My favorite photos from Digging in 2012

January 02, 2013


Les at A Tidewater Gardener, an excellent nature photographer, always ends the year with a look back at his favorite photos from the year, and he invites other bloggers to do the same. Without further ado, here are my favorites from 2012.

The first two happen to be from a spring visit to Dallas Arboretum. I made the visit for the Chihuly exhibit, which was stunning. But so were these gomphrena growing beneath the taller stems of drumstick allium. I like this image for the graphic quality of the lines and dots of stems and flowers, the river of gomphrena flowing through the allium stems, and the beautiful color scheme.


My second image, also snapped at the Arboretum, is of two little girls in their Communion Sunday finest, waiting to be photographed in the garden, their mothers standing nearby. I caught them in a candid moment, framed by greenery and pink and white cleome blossoms, looking, well, as pretty as a picture.


My third image is a reflecting pool in the Bonnell Drive Garden, which was on the Austin Open Days tour last fall. The light, reflecting off the golden wall and across the length of the pool, framed by shadowy foliage on the left, is the real subject of this photo.


Bright desert light brings a different quality to my fourth image, a spray of agarita backed by an ornamental grass in the Capri Lounge garden in Marfa, Texas. The yellow-green hue and fireworks-like explosion of lines draw me to this image.


I like the soft textures and the play of light in my fifth image, from the Rockcliff Road Garden on last fall’s Austin Open Days Tour. The arbor at upper right also nicely frames part of the scene.


My sixth image is a study in blue. I spotted this blue-white cactus euphorbia in a blue bowl on a pale-blue bench in the garden of Alan Richards in Tucson, Arizona.


Travel led me to my seventh image as well: a bee buzzing a poppy blossom in the Burton Street Community Peace Garden in Asheville, North Carolina. The super-closeup view creates an almost otherworldly mood.


The black-and-white striping and texture of a creosote bush in Big Bend National Park, framed against a blurred-out gravel background, turns an ordinary desert plant into graphic sculpture in my eighth image.


My ninth image is from home—my own stock-tank pond with blooming ‘Colorado’ water lilies, and an inviting trio of Adirondacks in the background, framed by golden thryallis. It’s good to have at least one favorite image from one’s own garden, wouldn’t you say?

So if you blog, are you interested in playing along? If so, round up your favorite images from 2012 and add your link in a comment on Les’s post. It’s fun to see which photos people choose and why.

And if you’d like to see more, here are my favorite images from 2011.

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

11 responses to “My favorite photos from Digging in 2012”

  1. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    All beautiful, thoughtfully composed pictures. Each has a different feel. I like your garden picture too. The chairs look like colorful blooms popping out of the patio as the lily blooms are popping out of the tank.

    I do love color, as you know, Lisa. I’ve been thinking about painting those Adirondacks a tangerine-orange this year. What do you think? —Pam

  2. Cat says:

    That gomphrena provokes a smile, for sure! Happy New Year to you, Pam!

    Every year I tell myself I’ll add gomphrena to my garden, but I always forget. It’s so sweet, and so tough! Actually, I do usually have the ‘Grapes’ gomphrena, but it isn’t the same since it blooms for a shorter time in the fall. —Pam

  3. Beautiful Pictures! My favorite is the creosote bush….I really love that one because I think it would have gone unnoticed by many…
    I did a review for my first birthday I would love you to see when you have a minute.

    http://xericstyle.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/xericstyle-is-1-a-review/

    Thanks for another amazing year Pam!

    And thanks for sharing your stylishly evolving garden too, Heather! I’m excited to go see your latest post. —Pam

  4. Shirley says:

    Beautiful images, strong graphic lines and color.

    The bee is stunning!

    Thanks, Shirley. I enjoyed your top-photos post as well. —Pam

  5. Great photos, Pam. I think the creosote bush is my favorite, too. I referred back to the original posting and was happy to see a wider shot that put the close up into perspective.

    I loved that plant, Michael, and then learned it’s common as dirt out in the desert southwest. Reminds me of when I had visitors from New Zealand, and they kept exclaiming over the squirrels, which they’d never seen before. —Pam

  6. Les says:

    Pam, the first image of the Gomphrena and Allium is stunning, and I thought “how is she going to get any better than that”, and then I saw the little girls, and then I saw the pool, and then I….

    Thanks for playing along.

    It was my pleasure, Les. Thanks for starting the meme and reminding me to review the beauty of the past year. —Pam

  7. Anna says:

    Hi Pam,
    I love the way the light in reflecting pool photo draws you into the focal area of the picture, but all the photos are beautiful.
    Thanks for all your wonderful photos, and posts. I enjoy reading, seeing your photos, and getting ideas for my small garden.
    I decided to join in by posting my favorite photos from last year on my blog. Thanks for the great idea. http://inspiredbynaturelife.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-favorite-photos-of-2012.html

    How fun to see others join in this meme. Thanks for sharing your favorite images too, Anna! —Pam

  8. Wonderful images, Pam. My favorite is the one with the arbor and the colorful Maple (?) tree. Happy New Year!

    And to you, PP. I enjoyed your post on best and worst performers in your garden as well. —Pam

  9. cheryl says:

    You always take such lovely pictures that I can’t wait to see your newest posts… they really get the inspiration juices running!

    Thanks, Cheryl. I’m glad you enjoy them! —Pam

  10. Jenn says:

    The Alan Richards cactus is actually a(n?) euphorbia.
    One of those plants that evolved along similar lines, a world away. That one looks similar to Euphorbia horrida.

    Thanks so much for the correction, Jenn. It’s fascinating how greatly it resembles a cactus. —Pam

  11. Wonderful photos. I especially loved the one of the creosote bush who I met this year. It was one of the main dry land shrubs at Malheur NWR. You inspired me to do a look back, but I couldn’t possibly choose only 12. I had to cheat a little and make some pictures into collages. I took several thousand photos this year due to my really interesting assignments and to taking a series of vacations. http://mkircus2.blogspot.com/2013/01/favorite-memories-from-last-year.html

    A collage is a great idea, Marilyn, especially for a retrospective post. —Pam