Botanical Garden

There is a small botanical garden here in Asheville that is located at the edge of UNCA campus ... i don't know if UNC has anything to do with it, ie experimenting with different varieties, etc., but the gardens are pretty nice. So i have gone there twice in the past week and am enjoying working with the Sony's macro lens along with using an extension tube which allows a larger image without getting any closer. Here are some of todays images and at this time i don't know the name of any of the flowers:

I am relatively happy with the results above. Part of what i want to do or learn to do is photography in such a way that there is greater depth of focus, ie. more of the flowers are in focus. It is a challenge in gardens where there is often movements from   breezes, and gusty winds and the constant passage of people which adds to the plants movement.

The photographs below are from the day before and while not quite as sharp -there was considerable more wind then - i like some of the results very much especially with the ants:

I was fascinated with this plant and the toadstool like bloom that sat just above the leaves and i guess they had some kinda sweetness on the bloom as almost every one had an ant on it.

I believe the funny looking toadstools in the top image above is the forerunner for the open blooms on the bottom. In the bottom image you can see some of them in the background. I didn't see any there were in between the two stages you see here.

I plan on returning Monday when there are less people in the hopes that the above plants are still blooming and accessible for photographing.