Another New Year so I hope that we can start a new Flower thread. As before, please post any flower photographs that you would like to share in this thread. Apparently to botanists a 'Flora' is a study of plants, and so this thread can become our Photoclubalpha photographic study of flowers for 2012 . (Thanks to David Anthony for the Phlora/Flora pun .)

The subject of the thread is pretty open so please feel free to post any flower or plant related pictures, of any style here. Photographs don't have to have been taken in 2012, but it is always interesting to compare what is blooming around the globe during the year.

A big thank you to everyone who posted pictures in the 2011 and 2010 threads. They provided a very interesting view of what was flowering during a 12 month period.

2010: http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3727
2011: http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4854

Now, on to the flowers ...

To kick-off the flowers and plants for this year here are a couple from the garden which is showing the benefits of the mild winter, so far.


2012 Winter - Viburnum and Blue by Birm, on Flickr


2012 Winter - Viburnum Closeup by Birm, on Flickr

Taken during one of the rare spells of recent sunshine. Both with Nex 5 and SEL 55-210.

The second shot is a pretty tight crop to make up for the lack of a Macro function of the 55-210 .

To demonstrate that other plant related subjects are fine in this thred, here is the most colourful thing in the garden right now.


2012 Winter - Pyracantha in the Sun by Birm, on Flickr


2012 Winter - Pyracantha Berries by Birm, on Flickr

Again, both with Nex 5 and SEL 55-210.

Wow lookit all the red berries, it's a wonder the plant can hold them all up, good one Birma. And I can see why you like the Viburnum as well, it's a lovely flower.
Greg

I second Gregs post! What a lot of berries! I bet it is a winterplant, no?!

Thanks Greg and Mark . The berry bush flowers in the early summer and then has these berries through autumn and winter. A lot of fruiting plants have produced a lot this year which is sometimes seen as portents of "a hard winter", but nothing to speak of yet. I'm surprised the birds aren't all over the berries. They have stripped the nearby Rowan tree. Perhaps they have to wait for the berries to reach a particular state of ripeness before they are palatable.

Birma,

My neighbors have a berrie tree in their garden. Although lots of birds hang out in the bush, few of them eat the berries. You're theory about the ripeness of the fruit may well be spot on!

Mark

Many birds don't like the berries of various plants, but eat them when all else is gone. Since nature designed those plants to keep their berries all winter, it works out well when you have a hard winter, as they're there when the birds get desperate!

Dusty

Hi Birma,

Sorry, I couldn't comment on the wonderful thread you've started any sooner. I was busy unfortunately.

You made a great entry into the new year with a whole bunch of colourfulnesses. We merely have a couple of rose buds and the rest don't seem to be in any hurry to show any colours or blossoms. Even your berries are well ahead of ours that are in the back garden.


Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoyed the fantastic Christmas cake after all! : )


Yildiz

Thanks Yildiz . I very much look forward to your flower and plant pictures over the rest of 2012.

The Christmas cake is delicious - still about a quarter left - it is not something you can eat a lot of at once .

Yes a great start for the thread Birma. Those berries are sensational against the sky.

Thanks DA

Birma, those four pictures are great. Blue and red combination of colors on those pictures gives 'wow' effect. While in your country weather is beautiful, here in Croatia is very cold.

Birma, wonderful berry shots!

Camellia sasanqua flower petals on the ground on Shikoku, Japan



Some info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sasanqua

Thanks Alpha_Zagreb and Henry .

I like the petals Henry - nice dof and contrast between the textures in the gravel and petals.