WADING THROUGH WORLDLY WATERS 26 SUSPENDED IN SPRING

OOf all the incredible creatures on this planet, hummingbirds are among the most magical. When you catch a glimpse of one outside of your window, you cannot help but stop whatever it is that you are doing and watch as it levitates while elegantly dancing from flower to flower. Photographer Dean Hueber takes tremendous pride in his collection of hummingbird images, a portion of which is the subject of this month’s photo essay.

“[These images] were captured in Sedona during the summer hummingbird migration in a location that is renowned as a resting and refueling stop for the birds as they journey from their northern origins to southern destinations,” Hueber says.

When other techniques failed to capture the images he wanted, Hueber attended a hummingbird workshop, where he learned how to use multiple high-speed flashes with a much slower camera shutter speed.

“The images were made using a bank of four off-camera strobes, set at a speed of 1/16,000 second, to render the birds exceedingly sharp,” he explains. “The camera itself was set to a much slower speed — 1/150 or so. The camera was on a tripod, I sat still in a chair and the birds seemed to acclimate quickly to both my presence and the flash units, ultimately paying no mind to either in the slightest.”

Hueber adds that hummingbirds are truly fascinating creatures — ones with unique abilities that humans have yet to tap into.

“Hummingbirds’ flexible shoulder joints allow their wings to rotate 180 degrees, which allows them to fly forward, backward and upside down and to hover,” he says. “I would like to see this structural design integrated into our flight technology.”

However, thanks to camera technology, we do have the ability to stop time so that we can fully enjoy the enchantment of these typically quick-moving creatures.

Each species of hummingbird makes a distinctly different sound when it flies. So you can tell immediately what type of bird it is from the sound their wings make. Dean Hueber

Having grown up in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Dean Hueber always possessed a strong love for nature and the outdoors.

At a very young age, Hueber would climb the water tower in his hometown’s local park so that he could obtain an unobstructed view of the stars and the moon rising or setting. Later in life, he decorated his college dorm room walls with pictures of the Grand Tetons, Yosemite and Mount Denali.

“I had no idea where these places were or what they were called; only that their beauty and majesty touched my soul,” Hueber says. “I knew that I needed to see these magnificent places with my own eyes.”

Hueber attended graduate school in northern California and journeyed to camping destinations along the state’s coast in the Redwoods and witnessed the spectacular beauty of Lake Tahoe. However, it is his first trip to Yosemite National Park from which his photographic aspirations originate.

“The power of Yosemite was spectacular and overwhelming,” he explains. “I spent the weekend awestruck, never having imagined that such pure beauty could exist. I had always loved nature, but that was the first time I had truly desired to take photos of it.”

When Hueber became a father, he purchased an SLR camera to take photos of his son. With the technology finally in his hand, he also began taking photos of nature. He took a couple of seminars and a workshop to find his technical footing, studied images relentlessly to find places to explore and different styles and perspectives and has had a passionate love affair with landscape photography ever since.

“Beauty is my photographic motivation,” says Hueber, noting that he has more recently discovered a love for wildlife photography. “The animals are in themselves striking, but I try to capture them in ideal lighting with attractive backdrops.

“The romantic lure of the open road and the sense of adventure that a photography trip affords are part of the attraction for me as well. The journey is always a big part of the equation, and though the photos do not always make it to print, the experiences are rarely throwaways.”

Beauty is my photographic motivation. The animals are in themselves striking, but I try to capture them in ideal lighting with attractive backdrops. Dean Hueber

Hummingbirds’ flexible shoulder joints allow their wings to rotate 180 degrees, which allows them to fly forward, backward and upside down and to hover. Dean Hueber

TThe hardened clay soil of our dry desert might not look like fertile ground, but with a bit of careful tending, timing and persistence, a colorless and barren backyard can teem with colorful blooms — even year-round! The Valley gardening community is full of flower-growing enthusiasts who have found connections on social media — particularly Instagram — where they share photos of seedlings to bouquets as well as trade tips and even seeds.

Mary Shirley grew up in Tennessee, working in her grandparents’ “massive” garden. It shaped her as a gardener and as a person.

“I would spend my summers picking peas, collecting vegetables and watching my grandma can pizza sauce,” Shirley says. “I think it made me who I am. It gave me my strong work ethic.”

When she moved to Arizona nearly seven years ago, she wanted enough land for chickens and a garden of vegetables and flowers. But the flowers brought her so much joy that she soon found herself replacing the vegetable beds in favor of flowers. “The flowers just bring pure magic to my desert backyard,” Shirley explains.

Some of her favorite surprises have been daffodils, dahlias and hollyhocks. A pack of hollyhock seeds she threw out on the desert soil has now come back year after year with mostly just rainwater.

One of her absolute favorite flowers to grow is roses. Specifically, David Austin roses, of which there are more than 200 varieties. These beauties are bred by an Englishman of the same name and in his nearly 60 years of work he has drawn a dedicated following. Some have so many-layered petals they appear to be peonies.

“[David Austin roses] take my breath away,” Shirley says. “Some even smell like citrus. They’re bred for their scent and dozens or hundreds of petals and they grow here so easily.”

Shirley says that the gardening community here in Arizona is like nothing she’s ever experienced; she’s found her fellow gardeners to be generous and inspiring. Sharing online has led to camaraderie and some great results in the garden. The benefits don’t stop at what can be arranged in a vase.

Photos Courtesy of Mary's Backyard Blooms

“The garden and growing things have given me such peace, hope and passion,” Shirley says. “I hope my flowers and posting will inspire those passions and hope in other people — even in difficult times. For me, personally, it has made such a difference in my life, my mental health, and my outlook on the world. It’s amazing what growing things can do for your soul.”

Instagram: @marysbackyardblooms

Stephanie Walker also finds gardening and being out in nature to be therapeutic.

“I feel we all need a little boost,” Walker says. “Growing up in Colorado, my parents always had a garden. I didn’t really like it at the time because it meant pulling weeds on Saturday morning, but I appreciated it. When my husband and I bought our first home 22 years ago, we had this little 8-by-10 garden bed that we started and that was really fun.”

That small garden bed has blossomed into an acre of land in Queen Creek, a master gardener designation from University of Arizona and a full-time business — The Potter’s Bench, a flower farm and garden consultancy that includes a website and blog, newsletter, workshops and a Community Supported Agriculture bouquet subscription service.

“People are just shocked to learn that we can grow these flowers here in Arizona,” Walker says. “It’s been fun to educate people and help them realize we tweak our growing season a little and can grow almost everything anyone else can grow. The bonus is we can really grow year-round. That’s one of the biggest plusses for vegetable gardens, especially. We can harvest from our vegetable gardens year-round if we choose to.”

Walker starts thousands of seedlings indoors and plants everything in full sun. Her summer crop bursts forth full of zinnias, cosmos, celosia, amaranth and lisianthus, planted in blocks of color. She is also a David Austin rose enthusiast and has at least 40 shrubs from the purveyor.

Sunflowers are planted successively — a tray of seedlings goes in the ground every week so they’re ready to sell throughout the season. The tall, large-headed sunflower

Photos Courtesy of The Potters Bench

Photos Courtesy of Cottage Garden

stalks and blooms are strategically planted on the south and west sides of her vegetable garden, creating a natural shade screen.

“By the time it gets really hot in June, they’ve grown enough to shade my plants and I don’t have to rig up shade cloths,” she reveals.

thepottersbench.com Instagram: @the_potters_bench

Michelle Moghina’s earliest gardening memories were working in her family garden in Romania. The family escaped communism when she was nine years old after her father first swam the Danube into Serbia and settled first in New York City as a religious and political refugee. The family eventually moved to Michigan and her mother’s first requirement was to have a garden.

“I recall my mom bought a packet of zinnias and that’s the first thing she planted, along with a Rose of Sharon tree,” Moghina says. “I helped her plant and weed and water. When I was married 20 years later and moved to Arizona, it was a whole new ballgame; I had to re-learn a lot.”

She and her vegetable-gardening husband have made gardening a priority in every home they’ve owned and have transformed blank slate backyards into magical oases teeming with flowers that attract pollinators for the vegetables. With five children, they have quite a few helpers in the garden.

Moghina is known on social media for her charming cottage garden design. She works to mimic the look of plants that won’t grow well in Arizona by finding flowers similar in texture and color. For instance, most lavender doesn’t like our climate but Egyptian or fern leaf lavender does. David Austin roses figure prominently in her gorgeous garden, as do ranunculus, salvia, wallflowers, society garlic and various winter and spring bulbs.

During the blooming season, she brings bouquets to friends who might need a lift and sells bouquets — mostly to other Romanians in her community. It helps finance her seeds and supplies.

Added benefits to her verdant space include watching her children play, observing the comings and goings of bugs and insects and a little hummingbird who has made the Moghina garden its home since they moved in.

“She eats from my hand,” Moghina says. “She chases away the birds and bees and flies to me when I come into the garden. It’s worth all the work to be able to watch my kids enjoying the garden.”

Instagram: @azcottagegarden

VISIT IMAGESARIZONA.COM TO READ AN EXTENDED VERSION OF THIS STORY, FEATURING MARY SHIRLEY, STEPHANIE WALKER AND MICHELLE MOGHINA’S TIPS FOR GROWING A GORGEOUS GARDEN IN ARIZONA.