This is the first time that I’ve had this pink Filipendula flower. It’s been in the ground a couple of years from some pots leftover from a local plant sale. (The deer have nipped off the tops before flowering in previous years.)
It goes close to 6 feet tall. So I’m guessing that it’s Filipendula rubra ‘Venusta’, but there are others that fit this description.
It’s in ‘the wet garden’ along with monarda, eupatorium, veronicastrum, Verbena hastata, Â tradescantia and others that appreciate the constant and sometimes excessive moisture.
There has been a lot of discussion about PhotoShopping images on several other blogs. I did fiddle with these a little. But I was amazed with the differences in bloom color in these evening shots depending on the angles — backlit vs. sun over my shoulder vs. shooting perpendicular to the light. Â The differences in my raw images were even greater than I’d ever see when fiddling around with the images in PhotoShop.
More pix …
That’s beautiful, especially as seen in the wide shot. What’s that gorgeous, silvery tree in the background?
That is a real show stopper… a show-off. Is there a fragrance?
Pam: It’s a willow.
Hank: I wish I could tell you it smells like cotton candy. But it has no aroma that I can detect, though I don’t have the most sensitive nose.
I had a post on Filipendula the other day. It is a great plant for wet areas.
I love your pictures PS’ed or not. I usually run all my photos through Photoshop for minor adjustments. I call it my ‘Digital Darkroom’.
Very, very pretty indeed-my favourite color, pink! The light on it is lovely
I love the Filipendula and while it might prefer a wet area, mine does pretty well sitting high and dry although it is augmented with quite a bit of compost. Just a note in case someone wants to give it a try. It does have a fragrance. Sweet! Great photos!
You sure do handle those tall garden beauties well, Craig. I don’t even like pink all that much in general but I have to say that area is gorgeous with the filipendula, monarda and the silvery willow.
(All I keep “hearing” in my head right now is the Renegade Gardener decreeing: “Give me filipendula!”)
I don’t like pink much, either. But I’ve got a lot of it midsummer.
How nice to stop by and find something that is totally new to me. I’ll have to look into it, but I have a feeling it’s not meant for my zone – plus, I don’t have a very wet area (especially this season). It’s quite beautiful.
Regarding photoshop. I read some of those posts and don’t know how I feel. It’s possible that I don’t care either way – a good image is a good image. I recently downloaded the full version on my home computer for a work-related project – so hadn’t used it until two weeks ago – and I must say I just find it fun. I haven’t even come close to learning everything it can do – but go to the ‘liquify’ function and make your flower petals swirl and sway – it’s just fun. There’s a SC guy, http://www.macroartinnature.com (I think that’s the address) who does incredible macro images – and then describes how he takes the image and then a bit about post-processing. The Blue Ridge Blog person – Maria I think – does the same. I love the work of both of them. I’ve basically been enjoying grayscale and contrast capabilities – but I have a feeling that I could become addicted to the capabilities that it offer. Only problem: my camera is screwing up. Might be time to send it off to Nikon. Ugh.
Pam: The best thing for improving images for me is the Adjust > Levels histogram. Depending on the image, I usually push the outside sliders toward the center a little, then fiddle with the midtones slider. (Don’t ask me what all that means. I just do it.) For pure fun, I like to fiddle with the artistic filters.
Your shots are exquisite of this praire beauty. I’ve had this plant for about 7 years now and have just divided them to share. Like most perennials they do multiply, however, they’re not invasive. They can be grown in zones A1-3, 1-9, 14-17 you will find them reliably hearty.