Thursday, July 20, 2006

Kyoto botanical garden

Some more pics from the kyoto botanical gardens. First , hydrangeas from the hydrangea park and then the mandatory residents of a conservatory.
This particular hydrangea , if I am not mistaken , is also called popcorn hydrangea because of the apperance of the bunch. The small blooms look really pretty.
No blooms on this baby yet. just the buds , but a fly definitely finds them attractive.
Some more of those pretty buds.
I liked the serrated edge of the petals on these flowers. They present quite a contrast from the smooth blooms normally observed.
These blushing pink blooms have more petals than the normal 5 observed on each flower. They also have multiple layers, again something different from what is normally observed.
View of the conservatory- I am afraid its only a partial one. The entire structure could not fit into the frame and this was the best one of the lot I took.
A macro shot that could have been better.
A smaller cousin of this particular plant was a resident in my friend's place. It gave me the heebie jeebies when I visited and it did scare me a bit even when I was in the conservatory. It looks like its itching to get its fingers on any passer by. Needless to say, I did not linger long.
A conservatory without a pitcher plant. No can happen.
These bamboo plants or maybe bamboo cousins have something nifty going on , on their stems.
Have a look
And thats a pretty head
Hanging from this palm
Hibiscus may be . Loved its petals. By this point, my camera had fogged up because of first the rain and then the moisture in the conservatory. I had to take of the lens and wipe it properly and I did not dare to even touch the mirror.
And here's the surprise of the day. A chocolate tree. That's theobroma cacao or the food of the gods. I attest to that fact. Chocolate sure is divine.
A flower in the cactus section . A small head on a really thin long stalk. Pretty in red.
An orchid maybe
An orchid definitely
And another one
And another one
More orchids, but these were outside the conservatory and in a small section by themselves. I must say I wasn't much impressed by the selection here. I definitely expected more.
I have a lighter cousin of this one at home. Unfortunately I can't get it to rebloom. any tips
And at the end, a rafflesia bloom in a glass case. This baby is huge and is reputed to be pollinated by elephants. Thats just a myth though. It smells of rotten meat and elephants being vegetarian won't venture anywhere near it. This flower is pollinated by flies.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Pics from the wkend

The setting sun
some vegetation near the river
And the river

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Kyomizu shrine

A passageway while entering the shrine.
And the view from the shrine
Kyomizu means pure water, and this particular shrine is named and famous for its water.
The deity
Another vista of kyoto city from the shrine
By now, visitors to the blog must be aware or my obsession with flowers. A hydrangea in bloom in the shrine grounds
We took a break from all the walking and sat down to enjoy some chilled beer.
With some tofu. It came floating in that wooden bucket.
Thats when another one of my obsession surfaced. Three japanese gals in their yukatas and I could not leave them alone in peace. Thankfully, many others around me had the same idea and some 20 odd cameras were focussed on these lasses.
I focussed my attention on the lass in the middle. The light hit her face beautifully and she had a gamut of expressions for a shutterbug
I was happy with the images captured. Another day well spent :)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Whats in a name

said shakespeare
And I heartily agree
I took these pics in the Kyoto botanical garden, on a really rainy day
For the first few pics,I took the pic of the flower and the name placard
and after a few of these insane shots, said to myself, " darn it"
"If will din't mind, I don't care either."
And then , I went on my merry way
Clicking
And clicking
when I came across these pearls on the leaves
some more clicking
And while I was as wet as doormouse and had a conference to attend later in the day,
Bilbo was still a very....
.....happy camper. Wet.... but happy