FFF14 - IN HONOUR OF HIS TEACHER

Rudbeckia is a plant genus of 23 species in the family Asteraceae. The name of this genus was given by Carolus Linnaeus in honor of his teacher at Uppsala University, Professor Olof Rudbeck the Younger (1660-1740), and his father, Professor Olof Rudbeck the Elder (1630-1702), both of whom were botanists.

The species are commonly called coneflowers and black-eyed-susans; all are native to North America and many species are cultivated in gardens for their showy yellow or gold flower heads.The species are herbaceous, mostly perennial plants (some annual or biennial) growing to 0.5-3 m tall, with simple or branched stems. The leaves are spirally arranged, entire to deeply lobed, 5-25 cm long. The flowers are produced in daisy-like inflorescences, with yellow or orange florets arranged in a prominent, cone-shaped head; "cone-shaped" because the ray florets tend to point out and down as the flower head opens.

Please join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and leave a comment once you have done so!

FFF18 - EASTER DAISIES

Easter (or Michaelmas) daisies (Aster novi-belgii) were once popular in gardens, but are less frequently seen now. They are herbaceous perennials with upright, much-branched stems on which masses of small daisies are produced in late summer and autumn. The flowers range in colour from white through pale lilac blue, mauve, purple and pink to deep reddish plum. They can be planted in mixed borders and can also be used effectively in beds on their own. The taller varieties often need staking, and are best planted at the back of garden beds.

A. novi-belgii was introduced from North America into Britain in 1710. In America they were called New York daisies, however, in England these plants bloomed at the same time as St Michael's Day is celebrated (September 29th), and so they became associated with the festival of Michaelmas and were given its name. In the Southern hemisphere where Easter is an Autumnal feast, the daisies bloom at about this time and hence the term "Easter Daisies".
These daisies are easy to grow. Plant them in full sun in a rich, moisture-retentive soil. When they die down in winter cut the dead stems back to ground level. When the new shoots appear in spring, apply a mulch of well-rotted manure or compost to which fertiliser has been added. Lift and divide the clumps every second or third year in winter.

Please join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

FFF21 - CAPE DAISIES

Osteospermum is a genus belonging to the Calenduleae, one of the smaller tribes of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Osteospermum used to belong to the genus Dimorphotheca, but only the annual species remain in that genus; the perennials belong to Osteospermum.

The scientific name is derived from the Greek osteon (bone) and Latin spermum (seed). It has been given several common names: African Daisy, South African Daisy, Cape Daisy and Blue-eyed Daisy. There are about 50 species, native to Africa, 35 species in southern Africa, and southwestern Arabia. They are half-hardy perennials or subshrubs. Therefore they do not survive outdoor wintry conditions, but there is still a wide range of hardiness.

Most widely sold cultivars are grown as annuals and are mainly hybrids of O. jucundum, O. ecklonis and O. grandiflorum and can be hardy to -2°C. If hardy, they can be grown as perennials or as shrubs. The photo is of a relatively newly introduced cultivar known as "Tradewinds Pure Yellow". They flower repeatedly and produce beautiful waves of colour during the growing season. This is a patented variety that was introduced in 2006 and the flowers are sterile and will not set seed.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

WELCOME TO FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." - Iris Murdoch

Welcome to this blog. Please join us and share your flower photos every Friday!

An African bush daisy (Euryops spp) at dusk.

Why don't you share some of your flower photos with us?

A Fun Surprise

I don't know how I manage it but I really do seem to be in the right place at the right time often when I'm taking pictures. But then again, maybe its that I'm out taking pictures so often I HAVE to be in the right place at the right time occasionally.

Anyway, the story here... I went to have lunch with my sisters and a cousin last Saturday and the photos I've been posting since then were taking during that trip to Myrtle Point, Oregon.

I got to town a little early so I drove around and decided to take a street named Ash that turned into a country road. I stopped along the road to take a picture of an old fence post with daisies and wild roses around it...



... and suddenly a head popped up from the tall grass in the area.



I was pleased and surprised to discover a curious horse staring at me.



He/she stared at me a long time allowing me to take lots of shots of the horses head in the daisy patch.

Look back at the first photo and you can see the horse hidden in the grass but I didn't discover that until I got home and downloaded the photos. Did you see him the first time?

Playing With Daisies

I Just had a few minutes to grab a shot this afternoon so I went out to the yard and picked a small daisy. I haven't used my macro lens for awhile so stuck the daisy stem in a hole in my fence to get a few close up shots. The flower head is about a half inch across.

I decided to try something I have heard others talk about but have never tried myself. I reversed the lens on my camera, holding it in place while shooting. You can get an attachment that will hold the lens in place but I don't have one.

I didn't use a tripod and trying to hold the lens in place and focus was quite a challenge so the images aren't sharp but I was amazed at how much closer you can get using this method.



And then, of course, I had to play with them in Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop.



I used another daisy with a little pink on it for this extra close shot.



I'll be trying this experiment again.