Some of her favorite things - #4 - Four O’Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa)

/

A continuation of blog posts highlighting some of the flowers grown in Betty’s gardens in various locations (FL, PA, TX, CO).

This is a flower Betty grew from seeds she brought back from Trieste on our trip to Venice and Trieste in 2004. Blooms open in the late afternoon and evening, thus the common name four o’clocks. The Mirabilis part of the Latin name means “wonderful”.

Nikon D300 with Sigma 180mm f/3.5 macro lens
1/15 sec at f/18, ISO 200
2010

The four o’clock flowers attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. This species was cultivated as a medicinal plant by the Aztecs prior to the Spanish conquest.

Nikon D300 with Sigma 180mm f/3.5 macro lens
1/8 sec at f/25, ISO 200
2010

/ /

David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.