Matthaei Botanical Gardens

I'm a few days late posting this but I wanted to share anyways... on Thursday (07.29). I took a few hours off and went to a friends house. We had a delicious lunch then went for a walk at Parker Mills Park. There was a nice winding boardwalk all the way through, lots of HUGE trees and dragonflies... and mosquitoes but I'm refusing to acknowledge those pesky little critters. On the way home we stopped at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and it was just as beautiful as I remembered it. The same friend and I went there last year. I am just a total sucker for a pretty flower. Can't get enough of them! Nature photography is a passion for me. I absolutely adore getting up close and personal with flowers and trees and bugs and birds! It's definitely been too long! I've been so busy sewing for the last couple months I haven't done much else. It was very good to get out for a few hours. :)

Here are some of my favorite shots from today... beware, I had a hard time narrowing it down. :)

love how you can see right through his wings!

he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me...

pointy!

adore these super teeny tiny little blossoms

PINK! LOVE!!

check out that bug hanging out from underneath the petal... peek-a-boo!

PURPLE!

garden serpent

I think this one totally looks like a painting!

baby sunflower :)

fuzzy wuzzy

these hibiscus' were AMAZING!!! I don't think I've seen one in real life before and I didn't realize how HUGE they could get! they were as big as a dinner plate!! and just GORGEOUS hot pink! they didn't even look real (but I got VERY close, they were definitely real)

stars! so pretty and delicate

I know, not actually a flower but I LOVED the texture on the leaves! so cool!

flower have layers... like an ogre... or like an onion. but they smell better! ;)

more layers!

this was the last shot I took as we were walking out. it was a tiny little flower sitting all by itself screaming LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME in that bright orange coat. plus that tiny bud right next to it totally looks like a little gnome hat! lol

and now it's back to sewing. ;)