Flowers
Over Purple Clover
Even the very simple and common can be a work of beauty. While walking through the woods in NW Missouri I came upon this solitary stalk of purple clover blooming. It was early spring and about the only thing blooming in the woods.
Purple Clover is also commonly called Red Clover. According to North Carolina State Extension…
The common name for Trifolium pratense, Red Clover, can be confusing as the flowers are more a pink to pink/purplish, not a true red. It is grown as a forage crop for pasturage and hay for livestock. It is a nitrogen-fixing plant and is often grown as a cover crop to improve soil fertility. Its native habitat includes fields, pastures, meadows, waste areas, and along roadsides. It can be found in grassy locations that are not regularly mowed.
It can be easily distinguished from other varieties of clover by the large pink flower heads as well as the chevrons that appear on the leaflets.
Its flowers have a honey-like fragrance. The foliage can produce a pleasant clover-like scent. The flowering heads and foliage are both edible, both raw or cooked. Its young leaves should be harvested before the plant flowers. They can be used in salads or soups or cooked similar to spinach. The flowering heads as well as the seed pods can be dried and used as a flour substitute. The young flower are also eaten raw in salads.
It has also been widely used for athlete’s foot, constipation, ulcers, corms, and menopause. Red clover contains isoflavones. The edible flowers taste sweet or like hay but they are not easily digestible. Do not eat the flowers if pregnant or nursing.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
The Wild Bunch
An abundance of these daisies spring up in our back yard every year. They are a welcome, cheery sight; at least for the short season they bloom.
One of the aspects of this photo that I love are all the perfect imperfections of these wildflowers.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
The Color Poppy
The poppy is one of the most vibrant, delicate and interesting blossoms of spring. Sadly, it is a short lived beauty. Our small supply of poppies have been brutalized by the strong winds we’ve had lately. This photo was taken a week ago.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this photo by clicking on it. When you do, a full-screen image will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Friendly Faces
You can always count on finding simple beauty as you walk through the countryside when wildflowers are in bloom. These were found along a path as we hiked through a wooded area in our rural, northeast Wisconsin neighborhood.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Another Day at Work
I found these purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) blooming in the meadow of an area park last summer. The bees were busy; hard at work…doing what bees do.
You can get a closer view by clicking on the photo. When you do, a full screen version will open in another browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Columbine Collective
I enjoy finding and photographing wildflowers. These columbines were blooming along a trail in a wooded area not far from our home in northeast Wisconsin.
Columbines are of the Aquilegia genus; a name derived from the Latin word for eagle (aquila), because of the shape of the flower petals, which are said to resemble an eagle’s claw. The common name “columbine” comes from the Latin for “dove”, due to the resemblance of the inverted flower to five doves clustered together. They are perennial plants found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
You can enjoy a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Monarch Feasting
I find butterflies to be one of the most fascinating creatures in nature. And, when it comes to butterflies, I believe the monarch butterfly is one of the most beautiful.
I snapped this butterfly feasting on some type of wildflower at a local park area. You can also see another butterfly in the background on the left side of the frame. I believe that was a smaller, painted lady butterfly.
You can get a larger, more detailed view of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Bright Life
The sunflower is such a bright, cheery bloomer. It really does a great job of reminding us of the summer sun.
This was a bloom I found in the field behind my house a few weeks ago. This was actually a late bloomer. All the other sunflowers surrounding this one were taller and larger in size.
You can view a larger, full-screen version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Sunflower Superstar
I purposely lined up this shot so the afternoon sun would be hidden behind the sunflower. That sneaky summer sun still found a way to crash the party.
These are sunflowers growing in the farm field behind my rural Wisconsin home. They are very tall; over my head in most places. The fields around our house are usually planted in wheat, oats or corn. It’s always cool when sunflowers make it into the rotation.
If you have a large monitor, you can view a larger, more detailed, version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Youthful Vigor
Summertime is sunflower time in our area. We live near a seed farm that always has a few fields of sunflowers planted in our rural neighborhood. This year, they’ve planted sunflowers in the field that adjoins our home.
I finally got out to grab a few photos of the sunflowers. The variety they plant to produce seeds (as opposed to just bright, cheerful flowers) don’t last long in bloom. It seems like just a couple of weeks from first bloom to droop.
In this photo, you will notice, the main subject is in peak bloom while the others that surround it are already beginning to droop. This flower is a “late bloomer.” It also is not as tall or as big as its nearby rivals but, it is pretty.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo. When you do, a near full-screen version will open in another browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.