flower image : Valentines Day

Ever wondered how February 14 became, the day on which we celebrate and explore love in all its many ideals, Valentines Day.

There are many differing opinions on how Valentines Day started.

One story say that when the Roman Empire reigned, a festival every February was held in honour of the God of Fertility and during this time, young men would choose their mate. When a Emperor named Claudius can around, he outlawed all marriages in fear that the men would not be able to fight. Young couples still fell in love though and still wished to marry and they took these desires to the Catholic Bishop Valentine who, understanding love, began to secretly marry couples. When Claudius found out, he had Valentine arrested and ordered put to death. While waiting in jail, Valentine began exchanging letters with the jailers daughter and soon had fallen in love with her. The day he was to be beheaded, he wrote her one last note and signed it: From Your Valentine.

Another story points to Christianity in 496 A.D outlawing the pagan Lupercian Festival and replacing it with a day in February to honour the martyr St. Valentine.

A third story as to the origin of passing out cards stems from a French Count who was captured and imprisoned in London. From his cell he wrote his wife letters, including a passionate set of poems which he sent to her in February.

At the turn of the century, a new form of Valentines Day card appeared the Penny Dreadful. Up until this point, cards were relatively expensive but the Penny Dreadful changed all that. They were just what the name implied, costing only one cent and completely bad. The cards were cheaply made, the artwork was amateurish and the colouring was uneven. On top of that the verses printed on them were not the most romantic of prose. They were more often insults, taking swipes at old maids, teachers and the like. Still their low cost kept them popular for years.

For hundreds of years, Valentines Day has been a day of symbols. You can hardly go through the day without seeing a rose (as a symbol to Venus, the Goddess of Love), images of doves and lovebirds (who mate for life) or hearts. The heart was thought to be the centre of all emotion. People believed that when they gave a heart, they were truly giving all of the love and emotion that they possibly could give.

Its past aside, Valentines Day is the second the most popular card sending holiday just behind Christmas with one billion a cards sent a year. When the calendar turns to February, we start to think of love. February has for centuries been designated the month for lovers, with the primary celebration being on February 14, St. Valentines Day. We send cards, flowers, and candy and our children give out Valentines in school. Valentines Day reminds us to tell our loved ones just how much we care about them.

by Bud Smith

flower image : The Endearing Language of Flowers

The fascination with flowers have captivated, and charmed people world wide. They represent a form of life that has endured evolution, and continues to flourish. With a diversity of colors, forms, scents, and uses, flowers have been revered by generations of admirers, and enthusiasts alike. Throughout history flowers have been the perfect form of expression, when words were hard to find. The language of flowers is a language of love, endearment, and respect. The truly popularity of flowers lies in their ability to bring joy, and good cheer.

The first flowering plants found were tiny herb-like flower fossils dating back 120 million years. An innumerable number of images of preserved flowers and flower parts have been found in fossils located all over the world. According to scientists, there are over 270,000 species of flowers that have been documented and are living in the twenty-first century. Scientists continue to marvel over the amazing diversity of species, and the species that have not changed much during evolution. Many flowers have coevolved with their pollination animals.

The flower is the reproductive organ of a plant. It is the job of the flower to produce seeds through fertilization, and pollination. Pollination requires animals (bees, hummingbirds, etc.), wind, or water to transfer male pollen to the female ovule. After a flower is fertilized, it develops into a fruit containing seeds. These seeds are the next generation, and serve as the means by which species of plants are dispersed across a field. Cross breeding can occur, and this leads to the enormous diversities seen.

The alluring nature of flowers has made them subjects of folklore, and poetry. Their medicinal use has been embraced by the east for centuries. A flower's fragrance is its personality, a beautiful bouquet of scents that permeate even the worst form of pollution. Flowers have been associated with religious symbolism, the lily signifying purity for example. The diversity of shapes and colors makes them the perfect decoration, and the perfect gift. The likelihood of two people having the same color, shape arrangement is very remote. Edible flowers have been used in the culinary field for flavor and garnish for many years.

It is clear that flowers do have a very endearing language. A language that is universal, without borders. A language that contains no negativity, nor prejudice. An unconditional way of expressing a feeling so deep, that words could never convey the true meaning. Regardless of the situation, the sight of a flower will always solicit a smile, and a sense of warmth.

by Jay Stockman

flower image : Chakras And Flowers part 1


How do you connect chakras, the energy centres of the body in Eastern tradition, and flowers, pretty, ephemeral, bright, cheerful manifestations of nature?

…by way of color therapy.. yoga energy balancing techniques…meditation… and a simple way of making yourself feel better and reenergized even if you don't really believe in any of the above.

There are seven main chakras (as well as several others) in a line from the base of the spine to the crown of the head and one more newly recognised chakra just above the head which I believe is important. Each one is associated with various areas of physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. When the energy flow in one becomes blocked it can result in certain symptoms and vice versa. By keeping the chakras open and the energy flowing, we can maximise our body's ability to keep well and heal itself.

One way of stimulating energy flow is by a simple visualisation. Each chakra has a colour of the spectrum linked to it. Focus on that colour and imagine that colour light pouring into the chakra and saturating it in pure coloured light, then visualise the chakra as a spinning disc of colour. Take 2 or 3 deep breaths as you do so. You can also repeat a mantra or affirmation to intensify the positive energy you are creating. Work through each chakra (see below for summary) in turn from Root to Crown to rebalance your whole energy level.

by Kit Heathcock

flower image : Chakras And Flowers part 2
So what about the flowers? Whatever you use to visualise the colour would work, paint swatches, coloured stones or crystals, an image in your minds eye, but beautiful photographs of flowers saturated in the pure colour of each chakra can bring some extra flower energy into your life as well.

Flowers raise the vibrational energy around them, which is why they have long been associated with celebrations, brought as presents to new mothers, sick people, loved ones. Weddings and funerals are lavish with them. We are rarely aware of the spiritual connection these days, we just know that flowers cheer people up and make them feel glad. So flower photos as visualisation aids make sense and are beautiful to have around. www.aflowergallery.com has a whole section devoted to chakra flower photos.

There are books written about the chakras going into far more detail than there is space for here, as it is a deep and complex subject, with infinite, individual interpretations, but here is a basic, brief summary of the chakras and their associated areas and colours.

1. Root - Red
Situated at the base of the spine.
Emotional grounding and ones roots. The excretory and reproductive systems and the immune system.
Mantra "I am in touch with the earth, my roots"

2. Sacral – Orange
A hands breadth down from the belly button.
Sexuality, creativity, financial issues, honour and ethics, one to one relationships.
Genital and urinary systems, bladder and prostate.
Mantra "I am a creative, sexual being"

3. Solar Plexus – Yellow
Over the solar plexus at the bottom of the rib cage.
Self-esteem, self-confidence and how you see yourself.
Digestive system, worries and fears, the stress of responsibility.
Mantra "I believe in myself"

4. Heart – Green
Over the heart.
Love, forgiveness, unconditional love. Relationships.
Circulatory and immune systems. Heart and lungs. Loneliness.
Mantra "I can give and receive love"

5. Throat – Blue
Centre of the throat
Communication, self-expression and will power.
Thyroid problems, sore throats, addictions(due to lack of will)
Mantra "I speak my truth"

6. Brow - Indigo
Centre of forehead
Intuition, intellect and mind, inner vision.
Brain and nervous system, eye problems.
Mantra "I see clearly"

7. Crown - Violet
Top of head.
Spiritual awakening, search for meaning. Our relationship to our spirit and God.
Central nervous system, overwhelming fatigue.
Mantra "I believe"

8. Soul star – White/crystal
Directly above the crown, about two hand's breadths from the head
Awareness of ones soul and its connection to the conscious self.
Gives perspective on life and ability to see seemingly random positive or negative events as part of the soul's journey.
Mantra "I transcend"

This is a personal, simplified interpretation of the chakras. Use it as a stepping stone to finding out more for yourself.

Copyright Kit Heathcock 2005

flower image : shrub in full sun when it requires part shade?

Sometimes people get paralyzed with the fear that they planted a ‘full sun’ shrub/flower in full shade and vice versa. Typically a plant that requires full sun when planted in a heavily shaded area will do fine. It is not likely that this will cause the shrub/flower to die. More than likely it will just hinder the full potential of its growth. An example would be planting an azalea in full sun. The azalea will still grow, however it probably will not produce the amount of blossoms had it been planted in a shadier area.

Flowers and shrubs that require complete shade generally will not do well at all in full sun environments. While full sun plants will survive well in shaded areas the same does not always apply with shade plants sitting in full sun. Most of the time the homeowner will be replacing the plant.

There are more choices of shrubs/flowers that do well in sun/part shade. It is more difficult to find a wide range of options when planting a shaded garden.

by the Beginners Guide Staff

flower image : Improve Your Landscape

LANDSCAPING and gardening hold high interest in today's world. After all, we want our land to look good, give a nice feel to our home and blend with the existing grounds. We want gardens that not only look good outside but can provide our interior home with gorgeous splashes of color. Many will get professional landscapers and others will do
the jobs themselves.

THE DESIRE for healthful, relaxed and informal living is resulting in a growing awareness of the importance of landscaping to a home. Your plans for home modernizing therefore, should not be confined within the walls of your home, but should extend to include lawns, gardens and outdoor living areas.

This website has been prepared as a service to home owners who desire to make the exterior of their homes as lovely and as comfortable as the interiors.

If you are planting annuals, ordinary digging in well-drained soil should suffice. But if you are planting perennials, you will want to plant them as well as any shrub; remember that if they are planted close to the foundation, the soil may be poor initially and may need preparation.

The hole should be at least 2 feet square. Break up the bottom soil and mix in bone meal, peat moss, etc. If you are planting near the house, be careful to place the vine far enough from the overhanging eaves so that water will not drip on the leaves. In winter weather, wet leaves can freeze in the evening and crack. Also, if the vines are placed against a sunny wall they will get reflective heat, and so they should receive extra watering in hot weather
flower image

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flower image : Antique shop sketch hailed as £2.7m Leonardo

A TINY portrait of an old woman has been attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, following analysis by infrared photography. If confirmed it would make the picture worth about £2.7m.
The privately owned Testa di Vecchia (Head of an Old Woman), a pen-and-ink drawing in which the ugly, pug-nosed profile contrasts with a dainty flower tied to the subject’s bonnet, will be unveiled at a news conference in the Doge’s Palace in Venice on Thursday, chaired by Massimo Cacciari, the mayor.

Although the sketch, measuring 4in by 2.5in, bears Leonardo’s name, experts had long dismissed the idea it could be by the Renaissance artist and scientist. Giancarlo Ligabue, a Venetian industrialist and collector who owns the drawing, said that when he bought it 30 years ago from a local antique dealer he was told: “Don’t start thinking it’s a Leonardo.” He has not revealed how much he paid.

The re-evaluation of the sketch began last year when Ligabue decided to publish a catalogue of his collection, including works by the Italian artists Canaletto, Piranesi and Tiepolo. He consulted Professor Luisi Cogliati Arano, a Leonardo expert in Milan, who urged him to carry out scientific tests on the portrait. It was photographed last month with infrared equipment that probed beneath the visible image and revealed an earlier sketch.

Cogliati Arano said it was typical of Leonardo, who habitually filled in initial sketches with ink.

“There are several details that are similar to other portraits by Leonardo, including the hairstyle, the flower above it, the eye and the profile itself,” she said. She added that the photography had also revealed later additions behind and underneath the woman’s ear.

The attribution has been challenged by Carlo Pedretti, director of the Armand Hammer Centre of Leonardo Studies at the University of California, who said yesterday that after seeing a reproduction of the portrait, he did not believe it.

“I saw that part of it was done with the right hand, and Leonardo was left-handed. To me it doesn’t even look Italian, it looks German. And I don’t see anything in common with other caricatures by Leonardo. But I’m curious to see the results of this photographic exam,” he said.

New attributions to Leonardo are extremely rare, occurring every 20 or 30 years, he added.

But Pietro Marani, who helped restore the artist’s fresco of the Last Supper in Milan, said he was convinced the drawing was a Leonardo with later additions by other hands.

“From the outset, Leonardo drawings were venerated like relics and those who intervened on them did so with the aim of preserving the works of the maestro for posterity,” he said.

Two other experts supported this view, Marani added: Martin Kemp of Oxford University, who has written extensively on Leonardo and advised Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, on a collection of the artist’s writings and drawings known as the Codex Leicester, and Sylvie Beguin, a curator at the Louvre where the Mona Lisa hangs.

“Leonardo is present, not only in the pen-and-ink drawing, but also in the general structure of the work,” Marani said.

by John Follain

flower image : PHOTOGRAPHY

Many people using a digital camera are content to leave it in automatic mode and let the built-in computer do the thinking for them. Most of the time, the results are perfectly acceptable. But even mid-range digitals now have a host of features worth exploring for even better results. Here are a half-dozen ways to get more from your camera:

Watch your white balance

White balance ensures colours appear natural regardless of the light source. If you can manually select options — for cloudy days, direct sunlight, shade, flash and incandescent or fluorescent lighting — use them instead of relying on the automatic setting. You can also manipulate white balance to enhance photos. For example, if taking an image of a sunny landscape, set the camera to the "cloudy" mode for richer yellows and reds. The effect is like using a warming filter.

Don't skimp on memory

Don't settle for "basic" or "normal" settings just to save space on your memory card. If you'll be printing images, basic will only produce acceptable 5-by-7-inch snaps. For enlargements and high-quality prints, you should be capturing fine or large-format images (approximately 3,000-by-2,000 pixels). Buy more capacious memory cards — for six-plus-megapixel cameras, a one-gigabyte memory card is recommended — or get a portable storage device for downloading images and reformatting cards in the field.

Metering matters

Metering determines how the camera sets the exposure — the amount of light needed, coupled with shutter speed.

If your camera's automatic setting is "centre-weighted" metering, change it to "matrix" or "spot" mode for most situations. Centre-weighted metering is good for close-up shots, but will often disappoint in high-contrast lighting situations such as landscapes.

Bracketing bonus

Many of the newer digital cameras offer a setting to "bracket" optimal exposure of an image with one slightly underexposed and one slightly overexposed version of the same image. This is a useful function in uncertain lighting conditions.

Underrated macro mode

This is one of the most underappreciated functions of most digital cameras. The setting (often represented by a flower) allows you to take extreme close-ups of plants, insects and other small subjects. Resulting images have a narrow depth of field, popping the subject dramatically against an off-focus background. A tripod or monopod is a must to prevent blurring at slow shutter speeds.

Aperture priority comes first

A much-loved mode by experienced photographers using SLR film cameras, aperture priority is again available in many of the better digitals and it's a great way to control the feel of an image. In this mode, photographers pick an aperture while the camera controls shutter speed.

Small apertures (high f/-numbers) increase depth of field so both the subject and the background are in focus. Large apertures (low f/-numbers) soften the background and let more light in to the camera, extending the range of a flash if it is being used.

by LASZLO BUHASZ

flower image : Great Flower Photos

We've occasionally run into fine photographers who consider their skills some sort of endangered species. They want to protect their techniques, much afraid that if the "masses" find out about them, all will be lost.

Luckily, most photographers aren't so insecure, or Outdoor Photographer magazine wouldn't have much to talk about. One of the best communicators about photo technique in the business is George Lepp, our OP Tech Tips columnist. He has refined information-giving to an art. He loves to be in front of an audience, whether in person or through the magazine, to help all photographers make better outdoor images. He has no fear about others stealing his ideas--Lepp brings a unique eye to his photography, an eye he hopes will encourage others to discover their own way of seeing.

One big reason for this is that, at heart, Lepp likes to experiment. He'll try everything (even shooting through the bottom of a Coke bottle) to get a better, more interesting image. By experimenting, Lepp knows what works and doesn't, and he's happy to tell you all about it, too. He bubbles over with excitement about new ways of doing things. I think if one tried to stop this up, George Lepp would demonstrate that people can, indeed, explode.

This consummate pro has been doing a lot of work with flowers in recent years, from California poppies to Netherlands tulips. He believes that flowers are the ultimate outdoor subject: They're accessible for nearly every photographer, with great varieties growing almost everywhere. Photographers rarely have to go far to work with flowers. And because of the combination of quantity and availability, Lepp tells us, they're perfect for trying new techniques.

"Flowers give you a lot of creative freedom," he says. "They have a bit of mystery, too, since you can never predict exactly what they will do from year to year, and I think that adds to the attraction. Everyone relates to flowers. You can always get a response of some sort from an audience who experiences flower photos."

Yet, flower photos aren't always as successful as they could be, according to Lepp: "Flowers can be a trap for the photographer, too. It seems as if all you have to do is line up a pretty flower in your viewfinder and you're done. But a pretty flower doesn't automatically translate into a pretty picture." The problem, Lepp explains, is that people have simply seen a lot of flower photos over the years. If it's just another rose picture, everyone has seen what roses look like, so the photo won't necessarily be something anyone wants to see again. Says Lepp, "People need a reason to look at your photos. If you can come back with a truly different image, then people have a reason to look. Today's equipment makes it fairly easy to get a good record shot of the flower. A good artistic, creative photo is a different challenge."

By Rob Sheppard; Photography By George Lepp

flower image: The Sunflower Fairy

Flower artist Myrea Pettit created the Sunflower Fairy as a commission for Sandra Reynolds-Butler, Les Saules Enchantes, France.

Sandra and Keith run a lovingly restored 17th Century small French farm in Les Saules Enchantes, on the North West Coast of France, in the beautiful countryside of the Deux Sevre, on the borders of the Vendee, the Charente Maritine and the Loire Valley.

If you should be travelling either way from UK to France( or vice versa) via Brittany to St Malo or Roscoff and then South through the beautiful Loire Valley with its' vineyards and wonderful Chateaux, Fairiesworld would recommend these two stops with our friends who are wonderful hosts, and a Chateaux visit of which there is a big selection along the river Loire.

by Artist Myrea Pettit