2023 Trip Chronicles: Page 5

San Jose Municipal Rose Garden 5/4

After working the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden for the first time during the pandemic shelter-in-place period in May of 2020, I decided that local urban diversion would be an annual event on my calendar. Please see ..._Trip_Chronicles for 2020,2021, 2022 for more of my earlier rose work. This is now the fourth spring I have worked the garden that has resulted in many exceptional images. Cultivated rose varieties are termed cultivars, with most created from non-seed processes that include hybrids that cross-pollinate between species. Given a cool, stormy late winter and early spring, wildflowers across the state had late bloom cycles, and so did roses in this city garden. I'll again encourage, on each image, selecting the enlarged vertical slice view in order to view the wonderful fine detail of these plants.

It is much more difficult working flower subjects outdoors versus indoors in a studio where air can be dead still. The calmest air is usually for just an hour or two after the garden opens at 8am and is rarely dead calm for more than a minute, while most often it is variable with momentary to brief periods of calm. Since the garden is only 4 miles away, I will gamble on a visit any day showing breezes at 2 mph, which is uncommon. Sunny conditions are fine, as I either shoot in shadows or use a 32-inch collapsible diffusion disk to obtain even lighting. The following is a link to the City of San Jose Municipal Rose Garden web page:

www.sanjoseca.gov SJ Municipal Rose Garden

Not only does the park contain the rose garden but also a large lawn surrounded by tall, shading redwoods, picnic tables, restrooms, and, at the center of the garden shown in the photo at the top, a wonderful fenced water fountain pool that one will even see occasional ducks fly into. This link to the volunteer organization also contains a garden plot map and detailed information on each rose variety that I've copied text from, shown in brown font.

Friends of San Jose Rose Garden (FOSJRG)

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On this first morning of Thursday, May 4, 2023, I worked on a single image above: a group of 3 wet Day Breaker cultivar roses.
Day Breaker: Apricot or apricot blend Floribunda. Exceptional disease resistance, always in bloom, and a pleasing soft color that blends with any color palette. 24-30 petals. Yellow and pink. Strong, tea fragrance. Medium, bushy. Medium, glossy, dark green foliage. Average diameter 4 ft. Medium, double (17-25 petals), full (26-40 petals), in small clusters, exhibition bloom form. Continuous (perpetual) bloom throughout the season.

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I returned the morning of Sunday, May 7, 2023, when morning forecasts indicated breezes below 4 mph with marine intrusion and overcast skies. A wet Day Breaker cultivar rose bloomed. Sprinklers water the large garden complex overnight, so in the early mornings, those bushes near sprinklers tend to be wet with water drops.

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Another group of wet, white-hued Passionate Kisses roses.
Passionate Kisses: Medium pink Hybrid Tea. Floribunda. The fresh salmon colored blooms blend well in mixed perennial beds. The non-stop blooms, along with the attractive shape of this rose, make it perfect for cutting to enjoy indoors. Carmine-pink, pink reverse. Mild fragrance. up to 45 petals. Average diameter 3.25'. Large, full (26-40 petals), in small clusters bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Semi-glossy, dark green foliage.

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These tall Rainbow Sorbet rose bushes above, bloom early each spring with a spectacular range of color.
Rainbow Sorbet: Floribunda. Deep pink, yellow edges. Mild, sweet fragrance. 18 petals. Average diameter 3.5 ft. Continuous (perpetual) bloom throughout the season. Pointed, ovoid buds. Edged in deep pink, this golden yellow beauty blooms early and abundantly and continues all season long. Remarkable disease resistance and very winter-hardy. Medium green foliage. Height of 4' to 5'.

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These two Europeana blooms were an intensely saturated red.
Europeana: Dark red Floribunda. Mild fragrance. 15 to 20 petals. Semi-double (9-16 petals) bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Height of 2' to 3'.

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The above orange Colorific cultivar roses are related to pumpkins, haha.
Colorific: Orange blend Floribunda. Large pointed buds open to show off shades of peach, coral and salmon. As the blooms age, they turn into deeper tones of orange, scarlet and burgundy. Coral, salmon-orange blending, peach blending, ages to darker. Mild, fruity fragrance. 30 petals. Average diameter 5 ft. Very large, full (26-40 petals), cluster-flowered, in small clusters, spiral centers bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Pointed buds. Medium, upright. Medium, glossy, dark green foliage. Height of 4'.

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My next visit was morning of Tuesday May 9, 2023. Many roses vary in color and shape during their bloom cycles, including these Good as Gold cultivar roses.
Good as Gold: Yellow blend Hybrid Tea. Orange, golden-yellow shading, red highlights. Flowers deep golden orange-yellow finished with a kiss of red. Mild, tea fragrance. 27 to 35 petals. Average diameter 5 ft. Very large, full (26-40 petals), borne mostly solitary, classic hybrid tea bloom form. Long, pointed, ovoid buds. Tall, bushy, spreading, upright, well-branched. Large, glossy, dark green foliage. 3 to 7 leaflets. Height of 47" to 6' 7". Width of 5' 11" to 6' 11".

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Returned the next day Wednesday May 10, 2023. This Peace cultivar rose bloom had an especially lovely combination of pastel colors.
Peace: Yellow blend Hybrid Tea. The world's most famous rose, in brilliant yellow and pink, first introduced to the U.S. by The Conard-Pyle Co. over fifty years ago. More popular today than when it was first introduced. A rose your garden should not be without. Yellow blend, pink edges. Mild to strong fragrance. 40 to 43 petals. Average diameter 6'. Very large, full (26-40 petals), cupped, high-centered bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Height of 4' to 6'. Width of up to 3'.

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On days with a breeze, I try to find blooms on breeze-lee sides of garden plots or those low to the ground. Any tall plants can be hopeless trying to shoot without image element misregistration. These 4 Rainbow Sorbet blooms in the shadows glowed like a warm lamp.

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Weekends are the busiest days each week during May, and so I returned on Saturday, May 13, 2023. A favorite strategy is finding flowers I can shoot up against a blue sky like these Wild Blue Yonder roses, but that is uncommon given tripod setup limitations, other flowers, and breezes.
Wild Blue Yonder: Warm wine-purple color, layered onto rich lavender with a strong citrus and rose scent. Wild Blue Yonder was the first lavender rose to win the AARS award since 1978. Mauve or purple blend, red edges. Strong citrus, rose, and spice fragrance. 25 to 30 petals. Average diameter 3.25". Medium to large, double (17-25 petals), in large clusters bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Medium, bushy, upright. Large, semi-glossy, dark green foliage. Height of 4' to 5'

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A group of pretty single petal First Light cultivar roses.
First Light: Light pink Shrub. Light pink. Mild, fruity, spice fragrance. 5 to 6 petals. Average diameter: 4". Single (4-8 petals) bloom form. Height of 2' to 47". Width of 28" to 31".

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My last garden visit this spring was on Saturday May 20, 2023. This Cinco de Mayo cultivar rose blooms late and has so many blooms that its branches droop down. I tried shooting this subject the day before, but the slight breezes were too strong. So I came back the next morning.
Cinco de Mayo: Floribunda rose cultivar, bred by Tom Carruth in 2006. Was named an All-America Rose Selections winner in 2009. Is a medium, upright, bushy, and quaint shrub, 3 to 4 ft in height with a 3 to 4 ft spread. Blooms are medium, 2 3 in diameter, with 20 to 25 petals. The plant bears small clusters of double ruffled flowers that open from long, pointed buds. The flowers are rusty-red orange, with shades of smoky lavender. The rose has a mild fragrance and glossy, dark green foliage. 'Cinco de Mayo' is very disease-resistant.

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Another cluster of First Light cultivar roses.

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This was a spectacular group of small single-petal Watercolors cultivar roses that appeared on fire in overcast light. This spring I enjoyed my calmest early morning conditions since I began working the rose garden 4 years ago.
Watercolors: Yellow blend Shrub. Watercolors: a painterly rose, in the style of Monet. Single flowers covering great foliage. Yellow blend. Upper: yellow-edged, pink blushing all pink; reverse: similar, but less blush color. Mild fragrance. Average diameter 2.75". Medium, single (4-8 petals), in small clusters; bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Medium, bushy, spreading. Medium, semi-glossy, dark green foliage. Height of 30" to 35".

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In the test garden plot, another group of Wild Blue Yonder cultivar roses was next to some white blooms.

It was sunny, so I had to use my 32" diffusion disk to block the direct sun before each of 49 different focus point exposures. Not an easy physical task because my right arm is blindly outstretched, holding the disk that moves even in the slightest breeze, while my eye is looking into the electronic viewfinder EVF, waiting for moments of calm, and my left hand is holding a small infrared shutter release tool in order to actuate a button to take shots during moments of calm.

At page top are small Phloxy Baby cultivar roses. I love the heart-shaped petals.

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2023 Trip Chronicles: Contents

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David Senesac
email: info@davidsenesac.com
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