Lotus

It was a bright and sunny day at Jindai Botanical Gardens. Click on the pictures to enlarge them!

These lotus buds have not bloomed yet. That is a seed pod near the base of one of the buds. The seed pod is located in the center of the lotus flower. The petals have fallen away from this one. Click on the label below to see more photos of lotus. You'll see that I have only gotten one photo of a lotus in bloom. I've been missing their bloom time!

Taro and Lotus at The Dallas Arboretum in Dallas, Texas

I love to photograph taro--anywhere, any time. I grew up with elephant ears in our flower beds. Here is a big pot of them at The Dallas Arboretum. They're in the same family as taro, aren't they?

Lotus at The Dallas Aboretum.

Click on the labels below to see pictures taken in Japan.

Lotus Seeds

This is a lotus seed pod at Jindai Botanical Gardens. Photographed on the 10th. It reminds me of a picture book that I want to (buy and) read. It is called The Journey of the Third Seed by Jane Scoggins Bauld, Eakin Press. Three lotus seeds were lost at sea in a typhoon over a thousand years ago, but one ended up in the Japanese Gardens in Austin, Texas. The author knew Mr. Taniguchi, the man who planned and built the Japanese gardens. He planted the lotus there. I went to university there. I remember going to the garden but I didn't see the lotus. Perhaps someday...

A dried pod.

Lotus Leaves

This is how they were planted at Jindai Botanical Gardens. There were no blooms. See that big light near the top of the picture. They must have lit the blooms at night. Got to remember to try to catch that next year! To see a bloom click on the label "lotus" below.

Crumbling Lotus Leaves

Garden Scenes in a Small Town, Niigata Prefecture

A board was put under this squash to protect it. Protect it from what? The rough concrete? Water? Or was it because of the angle of its stem? I'm not sure, but I'd rather sit on wood than concrete.




A gardener in his garden by a cemetery.




Morning glories are a common summer flower here. Every first grader grows them at school. Some people like our late Jiji, grandfather, continue to grow them all their lives.




More morning glories with balloon vine also called "love in a puff". When the green balloon or puff turns brown you can shake it and hear the three seeds tumble around. The seeds are round and black with a perfect white heart on one side. Very nice.



This lotus was standing high above its container of water in someone's garden. It was standing beside another one. Later that day they had closed. Maybe you know more about water lilies than I do. Do they close in the heat of the day?