Reconnecting with nature through hiking, camping, and paddling
Photographs of wild and domestic flowers
Of course tulips are at their peak while the flowers are still slightly closed. This purple tulip, at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, looked pasted its prime but I thought the vibrant colors had a beauty all their own. While it no longer had that new tulip shape, the open flower revealed a lovely contrast between the yellow pollen and the deep purple and blue flower pedals.
These blue orchids have an almost unreal color. That’s because the stems are injected with a blue dye before the flowers bloom. While the color may be a bit surreal, they are quite captivating.
These orchids were on display at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA. Inside an arboretum, their delicate, colorful blooms offered a refreshing break from the bleak, cold weather outside when we visited in February.
I came upon these mistflowers in a meadow, after a rain storm in early September. The rain drops weighed down the flowers and made them difficult to identify. Regardless, these wildflowers provided the meadow with a pop of purple color.
These wildflowers already lost most of their pedals before I took this photograph. I wanted to capture the bright yellow of the flowers against the backdrop of the red vine leaves climbing the tree in the background.
This fallen crape myrtle blossom serves as a reminder the warm summer weather will soon be a memory.
These lily buds twist themselves around when they are finished blooming, or at night, I’m not exactly sure which. Either way they make for an interesting visual.
The mountain bike trail I was riding passed through an open field filled with blooming Queen Anne’s Lace. I was there in the evening to capture this image as the sun warmly light everything from a low angle.
These wood lilies bloom throughout the summer. They’re fairly small. Each flower is about 2″ (5 cm) across. Their vibrant colors make them a great subject for a little macro work.