Tag: wildflowers

Wildflower diary – Solanum dulcamara 

Found these growing on a hedgerow and it took a little while to identify as the bittersweet nightshade, a relative of deadly nightshade (Solanum nigrum). S. dulcamara  is also poisonous but not as much as S. nigrum. 

Straight off the iPhone camera with no post processing.

  

Forget-Me-Not!

In a German legend, when god had finished naming all plants, a small unnamed plant cried out “Forget-me-not, my lord”. Then god said “That shall be your name”. Another legend claims that after the Creator thought he had finished giving the flowers their colours, he heard one whisper “Forget me not!” There was nothing left but a very small amount of blue, but the forget-me-not was delighted to wear such a light blue shade.

Forget-me-not
Forget-me-not! Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr.

The tiny, cheerful blue flowers of Myosotis have played an important part in European folklore and history – from being used as a symbol by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) after being exiled by Richard II to its adoption by the Freemasons during the Nazi regime across Europe. The flowers of forget-me-not are no more than 1cm in diameter and grow in long thin stalks bearing many flowers. They are popular in gardens and grow on the side of river banks and streams throughout Europe.

Technical Details

  • Nikon D7000 camera with a 105mm macro lens with extension tubes
  • ISO 200, f/18, 1/250 with external remote slave flash
  • processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

 

Strawberry Blossom – extreme macro

For all the beauty and colour of the strawberry fruit, the Fragaria blossoms are small, white flowers with a yellow centre (about a centimetre across). The following photo is of a wild strawberry flower shot with a macro lens with extension tube attachments (hence extreme macro). Strawberries below to the rose family and have 5 sepals, 5 petals and many stamens arranged spherically.

Strawberry Flower
Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr.

 Technical Details

  •  Nikon D7000 camera
  • 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens with extension tubes
  • 1/250, f/18, ISO 200
  • External slave flash at right angles
  • Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Tranquility #2

Tranquility #2
At Anglesey Abbey. Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr

This dream-like scene seen at the National Trust Anglesey Abbey property using an iPhone. To me, everything in here symbolises spring. Daffodils, Hyacinths, Cherry Blossoms and the brilliant hues of a Japanese maple tree.

Symphytum (Comfrey)

All signs suggest that spring has well and truly sprung here in East Anglia. I was at the Anglesey Abbey last weekend, and among all the bluebells, snowdrops, daffodils and hyacinths were some lovely flowering comfrey plants.

Symphytum "Hidcote Blue" (Comfrey)
Symphytum “Hidcote Blue” – aka Comfrey

As you may already know, comfreys have long been associated with medicinal properties – particularly for the treatment of skin treatment. Their role in herbal medicine, to say the least, has been controversial. Nevertheless, they are an attractive addition to wildflower gardens.

Technical Details:

  • Nikon D7000 with Sigma 105mm, f2/.8 macro lens
  • f/4.0, 1/640, ISO 100
  • Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Fat-Legs and Doves-Foot!!

Not the cast of an improbable movie, but a photograph of a fat legged beetle (Flower Beetle/Oedemera nobilis) on a Doves-Foot Cranesbill flower (Geranium molle)!

An unlikely cast!
Click on photo for a larger version on Flickr.

Hellebore – the non-rose Christmas Rose

What better to post with christmas around the corner but a photograph of the “Christmas Rose” (Genus: Helleborus). Hellebores flower during the coldest months of the year and are not related to the rose.

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Hellebore. Click on the picture for a larger version.

 Reprocessed from a very old photograph (2006)