Say It With Flowers

Creativity Gets A Springtime Boost

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

So spring is well and truly here and three weeks after the end of winter, we've already had those warmer, longer days that inspire us to spend more time outdoors. The roses at Casa Authorblog will soon be in full bloom, although there have been isolated buds and blooms here and there.

But these images were shot with the permission of a Melbourne florist, just outside the shop, about ten days ago. Somehow, it seems just about everybody feels more creative as the bite of winter recedes. The displays seem bigger, more inventive and the colours seem more welcoming.

Maybe it's just my imagination. Or maybe there really is some truth to the theory that inspiration comes when surrounded by colour ....


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Say It With Flowers

A Mix Of Styles Says So Much About Life Itself

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It’s always interesting to see how professional florists put together an arrangement. This beautiful bouquet, placed in a square display for a table, has an interesting variety of colours and textures that complement each other.

The square box is light pastel pink, which is perfectly echoed by the silken wax paper that encases it, separating it from the actual blooms. At the bottom of he box and concealed from sight, is a small bowl holding water and some magical long-life mixture.

The roses were photographed on the third day and they have slowly emerged from bud form into tightly furled blooms, with their colour a great match for the rest of the pink hues below.

The mix of white-based blossoms at the base of the decoration are an interesting mix of shapes and sizes, including what appear to be azaleas or something related to the rhododendron family, with dark transverse stripes across their light, curved petals.

There is a combination of leaves as well, in terms of shape and reflectivity. The larger leaves are from the rose stems, while the tapering, darker leaves are from a camellia.

It’s an interesting metaphor for life, don’t you think? Not every aspect must be strictly complementary - and sometimes unexpected variety can actually create a harmonious overall effect.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Think Pink

Spring Symphony Comes In Many Colours

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

As a child, I always wondered about the expression "as fresh as a daisy". Surely, I thought, there were other flowers that were bigger, taller, brighter, more infused with wonderful perfume …..

You see, I grew up in Calcutta, India, where we had a sprawling garden that was big enough for a badminton court near the driveway, a full-length cricket pitch near the back door, as well as an enclosed sanctuary where such missiles as soccer balls and cricket balls could not do any damage – and several long, broad garden beds.

So in my childish mind, there were many varieties that looked fresher than daisies, which I thought were probably a bit mundane.

Then I grew up (ostensibly) and married Mrs Authorblog and I became the designated gardener, teaching each of the Authorbloglets in turn everything I knew about horticulture. So when we built our own home and I had the great pleasure of designing and planning the garden, I planted some daisies that act as a beacon of the seasons.

There are huge mounds of golden-yellow daisies in winter, white daisies in late winter and now the scarlet daisies as spring loosens winter’s grip. And yes, I have finally realised that "fresh as a daisy" is entirely accurate and legitimate.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Purple Haze

Great Buddleia, Buddy

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This is one of the common buddleia varieties that grow profusely around Victoria, my home state, as winter starts to draw to a close. This bush isn’t actually on our property, but I watched it sprout its first tendrils of colour about four or five weeks ago – and watched and watched and watched as the colour slowly began to suffuse the actual foliage.

These shots were taken about ten days ago. It was a cloudy day and I figured the conditions would be perfect to shoot some images that captured the striking colour and formation of the tiny blossoms.


Yes, sunlight is a photographer’s ally, but I often find a cloudy sky above me is a great way to capture intricacies that might otherwise be washed out or, on the other hand, saturated in bright sunlight.


How big is each individual blossom? About two to three millimeters across, that’s all. So, since I was using a standard lens (my favourite Sigma 18-125mm) rather than a macro, I opted for a range of views that would depict hue and form, rather than true close-ups.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

The Other Terracotta Army

Tossing Their Heads In Sprightly Dance

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It's always a wonderful thing to see a splash of natural colour in winter. To this end, we always plant seedlings in our terracotta pots under cover (and therefore protected from the frost) at the front of Casa Authorblog, with a rich variety that is always deliberately chosen.

Some of the pots have polyanthus, some have lobellia, some have pansies, some have primulas. That mix always ensures that the plants blossom at different times, we have an array of colours and more importantly, because of the mix of types, they flower at different times as well.

With the end of winter only a week away, the tall primulas are now past their best, so we might give them a few more days until the leaves start turning colour. Then we'll head off to the nursery and buy some punnets of petunias, those old favourites that never really go out of fashion.

This shot, taken from above one of the terracotta pots, shows the primulas, both white and purple, in the strong sunlight that is bringing warmth back to Melbourne.

Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

From Punk Rocker To Pink Rocker

Nature's Fairy Floss Comes On Delicate Branches

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

One of the many things I really love about living in Melbourne is the fact that the winter solstice arrives on 22 June, exactly three weeks after the official start of winter on 1 June. In other words, our days actually start get longer even before we are one-third of the way through winter.


Then the trees start to herald the promise of warmer weather. There is still ice on the cars and cruel frost on the ground when the wattle trees begin to bloom, with golden clouds of miniature blooms that dance in the cold breeze.

Come the last week of July and the fruit trees start to show puffs of light, dreamy pink. By the middle of August, the sun’s embrace brings a different quality of light and warmth.


These images were shot on the weekend, showing the most vivid promise that our winter only has two weeks remaining. The football season is drawing towards the business end. There is less need to wear a scarf on a cold morning. The sunlight breaks through our windows earlier than ever. And the light brings great promise for photographers.


When I shot these images, the sun was mostly hidden behind thick cloud and wild winds hit the state hard. All in all, not the best conditions to photograph tiny blooms like these. But that's the real challenge - of being able to work with Nature, to depict Nature.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Cutting Remarks

Truly, A Rose Between Two Thorns

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I had to photograph these roses just before I cut them down, just to remind us all how resilient these plants are - some of them flowering even in the Australian winter that gets colder the further south you go in the country-continent.

Last week we completed the pruning of the roses at Casa Authorblog - a long process, because there are so many rose bushes around the property. A lot of people start cutting their roses back as soon as winter begins, but I have a slightly different theory.

The way I figure it, there’s not much point cutting roses back while we still get heavy frost as well as ice in the morning. So I let them be, with their straggly branches bare of any leaves, but I get the secateurs out in late July, when the worst of the frosts are behind us.

Then we begin the long job of pruning each bush. Some of them grow to the limit of my arm’s reach, and there is one climbing rose in particular that reaches about four metres in height. As each bush is pruned, we use secateurs to cut the branches into smaller bits and these are then loaded into a special bin for gardening-related items.

Already, some of the bushes have started to sprout new growth, fresh leaves and shoots that are a rich burgundy. And now I start checking each bush for aphids, those little green insects that suck the life out of any fresh shoots.

Kinda like an "Aphid and Goliath" situation, huh?


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Cluster's Last Stand

Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Dancer, Do

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This huge bush of yellow daisies is a great colour spot in the winter garden at Casa Authorblog. When little else flowers as the frost and ice thwart us, these daisies bloom as if their life depends on it.

Now, with only four weeks to go until spring arrives, the daisies have finally started to look a bit the worse for wear. As the newly-pruned rose bushes start to show new, tentative growth, these yellow beauties are in turn starting to show their age.

In a couple of weeks, we'll prune them back, savagely, as we always do. And next autumn they will sprout defiantly, reminding us that they will be back in all their golden glory when the nights get so much shorter and so much colder.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Wattle I Shoot Next?

It's Like Watching Golden Snowflakes

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Now that there's just over a month before we move from winter into spring, the colours are slowly coming alive. Yes, the ski slopes are getting fresh, deep snow. Yes, there's been a bit of rain. Yes, we're still getting frosty mornings. Yes, the wind still bites through you even when the sun is shining brightly.

But the wattle has been blooming for a couple of weeks now - always the first sign that warmer weather is promised in the next few weeks.


I shot these images last weekend, but I should have known better. It's very hard to shoot close-ups of wattle, even in the slightest breeze.

Because each wattle blossom is so minute - they are literally about a centimetre across, they dance and bob around wildly, even in a gentle breeze. The day I took these shots, the breeze would have put some laundromats out of business, it was so brisk.

Because these are only low-resolution images, a lot of the sharpness drops out. But if I continually posted high-res images here, the blog would take much longer to load. However, I will post one of these shots on my RedBubble site, so you can view it there.


One of the really interesting things about shooting wattle is the graceful shape and colour of the miniature leaves that surround the blossoms. This image (above) was actually shot while I crouched down below a branch - just to give you a slightly different perspective of a beautiful tree and its colours.

Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Small Is Beautiful

Protect Them From Frost And They Will Thrive

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The front of Casa Authorblog is always a riot of natural colour, whatever the season. Last summer we had cascades of petunias - and yes, we're talking real cascades, in every colour. This winter, as you can see, these terracotta pots under the front verandah are ablaze with violas.

I have to admit, I've never planted viola seedlings before, but there is a reason for this. From the time our children were little, they have always chosen the seedlings that get planted out the front and out the back of the house. Sometimes, ahem, their choices have been helped along by a little guidance from the publisher of this blog.


But now that the Authorbloglets have their own opinions, I find that we plant things in our pots that I'm not familiar with. Like the time a few weeks ago, when I told the youngest Authorbloglet that perhaps violas were too tiny to provide any real splash of colour.

No, my argument didn't make any headway at all. And yes, I was wrong. These blooms are no more than two and a half or maybe three centimetres across - and the colour is a welcome boon this winter. Yes, we've had frost and ice, but because the terracotta pots are under cover, they are ablaze with every hue.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Withering Heights

Looking Down (Metaphorically) On Giants

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The frost last week was pretty severe, with temperatures dropping below zero in many Melbourne areas and yes, there was plenty of ice on the cars. But I remember being astounded when told that frost actually works well with some plant varieties.

It’s certainly worked well with these beauties, which I shot in the early morning light at the city’s Alexandra Gardens. I’m not sure what they’re called, but I know they grow to about four metres in some cases, with enormous heads of triangular blossoms.

These were in the early stages of blooming and I guess they’ll be at full stretch when spring comes around in just over six weeks. Still, they were fairly tall and I didn’t want to shoot them while looking up into a sky that wasn’t very bright.

So I took one of the main walkways and found a spot where I could shoot downwards, emphasising the striking colour against the greenery.

Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Bright Prospects

Yours, For Just $12 - An Armful Of Colour

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These shots were taken two weeks ago, on a glorious winter afternoon when the sun was shining brightly and there was no real bite in the wind chill. I detoured through the forecourt of Flinders Street Station, where the flower vendors always add a touch of colour to the day.

Sure enough, among all the long-stemmed roses and a wonderful assortment of other varieties, I spotted these beautiful orange crysanthemums. I had just hit the button on the first frame (above) but I wanted to compose a tighter shot. It took me a split second to adjust the focal length, when all of a sudden the light changed dramatically.

And I mean ... dramatically.

It was as if a burst of light had suddenly illuminated the orange foliage. But the sun hadn't just emerged from a cloud. I was puzzled, and looked to my side - and immediately realised what had happened. Someone standing near me had been blocking the direct sunlight and as soon as he moved, the blooms were bathed in blinding light.

Instead of waiting or moving to a better position (or waiting for a cloud to mask the bright sun) I took the shot anyway, knowing the saturation of light would give me an effect that looked something like an oil painting. I wasn't disappointed ....


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Mellow Yellow

The Adventures Of Peter Pansy

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Yes, it’s winter here in Melbourne, Yes, there have been mornings when I’ve had thick ice on my car. Yes, there have been heavy frosts. Yes, my rose bushes needed to be pruned.

But despite the visible signs of winter everywhere, there are still pockets of colour all round the city. We have terracotta planting boxes of all shapes and sizes that are blooming in a very healthy fashion. How so, you might ask? Because they are cunningly placed under a verandah, so they are shielded from the frost.

And we’re not the only ones who enjoy a splash of colour – these pansies were a riot of colour a few days ago on the Crown promenade beside the river. Victoria used to be known as The Garden State a couple of decades ago – for good reason.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Where Am I? Blooming Dales?

No, This Is Just A Street-Level View

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

More often than not, I try and get my lens as close to a bloom as possible, simply because I want to capture form or colour or shape. But on this occasion, I was further away from my subject than normal.

I was walking down a street in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon, when the beautiful colour of a streetside display caught my eye. Yes, I needed to shoot the bloom, but I also wanted the beautiful hues in the background as well.

Yes, a close-up is always a good shot, but sometimes you need some extra colour to emphasise the shades of a flower. And some judicious depth of field in a photograph never goes astray.

Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Petal To The Metal

Tracing Kinship Between Nature And Technology

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

About eighteen months ago, I shot a sequence of images of a a single bud as it began to unfurl on a climbing rose bush on our property. It was a very interesting project, because one of the photographs I shot is the one I have published above.

At the time, the positioning of the petals as they were about to unfurl reminded me vividly of a sight I have often seen on tarmacs at airports around the world. But I had to wait a while to shoot the image that corresponded with what the rose reminded me of.

It is the white swirl painted on the giant turbines of the jets that we see at every airport. Is it just me or do you see the graceful resemblance too?


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.