Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Beautiful Butterfly Weed

I love summer for many reasons, but one of those reasons is for the Butterfly Weed. I love seeing it along the roadside while driving around, but from far away like that it's hard to appreciate the true, delicate beauty of this flower. I wish I were a butterfly or bee so I could appreciate it's nectar - it must taste as sweet as it looks!


Baby Butterfly Weed




Getting bigger and bigger... looks like candy to me.


And - POP! Full blown flowers. C'mon butterflies, come and get it!






Viewing the orange against a blue sky...

7 comments:

Kelly said...

...these are beautiful photos of the Butterfly Weed. I always find it hard to photograph oranges without the photos coming out too garish. These are gorgeous. I so so many Butterfly Weed plants in Hocking Hills. Loved seeing that bright orange all over!

Quantum Tiger said...

Beautiful images. Particularly lithe bud phase photos. Great work

Qt

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful shots. I too, have problems with reds and oranges. You did a great job.

Did butterfly weed grow naturally where you are? I tried to get it started up here in Maine, but didn't have any luck.

KaHolly said...

Ah, your photos are inspiring! I miss butterfly weed, also one of my favorites when I lived in TX. Glad I had an opportunity to access a computer today to see your post! -kaholly

Heather said...

Kelly - Thank you. I think I got lucky here, but I've also been actively working on trying to make the colors look "right" on those flowers that tend to look garish, as you so aptly put it. I'm still having trouble with deep pinks and reds.

Qt - Thanks! I'm glad I was able to capture all of those phases of flowering just among one stand of flowers!

fourwinds - Thanks for stopping by! Yes, the Butterfly Weed is a native plant to this area. I would think it would grow in Maine, too, but maybe the soil there is not what it needs.

Karen - So good to hear from you! Glad you enjoyed the flowers and that they provided you with a reminder of Texas. Hope you'll be able to stop by again soon!

Gabrielle said...

Hi Heather - these are beautiful photos! I love butterfly weed - such an amazing color. The plant has an interesting trick for making sure they get pollinated - they have a little slit in their stigmas that insects get their legs caught in. When the insect pulls its leg out, the tugging makes a pollen sac attach to the insect's leg, which it will then carry to the next flower. How clever is that!?

Heather said...

Gabrielle - Thank you. I did not know that about the stigmas having a slit that catches the insect's leg. I wonder if that is a process that can easily be observed, or if it's something visible only at a very magnified level? Thanks for the info!