We continue to post sunflower images from Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Here are images of sunflowers, adding a nice contrast against a blue sky and faint clouds.
Eaten Nectar in a Circular Formation
A Single Sunflower Against a Blue Sky
Sunflower fields at Dix Park in Raleigh are pretty. A white fence in the background adds to this image.
Apart from pollinators, sunflowers attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, which help control pest populations in gardens and agricultural fields. The tall stalks and dense foliage of sunflowers offer shelter to birds.
Sunflowers on a Field
Dorothea Dix Park, a 308-acre property acquired by the City of Raleigh in 2015, is the largest city park in the City of Oaks. The site blends historic architecture and rich landscapes on the edge of downtown Raleigh. Named for Dorothea Lynde Dix, an American activist on behalf of people with mental illness, the site spent 150 years as Dorothea Dix Hospital and more recently has been home to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Here is an image of sunflowers facing the beautiful North Carolina sky and clouds.
Sunflowers Facing the Sky
When we were in Raleigh in July, we got the opportunity to visit a sunflower field. will be posting images from there.
First planted by the City of Raleigh’s public utilities department in 2010, a beautiful five-acre batch of sunflowers blooms yearly in July at Dorothea Dix Park, where approximately 100,000 seeds were planted in early May. The sunflowers serve a purpose beyond just acting as a photography hot-spot—for a number of years the City of Raleigh would harvest the sunflowers to create thousands of gallons of biodiesel, which was then processed into fuel to run tractors, trailers and farm equipment. Now the flowers are left to be excellent pollinators for birds and other wildlife.
Dix Park Sunflowers
Field of Sunflowers
Sunflowers on a Field
We end the series of images from J C Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, North Carolina with a photo of Pink Crinum Lily. This vigorous hybrid Crinum lily is perennial, blooming in summer with large, fragrant lily shaped flowers.
Pink Crinum Lily
The blend of flowering plants and grass type elements add to the variety of landscape at J C Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina
Flowers and Grass
Water features like this one add serenity to the gardens at J C Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Flowing Water
The JC Raulston Arboretum is a 10-acre arboretum and botanical garden administered by North Carolina State University, and located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Will be posting images from a visit to the arboretum in April after participating in the Angels Among Us Walk in Durham.
Arboretum Entrance
Arboretum Sign
Arboretum Layout
This prolific sculptor made work in wood, stone, and bronze. As a student in London, Henry Moore absorbed the influences around him, both the work of his contemporaries and the pre-Columbian and ancient art in the British Museum. It is easy to see a connection between Large Standing Figure and ancient art. This sculpture is displayed at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.
Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge by Henry Spencer Moore
Known for his figurative sculptures that use Dutch wax cloth (popular throughout Africa) to explore cultural identity, Yinka Shonibare here, at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, transforms a wisp of the same fabric into a playfully monumental sculpture that captures the wind like a giant sail.
Wind Sculpture II by Yinka Shonibare
At North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Ronald Bladen’s, Three Elements are painted and burnished aluminum over welded steel structures, three parts, each element is H. 120 3/8 x W. 48 3/8 x D. 21 1/2 in.
Three Elements by Ronald Bladen
This extended line of 183 ceramic columns, created by Daniel Johnston, plays against the topography of the landscape. Ranging in height from several inches to several feet, the tops of the pillars form a level line to highlight the dips and rises of the rolling hillside at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh.
Partial View of Installation 1-183
Askew, at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, is part of a series of works that Roxy Paine describes as “dendroids,” treelike forms with elaborate branching structures. His sculptures are inspired by real trees but never truthful depictions of actual species. The stainless steel surfaces of the work change dramatically with the light.
Askew by Roxy Paine
The dynamic geometry, powerful size (26′ 7″ h x 30′ w x 15′ d), and expansive scale of Mark di Suvero’s work reflect his creative process in the No Fuss sculpture at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh
No Fuss by Mark di Suvero
Placed at the threshold between the field and forest at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Crossroads/Trickster I marks a transitional point from public to private, manmade to natural, open to enclosed. The sculpture by Martha Jackson-Jarvis combines brightly colored Italian glass tiles, carnelian stones, and shattered bricks (recycled from the Polk youth correctional facility, located on this property from 1920 to 1997).
Crossroads/Trickster 1 by Martha Jackson-Jarvis
This sculpture at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh was created on site by North Carolina artist Thomas Sayre. The title Gyre refers to a circular or spiraling motion—gyration—and a spiraling shape, like a vortex or tornado.
Gyre by Thomas Sayre
The Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh has significant public art installations by international artists. We will show images of some of the art pieces.
NCMA Museum Park
The soft curves and bulges of Large Spindle Piece reflect Henry Moore’s abiding interest in organic form, yet its pointed projections—echoing machine parts—demonstrate that he was not unaffected by modern technology.
Large Spindle Piece by Henry Spencer Moore
We end our series of images from Raleigh, North Carolina with a panoramic view of the city glowing at blue hour.
Raleigh Glowing at Night
A train station is empty at night in Raleigh, North Carolina
Lonely at the Station
The skyline of Raleigh at dusk ……
Raleigh Skyline at Dusk