The Flower Photographer: Recently Added Galleries and Collections

My Favorite 2013 Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>From my 2013 trips to the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden. Volunteers at the garden may email me with their orders of photos they like and I will arrange for free, full-jpeg downloads for them. I do not charge gardeners, volunteer gardeners, seniors and people who cannot afford the photos. Just let me know, and I'll arrange a download for you, if you are in one of those groups.

Rose Slideshow

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Most of these photos are from my 2013-14 trips to the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden. Volunteers at the garden may email me with their orders of photos they like and I will arrange for free, full-jpeg downloads for them. I do not charge gardeners, volunteer gardeners, seniors and people who cannot afford the photos. Just let me know, and I'll arrange a download for you, if you are in one of those groups.

Eureka Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>An Ancient Greek word translated into English as "Eureka," means "I have found (it)" in Greek. The Kordes Co. certainly found it in terms of success when it hybridized a rose and named the copper-apricot beauty, Eureka.

It is a prolific bloomer with large blooms that are almost as wide as they are tall. In golden light and morning light, it just glows golden.

Although it is referred to as a 3 1/2-foot-tall AARS award-winning floribunda on the Web, I've seen it grow taller.

This is one hybrid that carries with it the old-fashioned charm and subtle fragrance of heirloom roses.

Its approximately 4-inch flowers bloom in groups of three to five blossoms.

Its glossy green leaves make photography tricky in full sun, but if photographed correctly, the photographer will be rewarded with beautiful photos.

Photographed at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden in Silicon Valley.

Daffodils

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Jet Fire Daffodils

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Freesias

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Freesias are my favorite fragrant flower.

With their bright colors and fragrance that perfume manufacturers have attempted to replicate for many years, Freesias are my favorite fragrant flower.

Freesias seem to be at home anywhere they grow in the world. With their amazingly sweet fragrance and bright colors, freesias are a spring favorite.

"Freesia is a genus of around 16 species of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, native to the eastern side of southern Africa, from Kenya down to South Africa," Wikipedia said. "Most species being found in Cape Province."

Red Freesias

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>The red freesias in this gallery are enhanced by bright yellow. The fragrance is stunning.

Yellow Freesias

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Yellow flowers are "happy" flowers. Add the exquisite fragrance of freesias, and the combination is outstanding.

Spring 2013 Slideshow

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>As my site is re-populated, which may take some time, the first photos to be re-posted are spring 2013 flowers and blossoms.

Purple Freesias

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Purple freesias grown in Cupertino, Calif.

Columbine

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>In my flower photography, blue flowers are not seen as much as I'd like.

Cherry Parfait Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>The Cherry Parfait rose is a superb bloomer in all climates. Although my photographs this year were when the Cherry Parfait roses at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden were first blooming, so they were not fully opened, you can see the creamy nature of the texture and color of this multicolored rose.

Cherry Parfait is a creamy white bloom highlighted by red edging. Its dark foliage makes it difficult to photograph this 30-petal rose when it is sunny.

I recommend a Polarizer, and make sure that you adjust the Polarizer because without using it properly, it will be almost like not using it at all.

Love & Peace Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>With a minimum of 40 petals, a fruity fragrance and an old-fashioned appearance, the Love & Peace rose reminds me of an old-fashioned rose.

I really like for that reason, but also because it pays a beautiful tribute to one of my favorite roses that happens to be one of its parents: the famous Peace rose.

Peace — a famous rose introduced after World War II — and an unknown seedling were used to hybridize Love and Peace by Jerry Twomey and Ping Lim. Bailey Nurseries is introduced Love & Peace in 2002.

Twomey and Lim produced what will surely become a classic hybrid tea that features large yellow flowers with splashes of pink. It grows four to five feet and is bushy with dark green glossy foliage.

If you take photos of and a sunny day or an overcast day and the foliage reflects the light, make sure you use a Polarizer to remove as much of the reflective light as you are able to. Otherwise, your photos will not be as nice as they would otherwise be.

Love & Peace makes a great cut flower.

Or, use it in a formal rose garden or elsewhere. Wherever you grow it, it will surely attract many rose-lovers.

Pink Promise Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>The Pink Promise rose, photographed at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, is a delicate beauty, with a beautiful pink interior. The pink does not fade easily, as it sometimes does in other roses. This photo was taken in full sun. Thanks to some variables, I am able to get a dark background when I want to highlight the rose. If you don't like it darker, the photo can be made much lighter. Just let me know!

All photos that I take in gardens are available to garden volunteers and/or employees for free. All you have to do is email me a request and I will set up a temporary URL for you to download original rose images for printing, framing, etc. However, they cannot be reused on the Web. If you want to share a rose photo, please do it from this Web site. It protects my copyright.

Daybreaker Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Daybreaker will add yellow and a blend of pink to apricot to any rose garden.

The bushy floribunda does well in containers and soil and will grow to a height that ranges from three to almost five feet tall.

Most sellers of this rose say it grows up to 4 ½ feet tall, but I’ve seen it at just about five feet or more, although I did not have a tape measure so I will just estimate (I’m 6’4”).

The day I photographed these roses at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden was cloudy and windy, making photographing Daybreaker even more difficult than it usually is.

Most of the Daybreaker roses — on the day I photographed them — appeared to have some type of damage on them, too, even though the blooms were nearly brand new. I’m not sure if it was damage from water or moisture but it almost looked that way.

Thanks to digital editing, I attempted to remove that damage on some photos included in this series. I’m not sure how successful I was.

The damage wasn’t enough to ruin the full bloom of these, I’m sure, although I was not able to go back to shoot the fully bloomed Daybreakers at the time of this writing but I plan to, since they are continuous bloomers.

Daybreaker will bring back that sense of the old-fashioned rose because of its fragrance and huge bloom of 30 to 35 petals at full bloom. The roses are also great for cuttings.

Daybreaker was hybridized by Gareth Fryer at Edmunds’ Roses of Wilsonville, Ore., which I have done business with. (I do not accept any money and/or products or any other inducements for writing about roses. (My rule is simple: If I am fortunate enough to get photos that I can publish, then I will use the photos no matter who/what developed the rose.)

Floribundas are traditionally a bedding rose, and Daybreaker is also great for that use. Whatever use you find for it, whether in borders, beds or as centerpieces, you will love it. It blooms all summer and into the fall.

Don’t let the mostly horrible photos of it online scare you away. That is not to say my photos are perfect; they aren’t. And that is not to say all photos online are awful; they aren’t.

It’s just that most photos of this beautiful rose that I’ve seen do not do this magnificent rose, introduced in 2003, the justice it deserves, and that includes commercial sellers of this rose who should update their photos and provide professional-quality photos so customers can properly judge what the rose looks like.

San Jose Municipal Rose Garden

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>This gallery will feature photos of the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, one of America's best rose gardens. In 2010, the rose garden was elected America's Best Rose Garden. It is a beautiful oasis of colors and fragrances.

Wild Blue Yonder Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Wild Blue Yonder rose is a lavender-toned fragrant, ruffled rose with double blooms that are densely packed and shaped like camellia blossoms.

After the first bloom, Wild Blue Yonder regroups and soon new blooms appear.

The grandiflora rose is usually described as growing four to five feet in height, but I've seen it grow taller than that.

Wild Blue Yonder is a great candidate for a rose hedge that may surprise you with many, many blooms during both cycles of blooms.

As the years go by, Wild Blue Yonder remains a resilient and stronger bloomer, which is the opposite of many roses.

Tineke Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>The classic hybrid rose known as Tineke is one of the prettiest white roses you will ever see.

Initially grown by florists and other flower-growers as an indoors rose, it has made a successful transition to the garden, proving to be as popular among rose-lovers as it was with florists.

It’s a long-lasting and lightly fragrant bloomer that quickly repeats. The blooms remain healthy throughout the bloom season thanks to its resistance against disease and pests.

Even if there is moisture from rain, dew or sprinklers, Tineke will remain free of spots that can form on some roses.

It is a relatively recent hybrid, having been bred by Select Roses BV, in The Netherlands in 1989, as a cut flower.

Florists really like Tineke because its double white blooms are very long-lasting. They also like it because the stems are long and its dark green foliage contrast with the brilliant white blooms.

Sweet Surrender Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Sweet Surrender is similar to many beloved old-fashioned roses. Its strong and sweet fragrance may even be more attractive than that of Tiffany — its parent.

With 40 petals, this medium pink hybrid tea rose is favored by many who love pink roses thanks to large buds that unfold to beautifully pink double blossoms.

As others have noted about Sweet Surrender, it reminds me of some of my Grandma's old-fashioned roses. It's a great cutting rose thanks to its long stems.

The light pink is contrasted with Sweet Surrender's dark green foliage.

Sweet Surrender is sure to delight because it blooms throughout the season.

Royal Amethyst Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Featuring a strong, fruity fragrance, the Royal Amethyst Rose is a favorite of any rose garden. It also features luscious purple-mauve-lavender color tones, all of which can vary through its blooming cycle. It was hybridized from Angel Face and Blue Moon.

Here in Silicon Valley, the plants at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden seem to be struggling a bit this year as opposed to the past four years that I've viewed it. I'm not sure why, but perhaps the very hot and dry spring has something to do with that. After all, it blooms best in cooler climates. That didn't stop me from buying four for her from Edmunds' Roses.

I do not receive any compensation for recommending roses or places to purchase roses. Links are not endorsements.

All my flower photos are free to garden volunteers and/or employers where I photograph them. Just send me an email and I will set up a secure download for you on another non-public site where I upload the originals for you to download. You may print them but please do not share them on the Web. Any sharing of my photos must be from this Web site and/or on social media, and not from my original full-resolution photos.

Iceberg Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>The Iceberg rose is a real beauty that can form a fragrant hedge of beautiful white blooms.

The gold medal floribunda award winner is also available in pink and burgundy.

At the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, it's the white Iceberg that rings the water fountain and that forms the backdrop of so many photos.

Long-lasting blooms in clusters make the Iceberg a popular cutting flower.

Iceberg can bloom throughout the year, which helps make it an especially popular rose.

"The cultivar was developed by prolific German rose breeder Reimer Kordes in Germany in 1958," Wikipedia notes. "He and his father Wilhelm had initially specialized in developing bush roses that were suitable for small gardens."

I love how creative are the names of roses.

"The parent varieties of Iceberg are 'Robin Hood', a red hybrid musk rose, developed by Joseph Pemberton in 1927 in England, and 'Virgo', a white hybrid-tea rose bred in France by Charles Mallerin in 1927.

"The plant was registered under the cultivar name 'KORbin' by Kordes in 1958 and given the trade name Schneewittchen. The cultivar is known as Fée des Neiges in French and Iceberg in English."

Iceberg is a longtime award-winner.

"In 1958 Iceberg was awarded a Royal National Rose Society Gold Medal," Wikipedia notes. "The cultivar was selected as the 'World Favourite Rose' of 1983 by the World Federation of Rose Societies and is listed in {its} Rose Hall of Fame.

"Stamps depicting the cultivar were issued in Romania in 1970 and New Zealand in 1975."

Peace Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>More than 100 million Peace roses have been sold since it was hybridized

The hybrid tea rose is one of many featured at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden in Silicon Valley, Calif.

"It {has} large flowers of a light yellow to cream color, slightly flushed at the petal edges with crimson-pink," according to a Wikipedia article on the Peace Rose. "It is hardy and vigorous and relatively resistant to disease, making it popular in gardens as well as in the floral trade."

The plaque at the garden lists its introduction as 1946, shortly after the end of World War II.

It seems fitting that after the catastrophic upheaval brought on by years of world war, that a rose dedicated to peace would be introduced to the world.

Its hybridization began in the years prior to World War II.

"It was developed by French horticulturist Francis Meilland in the years 1935 to 1939," Wikipedia notes. "When Meilland foresaw the German invasion of France he sent cuttings to friends in Italy, Turkey, Germany, and the United States to protect the new rose.

"It is said, that it was sent to the U.S. on the last plane available before the German invasion, where it was safely propagated by the Conard Pyle Co. during the war.

"As Meilland sent his cuttings just before the war, communication between the cultivators was not possible, which is why the rose received different names.

"In France it was called 'Madame A. Meilland', in honor of the breeder's mother. This is the formal cultivar name; all other names are selling names. In Italy it was called Gioia (Italian for joy), in Germany Gloria Dei (Latin for Glory of God) and in the USA, Peace."

Peace is probably its most-popular moniker.

"The rose became known as Peace in the following way," Wikipedia continues. "In early 1945, Meilland wrote to Field Marshal Alan Brooke (later Viscount Alanbrooke), the principal author of the master strategy that won the Second World War, to thank him for his key part in the liberation of France and to ask if Brooke would give his name to the rose. Brooke declined saying that, though he was honored to be asked, his name would soon be forgotten and a much better and more enduring name would be 'Peace'.

"The adoption of the trade name 'Peace' was publicly announced in the United States on April 29, 1945, by the introducers, Messrs Conard Pyle Co. This was the very day that Berlin fell, officially considered the end of the Second World War in Europe. Later that year, Peace roses were given to each of the delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco, each with a note which read:

"We hope the 'Peace' rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace".

Peter Beales, English rose grower and expert, said in his book titled "Roses":

"'Peace', without doubt, is the finest hybrid tea ever raised and it will remain a standard variety forever."

(Note: I have worked as a contract photographer for Conard Pyle Co. I was under contract this year but the work was transferred to another photographer due to my illness. I plan on doing work for Conard Pyle Co. in the future.)

Betty Boop Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>The fruity fragrance is subtle on an individual bloom basis; however, with several bushes together, Betty Boop is sure to make its fragrance permeate the adjoining area.

The bushes are naturally rounded with dark-green glossy leaves, presenting a challenge for photographers who don't use a Polarizer or who don't properly use a Polarizer.

The long-lasting blooms and the fact that this floribunda doesn't produce rose hips combine to make Betty Boop a popular choice.

Simplicity Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Simplicity is similar to one of its parents, the popular Floribunda Iceberg rose, which is featured near the fountain at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.

The Simplicity rose I photographed at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden is pink, but there are three other Simplicity colors: lavender, white and yellow.

If you want a four- to five-foot-tall hedge rose that is prolific and pink (or lavender, white or yellow), then Simplicity will make it simple for you, because that's just what you get.

Developed for rose hedges, Simplicity's blooms repeat and are long-lasting. I've seen it grow well in partial shade, too, without disease.

Foliage is small and glossy dark green. Simplicity loves hot weather and it can tolerate humidity.

The only fragrant Simplicity is the lavender variety.

So see what the other versions of Simplicity look like, please visit Rose Gardening Made Easy.

These were photographed at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden in Silicon Valley. All rose photos are offered free to garden volunteers. Just email me so I can set up a non-public URL for you to download an original photo. Names will be cross-checked with the Friends of the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.

Passionate Kisses Roses

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>At first, Passionate Kisses might appear pink, but upon closer examination, their salmon-colored blooms become apparent the closer you get to this prolific rose. Medium-sized in height, if you want growth in terms of bushy and beautiful and non-stop blossoms, then Passionate Kisses is for you. Although it has a mild fragrance, when you have numerous bushes together, the fragrance is very nice and subtle.

Cherry Blossoms

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Cherry blossoms range in size and color, from pink to white.

Wisteria

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>For spectacular color, climbing vines and fragrance, few flowers will provide enjoyment like wisteria.

"Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes 10 species of woody climbing vines native to the Eastern United States and to China, Korea and Japan," Wikipedia said. "Some species are popular ornamental plants, especially in China and Japan."

Filoli Flower Cherry

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>On two different days at Filoli this year, I shot just a few photos of the flowering cherry in the courtyard. I didn't shoot more because I have so many from Hakone. Still, a few looked okay, so I uploaded them here. Enjoy.

Bonsai Wisteria Tree

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>A beautiful Bonsai wisteria tree in full bloom.

Tulips

glennfrancosimmons@yahoo.com (The Flower Photographer) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

]]>Tulips are a late winter and early spring favorite. The colors range from bright to to pastel.