artichoke

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 June 2022].}

Once again, I'm reminded of why I love photography.

I love to eat artichoke, but it never occurred to me that's what I had photographed in a garden on Mersea Island until I popped the photo into a plant-identifying app.

It also never occurred to me that the artichoke is a flower. I knew we eat the "hearts". I didn't realise that they bloom and become inedible if left to their own devices.

When I saw them, these flowers reminded me of protea and some brassica species, which I love. I photographed them because they were eye-catching despite not recognising them.

Because I have such a massive backlog of photos to edit, sometimes it takes me years to learn from the photographs I've taken. But that doesn't make the learning any less enjoyable.

banksia

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 3 June 2022].}

My plant-identifying apps failed me, with one thinking these were an ornamental pincushion. And the other knew they were banksia but couldn't identify the cultivar. They are, obviously, a different cultivar to these beauties.

My gut instinct/plant memory said banksia, but I did check in with Bellamy (otherwise known as Dad)*. He confirmed they are. But as with one of the plant apps, he couldn't narrow it down to a cultivar. He is a font of plant knowledge, but no one is perfect ;)

Either way, they're photogenic. They caught my eye in the front garden of a home on Table Cape that gave a lovely view of Stanley in Tasmania. I took this during my visit in 2018.

My last visit with my parents in October 2019 seems a lifetime ago. It was bittersweet for so many reasons.

My next visit, which could be as soon as this year, will be even more difficult. As though dementia, hospital visits and a car accident weren't stressful enough in 2019.

Some days (or nights), thinking and talking about it, pragmatism wins out. Other times, raw emotion wins the day (or night).

^{*My dad is not, in fact, David Bellamy. When he used to point out and tell us about the plants on our walks through the rainforests and national parks of Australia, my then-teenaged brother liked to respond with a sarcastic "Thanks, Bellamy". It has remained an affectionate jibe in my mind all these years.}

magnolia on blue (bromley)

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 May 2022].}

View fullsize

untitled #31 [bromley, london, england, 2022]

ochna serrulata

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 May 2022].}

Technically, these are the fruitlets and sepals of the Ochna serrulata, not the flower, but sepals are part of the flowers, so I'mma let this one pass through because they're damned purty.

Taken during a photo walk around Redland Bay in Queensland back in 2009.

They're designated as an invasive species in Australia despite their attractive appearance.

View fullsize

untitled #64 [redland bay, queensland, australia, 2009]

hedge bindweed

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 13 May 2022].}

wisteria sinensis

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 7 May 2022].}

cherry blossoms

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 April 2022].}

View fullsize

untitled #44 [bromley, london, england, 2022]

shirotae

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 23 April 2022].}

I'm happy to be corrected, but I believe this is shirotae, a cultivar of Japanese flowering cherry or cherry blossom trees.

Found a couple of doors down from the house at which I've been semi-regularly cat-sitting since Christmas time.

Such a lovely sight to behold over the Easter weekend.

View fullsize

untitled #5 [bromley, london, england, 2022]

View fullsize

untitled #3 [bromley, london, england, 2022]

beach aster

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 15 April 2022].}

birrna

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 April 2022].}

Banksia integrifolia or coastal banksia.

View fullsize

untitled #25

View fullsize

untitled #27

View fullsize

untitled #28

View fullsize

untitled #29

magnolia on blue (oxford)

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 4 April 2022].}

common sowthistle

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 20 March 2022].}

I photographed this "weed" in my backyard in Brunswick East the day I got my (then) brand new Nikon D50.

View fullsize

untitled #10

It's a perfect example of how all plants can be weeds if in the "wrong" location. The common sowthistle is deemed an invasive weed in Australia and other countries.

But one of its common names is sowthistle because of its "attractiveness to pigs, and the similarity of the leaf to younger thistle plants". It's also commonly referred to as hare's colwort because of its "purported beneficial effects on hares and rabbits".

Native Americans, Chinese and Māori people are believed to have used (and perhaps still do) the leaves as part of their diet and/or herbal remedies.

Whatever your thoughts on these plants, they made a good study for me to try out my new camera back in 2005.

For whatever reason, I didn't edit these at the time, but I enjoy the buds at various stages of blooming and the greens in these images.

And maybe there's a message here about how each of us can have value in particular environments but be unwelcome pests in others.

pelargonium

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 11 March 2022].}

View fullsize

untitled #6

sunflowers

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 5 March 2022].}

View fullsize

untitled #931 [old amersham memorial gardens, amersham, buckinghamshire, england, 2020]

forget-me-not

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 25 February 2022].}

My thoughts are with everyone in Ukraine right now.

Woodland forget-me-nots

View fullsize

untitled #13 [st andrew’s church, totteridge, london, england, 2021]

View fullsize

untitled #17 [st andrew’s church, totteridge, london, england, 2021]

hollyhocks

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 11 February 2022].}

From Wikipedia: During the Victorian era, the hollyhock symbolised both ambition and fecundity in the language of flowers.

in abundance

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 5 February 2022].}

Hello, my friends.

The past two weeks have been heartbreaking, so I hope you forgive me for missing my usual travel-themed post on Tuesday.

I spent much of the past week or so trying to edit the photographs I have of Anthony and Anthony and me around full-time work, grieving, and an overwhelmingly small amount of sleep.

I shared a gallery I created on my website on social media shortly after the funeral. As I'm in London and the funeral was in Melbourne, I tuned in at 03:00 and finally turned in at 05:15.

I'm still in shock, and I know that will last for a while. Alongside other feelings of grief.

These flowers are Dimorphotheca ecklonis, a type of daisy. And Campanula poscharskyana, a Serbian bellflower or trailing bellflower.

I have no knowledge of the meaning of these flowers and no witty puns on their names. I enjoyed their colour and brightness after a couple of weeks of darkness. And the elongated pot felt a little like it belonged in a cemetery (though found in a garden in Rye back in 2016 that had nothing to do with death!)

Normal service will resume shortly. I promise. Thank you for bearing with me x

tall poppies

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 January 2022].}

View fullsize

untitled #277 [helmingham hall, stowmarket, suffolk, england, 2017]

silky oak

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 14 January 2022].}

I thought this year I'd change things up a bit and share some of my vast quantity of floral images on Fridays, with the odd fungi image making an appearance.

The change is driven by my supply of fungi images running low for now. Many of my fungi photos were taken on my iPhone and shared on social media soon after.

But also because I want to share the many beautiful images of flowers I have taken over the decades. And they don't really quite fit into the travel category (though often taken while travelling), and, unlike my late bloomers series, these flowers are real.

View fullsize

untitled #57 [redland bay, queensland, australia, 2009]

So, I'm kicking off my new series of #FloralFriday posts with two photos I took back in 2009 of the striking yellow-gold flowers of a silky oak tree in Redland Bay, Queensland.

During my childhood, my parents and my grandfather tracked down various items of furniture made from the silky oak tree.

They sanded them back, varnished them and furnished our homes with them. Two sideboards and a dining table and chairs I grew up with were lovingly restored, among other items. And more furniture in my grandparents' home in Canberra.

Growing up, I never realised these flowers grew on the same trees the furniture I was surrounded by during my childhood were fashioned from.

I've decided to call this curated series a floral tribute.

cracked and blue

A quick post to say happy birthday to my good friend Phil. And happy 21-year friendversary!

I took this photo during our trip to Chichester in September last year. It reminds me of a lot of his urban texture photography.