Sunday, August 4, 2013

Wild and Cultivated

Bee on bull thistle

On a Saturday (yesterday) walk I saw many bull thistles in bloom. Bees were fighting over the rights to harvest pollen produced by this blossom.

 Blooming in my gardens

We've had tons of rain this year so my gardens are looking alive and well...and, sadly, a bit weedy. Here's a sampling of what's blooming right now:

Hydrangea with digger wasps (What big eyes he has!),  rose of Sharon (a shrub), campanula (a short stemmed clumping variety), a fancy coneflower that's supposed to be the variety called "Doppleganger" but it appears to have forgotten to "dopple"  (a second blossom is supposed to bloom out of the center of the one shown here), a fringed poppy (an annual that seeds freely in my gardens), and  a cranesbill geranium called Rozeanne that blooms all season.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gorgeously colouful close ups!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

neat close-ups! i enjoy those blooms. so colorful. ( :

MadSnapper said...

they are ALL my favorites today.. BEEutiful BEES... awesome flowers

TexWisGirl said...

all gorgeous!

Rose said...

These are all wonderful, as usual. Really love that first shot.

I told Roger, it is so tempting to 'grow' thistle. I am afraid it would be a big mistake though! Yet I do think it is soooo pretty.

Stephanie said...

Love all the blooms, and the bee shot!

Small City Scenes said...

Excellent. Your close-ups are fantastic. MB

eileeninmd said...

Wow, the first image is gorgeous. Lovely flowers and photos! Have a great day!

Revrunner said...

Bull thistles are among my favorites.

Cezar and Léia said...

The collage is awesome, I love the colors and your pictures are always perfect!WEll done!
Léia

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Wonderful close up and great collage

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Nice shots- love the pink hues on the bull thistle.

Rohrerbot said...

I'll gladly take the rain anyday:) Those blooms are fabu!

Lisa Gordon said...

These are just beautiful!!
What a fantastic macro the first one is.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Gorgeous shots! Love them all.

RedPat said...

Isn't summer wonderful!

Dan said...

The first shot wowed me. Love it!

Randy said...

That first shot is amazing.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Beautiful flowers. Too bad the weeds grow as fast or faster than the desired flowers.

Lorna said...

I am always awed by your photos, but more awed by the detailed ones. It looks like it could be a dangerous hobby

A Colorful World said...

You have some great flowers...and wonderful bees! Wish I had a red poppy! There were some beautiful ones where I worked many years ago and I tried to propagate the seed but was unsuccessful.

Judy said...

Great image of the bee in the thistle!!!I captured some bees in the chicory yesterday, and am hoping the turn out well.

Lowell said...

One must keep bees busy. Busy bees bother less and barely buzz or sting!

Re your question: The windmill doth blow and turn and everything.

Karen said...

Beautiful bright blooms, and terrific macros of the wasp and bee! We have had ton of bees around here too!

kayerj said...

what a great shot.

What Karen Sees said...

Just found your blog. I love seeing the work of other photographers and you've got some great shots. I just posted a very similar photo of a bee and thistle. You can see it HERE. I will visit you again, and invite you to visit me!

Anonymous said...

These are beautiful! I always like the wide variety of bugs and birds that are attracted to the bull thistles.

Pat Tillett said...

All of them beauties!

Carver said...

Wonderful nature shots.

MyMaracas said...

So beautiful. And flower shots are always great when they include bugs and bees.

Rambling Woods said...

I will have to go check on the thistle..I know the goldfinch need the down for nesting..Lovely nature Tina..Michelle

Carole M. said...

so colourful in your garden made for lovely images

Friends who encourage me

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.