DSF’s Photostream, 2025 – DSF's Photostream

These are highlights of my photographs from this year, including my travels in the US and Europe, as well as my garden glamour shots in Northern Virginia in 2025.

2026 ==>

Bzzzzzzzt!

Euonymous.

We've been having spectacular sunsets lately.

A close look at ornamental grass turning for the season.

Bare winter trees silhouetted against a striking mackerel sky.

Euonymus, or Spindle Tree. Those glossy, yellow-edged leaves offer year-round interest, and the pink fruit capsules will eventually split to show bright orange seeds inside.

I was trying to go for the look of a woodblock print. They're magnolia leaves.

A macro view of an autumn leaf reveals its intricate structure.

I saw this in an antique store in Denver. From the reaction when I posted it to Bluesky, I get the feeling that most people find him a little creepy.

Cordyline.

This is a Cattleya orchid at the Denver Botanical Gardens.

Pikes Peak, seen from the east, catching the first light of day.

The drive down Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. You're looking east from high altitude, over the plains. The air is thin, and that road barrier is all that's between you and a significant drop.

This is Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Sometimes called "The Three Sisters."

Looking west over Denver as the sun goes down. You get these beautiful, hazy layers of the Front Range. The city lights start to sparkle below.

Zinnia.

I'm not sure what kind of flower this is, but I adore the pink.

You have to look close to see the whole world inside a flower. Looks like a common garden rose, and tucked into the petals is a small crab spider, waiting patiently.

This is a great close-up of a pink zinnia. You're right in the center, looking at the tiny yellow florets and stigmas. Those big pink 'petals' are actually ray flowers, designed to attract bees.

That's an old female carpenter bee on a clump of sedum. See the bald spot on her thorax? That comes from rubbing against the wood of her nest all season. Her wings are tattered, too. She's put in a lot of work.

That low ground fog rolling through the fields just before sunrise is something else. A single pine stands watch. If you look closely, you can see a couple of planets still hanging on in the early light. Taken near Mount Vernon, Virginia.

These are the ruins of a old Franciscan Friary in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in Ireland. It was founded in 1352, and was disbanded in 1697.

Detail of an architectural folly, the Jealous Wall, at Belvedere House and Gardens, near Mullingar, County Westmeath, in Ireland.

This grave marker was outside a ruined church in Ballynafagh, in County Kildare, in Ireland.

This is O'Brien's Tower on the Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland.

This is the Poulnabrone dolmen in Ireland's Burren region. It’s a portal tomb, thousands of years old.

These are the ruins of the 13th century Corcomroe Cistercian Abbey, in Toorard, County Clare, in Ireland.

This is a panorama of the Ruins of Dunamase, in County Laios, in Ireland. Even on a rainy day, the views were spectacular.

Clematis.

Detail of a soft pink peach petaled rose.

This is a Southern Magnolia seed cone, or aggregate fruit. Notice the velvety pink texture and the curled tips on each segment. In a few weeks, each of the pods will split open to reveal bright red seeds.

This is a young leaf from a Japanese Hop vine, lit from behind by the late afternoon sun. That light makes it glow and shows every vein.

That's Liriope muscari, what many people call lilyturf.

A macro shot of a pink rose.

This is a close-up view of a tea rose, showing its warm yellow heart blending out to salmon-pink petals.

When the Crepe Myrtle grows, the trunk expands, and the tree sheds its skin like a snake.

Here’s a close look at some new growth. The leaf has that fine, fuzzy texture you see on young foliage.

This is somewhere on Cape Cod. Maybe Chatham?

This is the beach along the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

Dune grass on Cape Cod, combed into waves by a steady wind.

This is the flowering part of the southern magnolia. I hate the tree because it's so sloppy, with its leathery leaves, but I find the flowers interesting. When it matures, the yellow fuzz turns brown, and bright red seeds emerge.

This is what's left when the flower falls of the hibiscus plant. The showy pink petals are gone, and this is what remains.

This is a close-up of flower buds from a hosta, I think.

I bought a beat-up rosebush on discount from the garden center of a big box store. I took it home and was amazed at the beautiful roses it produces. You'll have seen pictures from this plant elsewhere in this photostream.

An extreme close-up of a chartreuse zinnia.

This close-up on a hybrid tea rose captures the color shift from yellow at the base to a soft peach-pink.

A close-up of a Japanese beetle resting on the delicate petals of a beautiful coral-orange rose.

I thought the underside structure was as interesting as the more showy parts of this hibiscus flower.

Black-eyed Susan, I started from seed.

Daylily.

Zinnia.

The orange stamen and petals of a daylilly.

This is a Southern Magnolia, past its peak but still showing its structure. The central cone is where the seeds develop. Notice how the stamens have started to drop onto the petals. This is a bloom at the end of its life.

Asiatic lilies.

Asiatic lily.

I like this picture because the very center kind of looks like a heavy eyelid belonging to a giant pink owl.

Variegated Euonymus, with its yellow and green leaves, ands covered in buds.

This is Nicotiana alata, or flowering tobacco. They have a fantastic jasmine-like scent that really comes out in the evening to attract moths. I planted them a couple years ago from seed and they luckily keep coming back.

Asiatic lily, captured right after a rain. You may also see the tiny jumping spider hiding in plain sight on a petal.

Sedum, or Stonecrop.

A yellow daylily petal, the variety is Stella d'Oro.

This is what happens when you try to cut a crepe myrtle. It's like a hydra … cut off one branch, and dozens of new branches will take its place.

The mathematics of a Shasta daisy.

Black-eyed Susan.

Hosta leaves.

A bi-color rose after a rain shower.

An abstract shot of the porcelain-like petals of the Southern Magnolia.

Japanese Spirea.

Raindrops on tall grass leaves.

Asiatic lilies variety, just about to burst into bloom.

Spiderwort, or Tradescantia. I get entranced by the deep purple flower against the light green foliage.

Southern Magnolia. The thick, creamy white petals just as they're opening almost look like porcelain.

An Asian Lady Beetle. My garden was swarming with them this summer.

Southern Magnolia flower.

A red stellar geranium. Pelargonium sp. 'Vancouver Centennial.'

Water droplets on tall grass leaves.

A close look at a rose in full bloom.

Looking up into the heavy head of a pink garden rose.

This is my cat, Roo., looking cute.

Hosta leaves.

Stonecrop, aka Sedum acre.

'Sun King' Aralia. The flowers this plant produces are not half as interesting as the vivid green color of the leaves. I planted this in my garden a couple of years ago. It dies off in the autumn, but luckily, it keeps coming back in the spring.