Flowers 2014

[Birma]

A close-up of a Common Spotted Orchid, growing in my favourite wild-flower meadow. They are prolific in this particular meadow, carefully managed by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, but you could walk for miles and not see them in the rest of the surrounding farmland.

2014 Eades - Common Spotted Orchid by Birm, on Flickr

A99 and (despite the exif data) Tamron 90mm with 20mm extension tube.

[viewfinder]

v nice birma

[viewfinder]

hers a close up hover wasp

[Greg Beetham]

I still think it’s amazing to see a wild ground growing orchid, especially one that flowers so well, nice plant and photo Birma. I was reading this article http://www.users.on.net/~gmcorbin/BOS/A ... 0Seed.html to try to get an idea about how orchids would disperse and grow in the wild.
From reading it I would guess that once orchids have been eliminated by normal farming practices it would be a very long time before redistribution occurred.
When growing from seed they talk about sterilization and keeping seeds in flasks so that the wrong fungus or bacteria doesn’t kill the seeds and young plants, and even then there is a lot of work and years go by before any viable plants with flowers arrive on the scene, if you’re lucky.
It seems there are lots of things that can go wrong with orchids, it’s a wonder there are any at all in the wild.
Greg

Ps lots of yellow in that photo viewfinder, good one.

[Birma]

Thanks Viewfinder and Greg

That is a great close-up Viewfinder, great colour, as Greg says, and you can really see the pollination in action

An interesting article Greg. You're right, it is amazing that we can find any orchids at all. What is is even more amazing is that in the very few old hay meadows left (that have never been ploughed or had any chemicals used on them) that orchids can be so prolific. If you check out my picture in the landscape thread you'll see that in this meadow there are more orchids than clover . And it's not just orchids. The variety of wild plants in these meadow is stunning. Discovering that the nice green fields we see full of animals grazing are actually all part of intensive farming and are pretty sterile in wildlife terms is a bit worrying. Now I know we've all got to eat and we need farmers to make good use of the land, but it is sad how few oasis of our wild grassland flora we have left.

[Birma]

Not as fancy as the orchid maybe, in fact it grows quite happily along the motorways in profusion here, but it just looked inviting covered in the morning dew.

2014 Eades - Oxeye Daisy by Birm, on Flickr

A99 with Tamron 90mm and 20 mm extension tube.

[Birma]

From daisies to poppies

2014 Blackstone - Single Poppy by Birm, on Flickr

A99 with 135 STF (see a wider view in the landscape thread).

[sury]

That is a beauty Andy. Just fabulous.

Sury

[ValeryD]

Nice flowers sury, birma, viewfinder!
I'll add more.... Apple tree.

[Birma]

Thank you Sury and Valery

Lovely apple blossom Valery - lovely colour, great detail and a wonderful background - perfect ! We are well in to summer now and so blossom is long gone. I think you will be having a short summer this year ?

[Birma]

Another poppy from me - this time in a far more subtle light. The poppy has turned away from us in modesty, being fresh from a shower

2014 Blackstone - Single Poppy For The New Day by Birm, on Flickr

A99 with SAL 135 STF (I like this lens!)

[viewfinder]

like that poppy birma

[Birma]

Thanks Viewfinder

[Greg Beetham]

Great detail in that 1st Poppy flower there Birma, and nice bokeh along with it, I doubt I’ve seen a better Poppy study before. The Daisy is a nice study too, and I really like the bokeh light in the last Poppy.

Those Apple blossoms are pretty Valery.
Greg

[Birma]

Thanks Greg