Even on a cloudy, humid and misty day, the Naples Botanical Garden always shares some new visual treats. So much has changed there in one month’s time. First, these pink Calla lilies greeted us at the entrance. These elegant plants thrive in South Florida.
The holiday lights are only a memory, and a massive new landscape project is underway, transforming the island in the center of the lake. Stay tuned for more photos from my recent visit.
Today I wondered how to make my nature photography in the tropics relevant to people other regions — where alligators and palm trees don’t exist. Then I remembered the photographs I shot yesterday of the ferns in the Cypress Forest. Ferns are an ancient and diverse plant that spring to life next to decaying wood all over the globe. I grew especially interested and appreciative of ferns while hiking the New Zealand woods.
The South Island of New Zealand was the location where I learned that the growth tip of a fern that takes the shape on an unfurling spiral is a symbol of rebirth, regeneration, and eternity. It’s called the Koru. Thanks to this experience and inspiration in New Zealand, I revere the Koru as well.
Looking for alligators and a wide variety of birds in the Florida wilderness, many nature enthusiasts will pass by the ferns without a pause to admire them. I love to find a great composition that features the Koru — the spiral shaped tip of the fern, showing us for centuries the ability of life to regenerate. A positive symbol during our trying times. I believe that this local photograph can truly attain international relevance and appeal.
As a large print, this photograph will work well in contemporary decor. Consider a metal print for your home. Email me for details at cathykellyphotography@gmail.com.
My eyes were drawn to the stripes on these bamboo trunks. These tropical trees are so strong and sturdy, that they are used to make scaffolding in Hong Kong. I remember seeing them when I visited HK in 1998 — just a few years ago!
Every time I visit the Naples Botanical Garden, I notice something new. Do you have a favorite Botanical Garden nearby?
It’s rare for a plant’s leaves to compete with the flowers for eye-catching beauty, but this tropical bromeliad features some very cool leaves. They look like someone hand-painted them.
This colorful creature hangs from trees in the tropics alongside orchids and air plants.
It drinks the rain water that collects in the pockets of its large rubbery leaves. As the bromeliad comes in many varieties, you can collect many different ones as houseplants.
Watching this graceful American egret in the evening light, my mind went right back to Lincoln Center and the vision of a ballerina dancing Swan Lake. The egrets lines were so beautiful as she moved ever so slowly, and her reflection in the wading pool accentuated her grace.
It’s snowing and blowing outside in Pittsburgh, today, but I am focused on memories of the tropics. This is the highest waterfall and pool of the Seven Sacred Pools in Haleakala National Park in Maui. I could not see over the vegetation myself from the hiking path, but I set the camera and raised it over my head, mounted on its tripod to capture this view.
Blog: Cathy Kelly Photography 