Today’s photos are from Dave Barkley in South Riding, Virginia, who sent in these intimate portraits of beautiful flowers.
A yellow pansy laden with dew
Another close-up of a dew-laden flower, this one a double rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus, Zones 5–8). Double flowers develop when some of the anthers get converted into extra petals. Sometimes these in-between, smaller extra petals are called “petaloids.” The extra petals can often make an individual flower last longer and amplify any scent the flower has.
Sometimes fading flowers can be just as beautiful as fresh ones if you stop to look at them closely. These morning glory (Ipomoea sp., annual) flowers collapse in on themselves after their brief morning bloom time.
In the world of roses, the wild species have only five petals. Fully double forms have many extra petals, filling the flower, while semi-double varieties, like this glowing yellow one, have only a few extra petals. They’re all beautiful!
The color of roses often varies a lot. Yellows often fade to cream or white as a flower ages, and the intensity of color often changes with temperature and the amount of sun they are exposed to. Zooming in and observing these changes is one of the great joys of gardening.
Beautiful flowers are often also found in the vegetable garden, as here with a male flower of a bitter gourd (aka East Indian cucumber). This vegetable, popular in South and Southeast Asia, has a strong, bitter flavor and, like many members of the cucumber family, quite beautiful flowers.
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Comments
Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing.
Outstanding photography. Thanks for showing us the details!
Dave - terrific photographic compositions! I also enjoyed identifying each flower before looking at the captions. :-D
Love the morning glories. Going to have to look a bit closer at the rosés now. Beautiful pictures. Alice
Really fine photography! So refreshing to wake up to dew covered blooms! Those morning glories- wow, so much detail it was like looking at them with a magnifying glass!
This was a true reminder to stop and look closer.
Beautiful photography! Nice reminder to look at our gardens from the bees' viewpoint. Thank you for sharing!
Love these delectable close-ups, Dave. I feel like I am right there in your garden leaning down for my own personal perusals...especially of the dew laden beauties. It's hard not to feel refreshed and invigorated by taking in such beauty.
Stunning - thank you for sharing these!
SPECTACULAR, Dave. I love the effect that dew have on flowers that are being photographed. Thank you for sharing your beautiful artwork.
Breathtaking pictures. Thank you for reminding us to enjoy the 'close-ups' of our gardens.
Thank you for sharing. Great photos.
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