Marie at 1 Write Way

Lens-Artists Challenge #301 – Floral

This week, Sofia at Photographias invites us to “go Floral”:  Let’s see Nature in all its glory and enjoy this beautiful time of the year. Let’s find different angles, play with post editing, get closer or further afield, find strange and unknown flowers and if you want to get some flower friends on the shot, that is allowed too. But mainly, have fun and look for the awesomeness that is all around us.

I am all about having fun when it comes to flowers and photography. For this challenge, I’m focusing on the flowers in my gardens.

First up, roses. Small, pink roses that were gifted to me in 1997 by a friend who was moving to Australia. I’ve come to call them “Kay’s roses” since no one can figure out exactly what they are, and because I always think of my friend Kay when I see the roses blooming.

The next two photos are of Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) taken roughly three weeks apart. I thought this plant had died from the freezes we had over the winter. But, thankfully, it’s a hardy plant.

The next three photos are of Bolivian Salvia (Salvia oxyphora). A couple of years ago, I had stopped to admire and photograph a large bush of these flowers at a neighbor’s house. The neighbor came out and offered me a “stalk” (it was at least two feet tall) that I then had to carry three blocks home because I was on foot. I planted the stalk in a pot and the blooms soon fell off. My instincts told me it would be happier in the ground than in a pot, so the following spring, I planted it in my little garden around our mailbox. It did not bloom at all last year, although it start to self-propagate. This year, to my delight, it’s blooming in earnest.

This next fun little flower is known to some as Batchelor Button or Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena globosa). Another plant that I thought I had lost to winter freezes, but, obviously, it’s doing quite well right now. It seems to enjoy the light on our patio. Dragonflies seem to enjoy using this flower as a perch.

Who would not recognize a Gerbera Daisy aka Barberton Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)? It’s another flowering plant that is flourishing on our patio.

I love the pink and orange of this Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). I bought this plant a few years ago and while in a pot, it rarely produced more than one bloom. Planted in our garden, it’s now sporting a couple of blooms and a few buds.

Last but not least, this morning (this very morning of May 28, 2024), our Scarlet Rosemallow (Hibiscus coccineus) greeted me with two blooms. These flowers open and close often within a day or two so I wasted no time in capturing the moment. As you can see, though, we expect a few more blooms soon.

I do love challenges like this as I’m often taking photos of flowering plants (even at garden centers).

Last week, Ann-Christine challenged us to think in terms of Delicate, setting the challenge with her wonderful photos from Japan. It was great fun to see all the different interpretations of that deceptively simple word.

If you’re interested in participating in this week’s Lens-Artist, please remember to link back to Sofia’s original post and to include Lens-Artists as a tag so others can find you. If you want to learn more about the Lens-Artists challenges, please see Johnbo’s post.

Thank you for reading! Here’s a photo of Raji in action, playing with a shoelace.

Marie A Bailey

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40 responses to “Lens-Artists Challenge #301 – Floral”

  3. Marie, what a beautiful garden you have! These flowers are gorgeous. I loved them all, but I kept going back to the Bolivian Salvia and the Globe Amaranth. Wow!

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  7. So mind blowing lovely flowers photos to view 🌷🙏😊👍🏻 Spring season is Best time for flowering
    So many varieties of flowers to make beautiful nature 🌸🌹 graceful wishes dear friend 🙏🌷💗

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  8. I can tell by your post how much you care for these plants and I love how you try to make them happy by moving them about. They obviously repay you with wonderful blooms :)

    All beautiful flowers but the photo that really caught my eye was the Batchelors button.

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    • Thank you, Sofia. The downside of planting in the ground is that now I have only three potted plants on my deck instead of twenty ;-) The view from my work room is the deck so I miss seeing all the flowering plants. Still, they are happiest in the ground so there they go :-)

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  9. Such beautiful flowers, Marie. I love everything about “Kay’s Roses”–names, memories, and the gorgeous blooms.💙

    That photo of Raj! Great action shot. Love it!

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  10. That Bolivian Salvia is amazing. I’ve only seen one other Salvia with all that furry/fluffy part in the flower in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. I’ve never seen anything like the Scarlet Rosemallow before. It’s a very striking flower.

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    • Thank you, Vicki! I am fascinated by the Bolivian Salvia. It looks like a perfect flower for pollinators but I haven’t seen any around the flowers yet. I just enjoy the view :-)

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    • I didn’t even know the pink flowers were called Batchelor Buttons when I bought them. I’ve heard of Batchelor Buttons, but this plant is the first I’ve seen of them. My life is now complete ;-)

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  12. You certainly have a garden show happening at your house right now. I love it when someone shares a plant and it finally blooms. And that salvia sure bloomed with authority. Feels like a surprise party, doesn’t. A beautiful gallery, Marie. So much pretty color in your yard.

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  13. You have such a lovely garden, Marie! Great flower photos where your love for them shines! I hope you will plant more in pots for your window view though. And you presented some totally unknown plants to me – lovely!

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    • Thank you so much, A-C! I just found out today that our deck might have to be demolished and then rebuilt (it is old) so I won’t be able to have potted plants for awhile. But I do still have plenty of plants to enjoy :-)

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  14. What a fantabulous garden you have, Marie! I particularly love that cool, fuzzy Bolivia Salva. I’ve never seen it before.

    Any time you wanna share your garden with us, don’t be shy!

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