in Washington, DC. The garden is open daily (except December 25) from 8 AM to 5 PM.

When I’m traveling, I try to visit local botanical gardens. On my spring wildflower trip last month, I visited the North Carolina Arboretum and the Asheville Botanical Garden in Asheville, North Carolina and the Reflection Riding Arboretum in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Do you have a favorite botanical garden I should put on my list to visit when I’m in your area? If so – please let me know.

The flowers accompanying this article are

Yulan Magnolia – U.S. National Arboretum
Glory of the Snow – Brookside Gardens
Royal Star Magnolia – McCrillis Gardens
Zowie Zinnia – Green Spring Gardens
Yoshino Cherry Blossoms – U.S. National Arboretum
Grecian Windflower – Brookside Gardens

Cherry Blossoms at the National Arboretum

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 21, 2011 | Flowers, Photo Locations, Rosaceae Family, Washington DC

Earlier this month, Bill and I spent a few hours one morning photographing the blossoming cherry trees at the National Arboretum in DC. If we’re going to be photographing the Cherry Blossoms on the weekend – we usually head to the Arboretum rather than the Tidal Basin. At the Tidal Basin – there are always crowds. At the Arboretum, we’ll only see a few other photographers early in the morning when we tend to photograph.

This year, I photographed two varieties of cherry trees. The first was a Prunus sargentii tree. Named for the American plant collector Charles Sprague Sargent, these trees were discovered in the mountains of Japan in the 1890s. They are known for their reddish bark and wonderful pink flowers.

The second cherry tree I photographed was a Yoshino cherry tree. When people think about cherry trees at the Tidal Basin in DC – most often they are referring to the Yoshino Cherry trees given as a gift in 1912 to Washington DC from Japan. In the 1970s, botanists from the National Arboretum took cuttings from some of the 1912 trees to preserve the species. Several of the trees at the Arbortum were grown from these cuttings, including the one I photographed. These trees are genetically identical to the trees originally planted at the Tidal Basin.

The cherry blossoms are one of the highlights of spring in the Washington DC area. Each trees blooms for only a few days. At the National Arboretum there are enough different varieties of trees that some sort of cherry trees are in bloom for at least two weeks in the spring. I’m already looking forward to photographing some more cherry blossoms next year.

A Trip to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens

by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 5, 2010 | Flowers, Malvaceae Family, Nymphaeaceae Family, Photo Locations, Washington DC

Bill and I headed into Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens yesterday morning. I’d heard that the lotuses (Nelumbo nucifera) were blooming early this year – and I needed to test out one of my cameras that had been out for repairs. The gardens are located in Washington, DC and are part of the National Capital Parks – East, a collection of parks, parkways and sites in DC and Maryland.

The lotuses were absolutely spectacular this year. Here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday’s visit to the Aquatic Gardens.

As usual, there were plenty of bees at the gardens – I was really pleased to capture this pair in my photo. They had been flying in and out of the blossom for a few minutes when I took the photo.

Looking down into the center of newly opened lotus blossom. I love the color and texture of the seed head.

And finally a lotus that had just begun to open up it’s petals

Along the edge of one of the ponds, I found a member of the mallow family. I love the bright bold colors of the flower. I haven’t been able to identify what variety of mallow or hibiscus this is. Does anyone recognize it?

And finally a pink water lily

I try to visit Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens at least once a summer. The flowers are always wonderful and every time I visit, I find something wonderful to photograph. I’m hoping to visit the gardens at least once more this summer.

Cherry Blossoms – Pretty in Pink

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 7, 2010 | Flowers, Photo Locations, Rosaceae Family, Washington DC

In addition to the wonderful Yoshino Cherry Blossoms that I posted photos of the other day, I’ve had the chance to photograph some beautiful cherry blossoms in shades of pink. This year, the Yoshino Blossoms were very white (some years they are more pink) so any pink blossoms really stand out against all the white.

The first set of pink cherry blossoms I photographed were on an Okame Flowering Cherry Tree at the National Arboreatum. This is a very early flowering type of cherry – the tree was in full bloom about a week before the Yoshinos were blooming at the Tidal Basin.

I love the contrast of the deep magenta centers of the flowers against the lovely pink petals.

The next cherry tree I photographed was a First Lady Flowering Cherry Tree at McCrillis Gardens in Bethesda. I just adore the wonderful color of the blossoms on this tree.

And finally, what may be the prettiest cherry blossoms I’ve photographed this year – some beautiful pale pink and white blossoms. I photographed these blossoms on one of the trees at the Tidal Basin. So far I haven’t been able to identify what variety of tree this is. Does anyone recognize which blossoms these are?

I hope you’ve enjoyed my 2010 Cherry Blossom photos. For those of us living in the DC area, cherry blossoms really signal the beginning of spring.

Cherry Blossoms at the National Arboretum

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 4, 2009 | Flowers, Photo Locations, Rosaceae Family, Washington DC

Best described as – Blossoms as wonderful as the Tidal Basin – without all the people!

Earlier this week, I spent a few hours at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington DC. I was amazed at the variety of Cherry Blossoms I found there. The National Arboretum has over 20 varieties of cherry trees that bloom from mid-March to late April. To help visitors find the trees and learn about them, the Arboretum has developed a self-guided tour – Beyond the Tidal Basin: Introducing Other Great Flowering Cherry Trees. The tour brochure is available at the Arobretum and runs through April 12.

Here are a few of the varieties of Cherry Blossoms I photographed this week.

Fudanzakura – an early flowering tree. It can bloom sporadically through the winter and early spring before blooming fully.

cherry_blossoms_fudanzakura_7694

Autumnalis – a double blossoming early blooming cherry blossom.

cherry_blossoms_autumnalis_7889

Yedoensis – the blossoms on this tree were almost pure white.

cherry_blossoms_yedoensis_8090

And finally – an Okitsu Akabana Apricot blossom. I originally had this identified as a type of cherry blossom – but it is an apricot blossom. It was so pretty, I figured no one could object to it being in a post about cherry blossoms. 🙂

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of my visit to the flowering trees at the Arboretum was how few people I saw during my several hour visit. It wasn’t uncommon for me to spend 30 minutes photographing a tree – with no one else in sight for the entire time. Can you imagine 30 minutes by yourself at any of the Cherry Trees at the Tidal Basin?

If you’re looking for a different place to view some cherry blossoms, I’d really reccomend paying a visit to the National Arboretum.

Water Lilies at Kenilworth Gardens

by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 25, 2008 | Flowers, Nymphaeaceae Family, Photo Locations, Washington DC

One morning last month, Bill and I visited Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC to photograph the water lilies. We’ve photographed the lotus blossoms in the past – this was the first time we’d spent a morning with the water lilies.

At Kenilworth, there are a series of man-made ponds filled with water lilies. The most famous are the Victoria Water Lilies which have the large lipped leaves. The Victoria Water Lilies weren’t blooming when we were there but there were several other types of water lilies in bloom.

Here are some of the water lilies we saw on our visit.

Kenilworth Gardens is open daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day) from 7 AM to 4 PM. The gardens entrance is located on Anacostia Avenue in Washington DC. No admission fees are charged at Kenilworth Gardens.

I’m hoping to get back to Kenilworth Gardens this month to see (and photograph) the Victoria Water Lilies.

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