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Late Summer Color: Mary Ann Lantana (Gallery 1 of 3)

Late Summer Color: Mary Ann Lantana (Gallery 1 of 3)

It seems hard to believe, but here in the U.S. southeast the days are already shortening, as we move from summer toward a fall that’s not too far away. Of the four varieties of lantana on my property, Mary Ann Lantana is the most prolific bloomer; it continues to add new flowers through late August and well into September (sometimes even October!). After that, I cut it back — almost to the ground — to get it ready for cooler weather so it can rest over the winter.

For these photos, I used the same post-processing approach that I described for images of my Landmark Citrus Lantana (see Making Pictures: Landmark Citrus Lantana (Gallery 1 of 3), relying heavily on Lightroom’s radial filters and adjustment brushes to emphasize the blooms and, in some cases, darken or eliminate backgrounds. Here are before-and-after versions of four of the eleven photos, those that I transformed the most. The last one’s my favorite!

Funny thing happened as I was assembling this blog post: I realized that I had written several times about my “Miss Huff” Lantana — but as it turns out, I don’t have Miss Huff, I’ve got Mary Ann. They’re very different; see here versus here. Several blog posts, tags, and brain cells have been corrected…. 🙂

Below is the first set of Mary Ann Lantana images. Thanks for taking a look!

6 Comments

    1. Dale

      It handles the summer heat here really well … two or three waterings a week seems about right, and if I miss one, it doesn’t mind. Every time I go to a garden center, I see new varieties — including some with purple or violet blooms — so next spring I’m going to carve out space for a few more. Thanks for the comment!

    1. Dale

      Some varieties of lantana are considered invasive weeds here in Georgia also, as well as in other warm climates. I guess there’s a fine line between friendly and unfriendly lantana! 🙂

      As well as butterflies, hummingbirds like them too; I see one or two hovering at the blooms almost every day. So far, no luck on hummingbird photos, though; they’re too quick for me!

      Thanks for commenting!

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