Garden

butterfly weed portrait

Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa, a type of milkweed found in most of North America. Its tiny, brilliant orange flowers attract many pollinating insects.

sj

St John's Wort, a native plant with a long history in traditional medicine. This one is Hypericum prolificum, the 'shrubby' variety, which has woody stems and can get about 3 feet tall. The bright yellow flowers are only about an inch across and are a magnet for bumblebees, the plant's principal pollinator. St John's Wort is widely believed to alleviate depression, but the scientific consensus is that while there may indeed be an effect, it's minor, and inconsistent, and the plant can cause serious side effects. I feel better just looking at it, and will leave it at that.

2022-07-04 18-57-13 (A,Radius14,Smoothing4)

A spring shower just came through, the sun is reappearing, and this new Coneflower is eager to take advantage of the opportunity to grow.

Yellow Coneflowers In The Wind

Yellow Coneflower - Ratibida pinnata - a common prairie plant, moving gently in the wind. I combined 2 exposures to capture this effect.

Pink Rose

The center of a pink rose.

Wild rose

A wild rose, one of more than 100 species in the genus Rosa. They're found in many parts of the world. Wild roses are also known as "species" roses, meaning they're naturally evolved plants and not the result of human cultivation. The wild roses are hard to positively identify; I think this one is a swamp rose, Rosa palustris, because it grew in a rain garden, in soil made acid by evergreen needles.

Wild Bergamot also known as Bee Balm

Wild Bergamot also known as Bee Balm, Monarda Fistulosa, a common native Norith American plant with medicinal and antiseptic properties.

Yellow and pink Hibiscus flower

The center of a Hibiscus flower. So much structure and complexity...

A new Coneflower

This Echinacea blossom will become a purple coneflower, but it starts out as a supernova explosion of pure green.

Sea Holly Eryngium

Sea Holly (Eryngium) is a perennial herb with many uses in food and traditional medicine, and is also grown as an ornamental plant.

Purple Iris

A closeup of an iris in bloom.

Maple leaf in the rain

A Maple leaf on a sidewalk, on a cold rainy day in October

Prairie Smoke

Prairie Smoke - Geum triflorum - also known as three-flowered avens or old man's whiskers, is a native perennial found throughout the North American prairie. It looks disorderly, blowing in the wind; but up close you see a complex botanical structure.

Orange and Green Zinnia

An orange and green Zinnia. Zinnia is a genus of plants of the sunflower tribe within the daisy family.

Yellow Fritillaria Imperialis

The yellow flower of Fritallaria Imperialis, the Lutea Maxima variety. Fritillaria is a genus of Eurasian, North African, and North American plants in the lily family. This one bloomed in the spring of 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Gerbera Daisy

Closeup of the capitulum of a Gerbera Daisy, also known as African Daisy. Gerberas are a genus of sunflowers.

Center of a yellow rose

Macro photograph of the center of a small yellow rose.

A Perfect Rose

A rose in a shade that might be called orange, or tangerine, maybe with a shade of pink.

Milkweed

A Milkweed pod opening to release its seeds into the air. Milkweed (Asclepias) is an American genus of herbaceous perennial. This plant is critical for the survival of Monarch butterflies as it is the only plant on which they lay their eggs.

Milkweed in September

Late in Septemeber, a Milkweed pod opens and releases its seeds.

Lily After A Rain

Drops of water bejewel a day lily after a July rain. "Focus stacking" of 9 images was used to achieve the extreme depth of field.

Blue Flag Iris as a bee sees it

Blue Flag Iris, a North American wetland plant, as it would be seen by an approaching bee.

Winter Coneflower

The seed heads of native plants like Coneflower are valuable winter food sources for small birds.

Orange Daylily

Center of an magenta and yellow Daylily, a perennial flowering plant in the genus Hemerocallis. The flower typically lasts only a day. This composite macro shows details of the anther, pistil, and stamen.

Yellow Iris

yellow Bearded Iris

Gaillardia aristata Blanketflower

Gaillardia aristata is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family known by the common names common blanketflower and common gaillardia. This perennial wildflower is widespread across much of North America.

Wild Bergamot or Bee Balm

Wild Bergamot also known as Bee Balm, Monarda Fistulosa, a common native North American plant with medicinal and antiseptic properties.

Great Blue Lobelia

Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica, a native plant here in Minnesota. It likes wetlands and swampy areas, but will grow well elsewhere. Bumblebees love it. This photo is of the very top of a flowering stalk. The extreme depth of field was obtained by deep focus stacking.

Blue Flag Iris 3

Blue Flag Iris, a North American wetland plant. The extreme depth of field in this photo was acheived by focus stacking.

Blue Flag Iris

Blue Flag Iris, a North American wetland plant

Wild Bergamot also known as Bee Balm

Wild Bergamot also known as Bee Balm, Monarda Fistulosa, a common native Norith American plant with medicinal and antiseptic properties.

Cattail releasing seeds

Cattail (Typha), also known as bulrush, reed and reedmace, is a flowering plant found in wetlands everywhere. It can be considered an invasive pest, but it improves water quality and if harvested, it has many uses. In late fall the plant's seed heads open to release countless fluffy seeds.

Columbine flower in closeup

Aquilegia, known as Columbine or Granny's Bonnet, is found in meadows, and woodlands throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It's a beautiful and hardy native garden plant and is favored by hummingbirds. The extreme depth of field of this macro photograph was achieved by combing 9 images.

Milkweed seeds

Thee Milkweed seeds and their reflection. Milkweed (Asclepias) is an American genus of herbaceous perennial. This plant is critical for the survival of Monarch butterflies as it is the only plant on which they lay their eggs.

Multicolored Maple Leaf

A Maple leaf takes on many colors - red, orange, yellow, green - as fall nears its peak in Minnesota.

Reflected Rose

Orange rose and reflection

Purple Coneflower As A Bee Sees It

A bee's-eye view of the center of a purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea. This extreme closeup is a combination of 23 macro images with different focus depths.

Flower of Rattlesnake Master

This complex structure, less than an inch across, is the flower of Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium. The plant is a traditional treatment for snake bite and is native to the tallgrass prairies of central and eastern North America.

Eastern Sweetshrub

Eastern Sweetshrub - Calycanthus Floridus - also known as Carolina Allspice, is a flowering shrub. It's not native to my home state of Minnesota, but appears to do well here. The flowers, which are surprising interesting up cloase, are about 1 1/2 inches across.

Flaming Lily

Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia

Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, really jumps out in the sun. This hardy shrub grows 6 feet tall and flowers from mid-summer until the first frost. Orange and blue being complimentary colors, its flowers really stand out against a clear sky. Its original range centered on Mexico; this one is here in Minnesota.

Bumblebee and Lupine

A bumblebee hovers near Wild Lupine

Yellow Iris

yellow Bearded Iris

Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)

raindrops on red begonia