Today we’re visiting with Maureen Budny in North Reading, Massachusetts.
I am an amateur photographer, and it’s really only been about a year now that I have taken up the hobby. I find it to be really peaceful and exciting because I just go about my day (mother to four kids: three in high school and one in college) taking pictures, and at the end of the day I sort through them to see what gems I have captured. Ninety percent of my photos come from my own yard. I have a dog who enjoys her outdoor time, so while I’m out walking her around the yard I just snap some shots.
As for gardening, I have always had a love for flowers. My mother always had planters and gardens, and I guess it just carried over to me. My husband has a hand in all the planting. We both love it, although he does most of the work.
A praying mantis out on the hunt.
An ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea, cool season annual) beginning to blush purple
Blue hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 6–9) flowers. The large outer flowers are sterile and serve to attract pollinators to the smaller, fertile, inner flowers.
A bumblebee stops for some nectar and pollen.
Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus, annual). This North American native plant is always a great plant for wildlife, as the flowers feed a wide range of pollinators and birds adore the seeds.
Maureen’s favorite sort of garden, a water garden, with a hardy water lily (Nymphaea, Zones 6–9)
Hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus hybrid, Zones 5–9) in full bloom, with flowers the size of a hand
Lilies (Lilium hybrid, Asiatic group, Zones 4–9) blooming in Maureen’s garden
A honeybee visits the flowers of a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii, Zones 5–9).
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
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Comments
Absolutely stunning photos Maureen! Such beauty in browsIng each one. Good job as an apprentice!
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed the photos’
All are wonderful! I especially enjoyed the praying mantis!
Thank you!! That praying mantas hung around for several days and actually laid eggs which I managed to get a video of. Babies will hatch in the spring.
We seem to share three things in common, Maureen...we both live in Massachusetts, love gardening and enjoy photography as a hobby. Your photos are wonderful and you do have an "eye" for it. That close-up of the praying mantis is wonderful!
Thank you so much!!
I am a sucker for a great praying mantis picture and yours is right up there. I need to do a little research on why some are brown and some are green? Does it have to do with gender? a specific camouflaging ability? different kinds of praying mantis are one color vs another? Anyway, I really enjoyed all your photos.
Thank you!! That praying mantas hung around for several days and actually laid eggs which I managed to get a video of. Babies will hatch in the spring.
Great pics!
Thank you!!
Thank you!
Such Nice pictures, especially the praying mantis
Thank you!! That praying mantas hung around for several days and actually laid eggs which I managed to get a video of. Babies will hatch in the spring.
When you see praying mantises, especially in great photos like yours, you believe in aliens! : ) Thank you for the beautiful pictures of your flowers and bees.
Hahaha, they do have that look about them.
Oh wow! That Praying Mantis photo is very impressive!!!
Just a reminder that if they are near a hummingbird feeder or on flowers a hummingbird feeds from they can kill the bird.
I just learned about that this summer when I was taking some very pathetic and blurry photos LOL! of a praying mantis in my yard when I googled them!
Love love love your photography and garden plants!
Thank you so much. I did learn that praying mantises and hummingbirds are not a good mix. We do have them too.
Beautiful, both garden and photographs!
Thank you!!
I love your photos! I'm also a gardener and an amateur photographer. I enjoy doing close-ups like yours. I once did a similar photo of a monarch caterpillar, where you can see his cute little face looking right into the camera. So much fun!
It is a fun hobby!
Such beautiful photos, especially now as our MA gardens are beginning to fade a bit. Looking forward to more of your photos!
Thank you! Luckily, MA has a lot of photo opportunities all year long.
WOW! That praying mantis is sooo cool!
th you!
Thank you!
I actually think you should enter it in the Amateur category of
the National Geographic annual photo competition and the Globe annual photo competion. Seriously.
Thank you for the compliment. I will definitely look into those suggestions. Thanks for sharing the info.
I too, loved your photos, especially of the praying mantis. I hope you are able to photograph the offspring in the spring and post photos again. Thank you so much!
I hope so too. I tied a ribbon around the branch to help mark it and remind me in the spring.
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