Ithaca Spring Flowers

The sun comes to Ithaca only infrequently this spring.  When it does, I dash outside with camera and tripod to capture some of the beauty of the emerging flowers. There is a significant difference between bloom time in the heart of the city and at my home on the hill.  When I photographed these plants pictured here, it was a bit windy.  Wind and macro photography do not work! To save the day, I shot some of the pictures with the sports setting on my Canon Rebel and was able to obtain better focus than in the other settings.


The Center of the Magnolia was taken near BJM elementary school, the Flowering Cherry trees were near Bangs Funeral Home on Green Street, the Magnolias were in front of the Court House on Court Street, and the Tulips were in front of Temple Beth-El on Court Street.

Giant Magnolia

The Giant Magnolias with flowers larger than a dinner plate are native to the South.  A previous director of the Cornell Plantations started a seed from a tree that was growing in the South at a high elevation.  About 50 years later, it is a huge tree in a micro environment in the gardens, protected by both the stone building next to it and a hill produced from glacial deposits on the other side. The flowers are in bloom right now and are magnificent!  Although the top of the tree was hit by the late frost, the flowers are still blooming.

Macro pix

It feels like spring and life is coming back to the plants at home and the Cornell Plantations. I am trying out a new macro lens and am enjoying the results. The first picture is from a bush with many Witch Hazel blossoms. The second from a late blooming holiday cactus. And the third from a magnolia bush that will be heavy with blooms very soon.