I have no idea what these are, but they blew me away. Check out the stamens on these flowers! How cool are they?
It was the flower in the center of this picture that first caught my eyeand persuaded me to bend closer for a picture.
Yesterday's walk in the neighborhood brought a couple of great little surprises, including a hiding cat, a rusty lock, puffy clouds, and a sunflower. You can see all of those at Standing Room Only. The best of everything I saw were these little flowers. I came across them on Underwood Street and thought they were absolutely spectacular. As I bent down for a closer look, the details on these flowers just blew me away. I have no idea what they are, but I love their little petals and geometrical stamens.
Alyssum in bokeh...Not too far from the previous flora was a patch of purple alyssum. I see this a lot in white, but this was the first time I'd seen it in this vibrant, deep purple. I love how this picture turned out with its bokey quality.
There you have it! Friday's walk in the neighborhood. This evening, I'll be out in the Virginia suburbs, eating Indian food and watching Bollywood movies with my sister and a friend of hers. Should be fun.
Note: This entry has been modified to correct the spelling of alyssum, which was previously and incorrectly spelled elysium. The latter is a Greek word signifying the final resting place of the heroic and virtuous. Alyssum is a hardy annual that grows in dense clusters. The most common variety is white alyssum, but the flower also grows in pink and purple.
Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08
9 comments:
I believe the top two flowers are lantana. Lovely shot.
I agree with Virginia - lantana. My grandparents had a shrub of the orange ones at their house in Turlock, California, and I've loved them ever since. But they don't like to get too cold, so are sometimes planted as annuals. Check Wikipedia.
And I love Sweet Alyssum too! Funny how these go back to child hood memories, but I remember big pillows of white alyssum lining the walkway to the entrance of our church, and it smelled so rich of honey. And being a kid, my nose was closer to them. The Latin name is Lobularia maritima. 8^)
I was going to look all clever and say Lantana. But I was beaten to it!!
These would have been good photos for the 4th July. Lovely bright colours and detail.
Lovely eco fireworks! Nature allways does the best show. They remind me a bit of my first 2 things entry..Brash and Lustre. They look similar but I had pink and orange hence the brash! Loved the doors you snapped too. They definately begged to have there photo taken!! Sorry to be such a bad visitor...I don't know where to find the time to visit everyone or somedays anyone! but I do enjoy your blog when I finally get here!
OH and was I suprised to see that there was an award here!! THANKYOU for your faith in me! I feel a bit blah blah with it now and this has perked me up a little:)
Virginia: Lantana! Excellent. Thank you for that and for your compliments.
USElaine: Lantana grows in shrubs? The ones I photographed were on the ground. A shrub would be really pretty! I grew up with alyssum, too. (And boy, did I spell that wrong in my blog entry or what?!) :-) The smell of it brings back many happy childhood memories for me, as well.
Marley: Well, if three of you have declared it lantana, then lantana it is! I wish I'd seen these before July 4th. I would have posted them rather than fighting the crowds to photograph human-made fireworks.
Lisa: No worries. I know you're out there and trying to get back in the groove. I love your photos and blog because they've shown me a part of the world I otherwise would never have seen. If I ever get to New Zealand, I'm definitely visiting Tauranga!
Where lantana doesn't freeze and gets the right amount of sun and water, it can grow two or three feet high as a perennial. Shrub may have over-stated it. Sorry. As a little kid, it may have seemed bigger, sorta like the Alyssum pillows. ;^)
USElaine: Well, California would have the right weather for that. Here, it freezes in the winter. I'd love to see one of these as a shrub. I'll bet it's beautiful!
And isn't it interesting how our perspective changes as we age? The house I grew up in was HUGE when I was a child. I went back a couple of years ago and I remember thinking we'd lived in a shack! LOL!
wow, fireworks flowers! thanks for the flower fix!
Maya: You know me. I'm always good for a flower fix!
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