Sunday, July 23, 2017

Garden Close-ups

There are some really interesting things around the garden these days that demand a very close look.  By that I mean a really close look!  Here's a selection of garden close-ups I've captured in the past week or two.

The stamens and pistils of the day lilies are always worth a close look.

Some of our Brown-eyed Susans have suddenly burst into bloom.

But we also have a lot of False Sunflowers.  At first glance the flowers look similar, but the colour and arrangement of the stamens and pistils is quite different.

A tiny bee on a False Sunflower - I wish I knew more about identifying insects.

I like the bright mixture of colours in the Sneezeweed or Helenium flowers.

These are the tiny seeds of the Avens, which forms a bur that will dry out, fall apart, and you'll find individual tiny seeds sticking to your pants.  This is the sort of bur, with those tiny hooks on the end of each seed, that led to the invention of velcro.

This is one tiny seed of a Goatsbeard flower, which looks like a giant dandelion ball of fluff for awhile.  As individual seeds float away it reaches the point where you can pick out an individual seed to examine its parachute, about an inch and a half across.

In comparison, this is the similar tiny seed and parachute of the Valerian flower, but it's much tinier, perhaps only a 1/4 inch across.  The red circles are spots where two other seeds and their parachutes were attached.  Next time you're checking out your garden, take a close look at what you're seeing!

Linking to:

15 comments:

  1. You have some great macro flower photos there Stew. What an absolutely delightful photography hobby you and I have and what a great way for we older fellas to spend our days eh:))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gorgeous close ups, I have a lot of these flowers blooming in my gardens right now!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome detail. Most times we cannot see this detail unless it's amplified.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes close-ups or macro shots always fascinate me, and do that a lot too! You got some good pics there.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The magnificance of nature is in the details as well. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello, they are all beautiful closeups. Lovely flowers. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great pictures, so clear. The flowers are so beautiful right down to their minute detail.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just wonderful closeups! I sure enjoy looking into the magical world of flowers. Thanks for sharing the great shots, FG. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really close and beautiful ~ gorgeous macro shots of nature's floral treasures ~ ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a great lens you have. Patience too I think.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice macros! I love trying to capture the insides of flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those Susans are coming into their own here as well.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Excellent close up of everything. Well done!!
    Did you get any cookies yet!? 😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No cookies yet, but fresh home-made bread and cinnamon buns!

      Delete
  14. All shots are amazing, but I really love that last one.

    ReplyDelete