Janet Brien's photos

I have a soft spot for wisteria. My parents had a summer cabin at a recreational river community and in the area's center was a magnificent wisteria vine that must have been there for 50 years. The main vine was many feet in diameter and as it branched out, it was trained to cover a huge trellised area. The lush greenery offered protection against the summer sun and naughty kids loved to climb around up among the vines (I would NEVER do such a thing...truly! :D). We were never around when the wisteria was in bloom, so I was amazed when I finally saw how beautiful and fragrant the flowers were. Every time I see these vines I think back fondly at my childhood and teen year summer weekends at Summer Home Park.

When Steve and I visited the Harry & David public garden last spring, the peonies were getting close to blooming but were still in bud form. This gave me the opportunity to showcase the beauty of their forms!

Even though this rose is losing the last of its petals, the details up close are still beautiful! :)

What a classic beauty. When I think of roses, this is one that would come to mind. And yes, it had a fragrance as wonderful as its appearance!

The bed of canna plants I found at the Harry & David garden were exceptionally beautiful and the light was perfect to show of the lovely colors.

If you like roses even just a little bit, the public garden at Harry & David's in Medford, Oregon, will delight you! Spread over acres of property, there are countless rose bushes brimming with flowers for at least half the year. Here was a particularly stunning pair just beginning to open!

There was a bed of these beautiful pansies at the Harry & David public garden. It was a nice challenge to get the proper depth of field so the front flower was in focus and the ones behind were nice and soft.

Have you ever noticed how some plants repel water better than others? I found these beautiful, lacy leaves at the Harry & David public garden and noticed perfectly round droplets of water on them from the rain the night before. This one looks like a miniature crystal ball! :)

A while back I featured a series of garlic as its bud began to burst open to expose the countless florets inside. I found this display of developing allium buds at the Harry & David public garden and had fun using depth of field to focus on one while showing that there were many in the back

Canna plants are native to the tropics and are popular in gardens for their lush and colorful foliage. I found a bed full of these stunning red and green striped plants at the Harry & David garden and loved the opportunity to photograph them to my heart's content! :) I really loved the way this image turned out for so many reasons...the light, the bokeh, the lines, the colors, the texture, and the abstractness!

Here are some flowers that I especially loved. They grew on a large, sprawling bushy tree at the Harry & David public garden. From afar, this huge bush appeared to have white, unimpressive flowers on it. From my experience, what seems boring from a distance will turn out to be fantastic up close, and I made a bee-line to the closest cluster. I was not disappointed, as you can see. I love the appearance of two very different looking blossoms and the rich green and texture of the leaves behind.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to spend a day taking pictures of countless bearded irises at a friend's property some time ago, but I am always eager to take more pictures of these stunning flowers. The Harry & David public garden had a very nice display of lavender and purple irises to feast my eyes upon! :)

The Harry & David public garden may be known for its roses, but there are countless other flowers and plants to appreciate there. I found a bed of striped canna plants and lost myself in the beauty of the colorful leaves and the way the light made them glow. I took so many pictures and in the end, I got a series of images that have made me very happy! This is a close-up of the stunning colors shown so vividly with sunlight shining through a leaf.

Such a lovely sight to see a wall of roses in a rainbow of colors. The Harry & David public garden never fails to take my breath away.

The lovely blossoms were neverending at the Harry & David public garden. Here is a Wood Rose varient and had a lovely fragrance.

I like to challenge myself by trying to create interesting images from something that people wouldn't look at twice. While I was at the Harry & David public garden, I noticed this withered daffodil and loved the shape and texture. Even dead, I find it lovely. All around there were beautiful flowers to grab my attention, but it was an easy thing to stop and appreciate this once-brilliant, yet still interesting blossom. :)

[+1 in a note above] Foxgloves are pretty outrageous, aren't they? There is so much to look at...they are very tall, and the stalk they grow on is covered with individual blossoms. The blossoms themselves are absolutely stunning and truly deserve a spotlight to be appreciated alone. Just look at this masterpiece of nature! AMAZING! With lovely shades of pink and magenta with beautiful maroon spots circled by white. Hairs can be seen everywhere, and there are interesting details inside as well. What a sight. :) (you can see the whole flower in a note above)

The leaves of roses look like beautiful green hearts with maroon-accented teeth. Add rain drops and the sight is even more lovely!