Tag Archives: Flowers

Swallowtail Butterfly

July 11, 2018 Ellen Jennings 9 Comments

These large red flowers are so flashy I almost didn’t see the butterfly. I believe the flower is a Texas Star Hibiscus, which grow wild around the edges of my favorite swamp.

The butterfly was intensely inspecting the flowers, but he didn’t stay with any one blossom for more than a moment.

An unopened bloom got its share of attention as the butterfly probed up under the flower’s sepals.

That wasn’t very satisfying, either, and he quickly moved on.

Many of the Buttonbush trees that were so popular with the butterflies in this area last July have died, and those that didn’t have very few blossoms. The harsh weather we had in January may have too much for them.

Artsy, Flowers

Water Lilies in Ice

June 28, 2018 Ellen Jennings 16 Comments

Not really ice, but the lighting on this pond made it look like a slick skating rink beneath the flowers and crushed ice around the edges.

Flowers

Magnolia Blossom After The Rain

June 27, 2018 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

I find unopened Magnolia Blossoms to be very appealing. The water drops added to the allure of this one.

Flowers, Insects

Bee Bling

June 23, 2018 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

The bees were very busy in the sunflower fields.

These flowers need little dressing up, but a bee adds a nice visual touch.

Flowers

Facing the Crowd

June 18, 2018 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

Sunflower faces are supposed to follow the sun but on occasion one doesn’t get the message.

Flowers

Above the Fray

June 14, 2018 Ellen Jennings 8 Comments

One bloom stands above the rest in a field of sunny flower faces.

Sunflower in Field of Sunflowers — Sunflower rising above the rest in Field of Sunflowers – click image for larger view

Flowers, Insects

Tattered Moth and Bee

June 13, 2018 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

This moth looks a little worse for the wear but found a great spot to gather some sustenance. The bee was working his way around the sunflower’s perimeter.

Then zip, the bee made a bee line to the next flower with some of that hard gained pollen dropping behind him. The moth didn’t miss a beat and continued his methodical probing.

Click on images for larger view.

Flowers

Daylily

May 31, 2018 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

A single bloom remained on this plant on a shady path near the swamp. The newer Daylily varieties are flashy but I still like the old fashioned traditional orange.

Artsy, Flowers

Into The Light

May 28, 2018 Ellen Jennings 6 Comments

Flowers, Insects

Insects on Irises

May 22, 2018 Ellen Jennings 8 Comments

It was a dull day and my images of the Japanese Iris border at Swan Lake and Iris Gardens didn’t amount to much. The insect activity on the iris flowers was much more interesting.

Here a bee is backing out of the flower center after adding to his pollen cache.

He buzzed around the back of the flower and if you zoom in you can see one tiny leg sticking out from the right side of the stem under the petal stem. I didn’t see the second insect on the petal until I was developing the images.

Insect on Iris – click on image to enlarge

A small spider crawled all over the petals of this delacately colored bloom.

Meanwhile a Skipper was touching all the parts of the next flower over.

This is a section of the Iris border that is on a pond. There is a dragonfly perched on a frond just left and below center–another one I spotted after I got home. I expect there was more insect activity that wasn’t as obvious.