Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Deadnettle

(+ 3 insets!) (please view large for more droplety goodness!) Steve drove his sister to the airport this afternoon and what happened to me? I found myself making a beeline for my bed! I couldn't believe how tired I was! Isn't that interesting how exhausting company can be? We all had a very nice time though, and Steve got to spend lots of quality time with his sister and that was really great. I was so befuddled this morning that I thought it was Monday! I hadn't taken my photos for Macro Monday yet so I grabbed some knives--the subject this week--and took a bunch of pictures. I really didn't think I'd have anything worthy because I was pretty low-energy but it looks like I'll have a few nice images to post tomorrow! Hooray! I was hoping to process a few pictures from yesterday's adventure to the Pear Blossom parade, street fair, and especially of Jacksonville but I clearly need some recovery time. Instead I'm going to post something else from my bloated folder of finished pictures. Let me see what looks good! *peeks into my archived pictures* Oh, perfect!! The other morning I went out to take some pictures after a long night of rain. I'd seen some mushrooms on my walk that I couldn't resist and grabbed my camera when I got back. However, as I turned to head down the drive, a tiny flash of purple caught my eye and I remembered what I had noticed. The afternoon before I saw a Henbit Deadnettle plant with buds just about to open and made a mental note to come back with my camera the next day. And there we were! I had no idea how fabulous these little 1/3" flowers would look drizzled with raindrops! What a sight! I'm sharing another picture I took as an inset and also a pair of other pictures I took from a few years back. To me they look like miniature orchids with their juicy color and spots. :) Pam, I looked to see if you had any Henbit or Purple Deadnettle flowers but I didn't find any. However, I did find a gorgeous little flower that will do just fine, your lovely Prairie Violet. Such a beautiful little blossom! We don't have anything like that here but I've seen similar flowers growing elsewhere in southern Oregon's wilds. Makes me wonder if I have any good pictures to process so I can show you. Happily I remember exactly where I found them. Hmmm...I'll have to look and see. Sending much love and hugs your way, ma'am! *big hugs* Explored on 4/15/19, highest placement, #1.

*** First Place Winner at the Jackson County Fair! *** The countless varieties of flowers in the world simply amazes me. And yet, right here on my property, there exists an astonishing range in size, color, and shape. Today's flower is one of the weird ones that takes a moment to truly appreciate. When I first saw a Deadnettle a few years ago, I thought that this whole thing was the blossom. It makes sense though, just look at those beautiful, fuzzy, purple and green leaves! What a show!! But the actual flowers are the gorgeous pink and magenta blossoms with their hairy, hot-pink hats! Aren't these flowers amazing?! Growing low to the ground and usually in clusters, Purple Deadnettle--also known as Purple Archangel or Red Henbit--is native to Europe and Asia, but is now found at low elevations in many areas of the United States and is considered an invasive weed. Although it appears similar to nettle, it's neither related nor does it sting; thus its name, " dead nettle". The flowers, stems and leaves of young plants are very nutritious and can be used in salads and stirfrys! :D It has many medicinal uses as well, including an astringent, diuretc, blood coagulant, and laxative, to name just a few! WOW! If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a page here: Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) This image was taken in April, 2012.

Woo hoo, this is one tiny little flower!! I was trying to get pictures of these in bud form and kept failing. I also didn't realize at the time that the fuzzy buds weren't a strange little flower because I kept seeing them dead and fallen out. Now I understand that the morning frost was killing the buds, and that's why they weren't developing into flowers. Today I checked them and suddenly everything became clear to me! I discovered that one was in full bloom, with many close behind, and my original suspicion proved to be correct: this was a kind of Deadnettle I'd never seen before! It's much smaller than the Purple Deadnettle featured last spring as #40 in my flower count, but its flowers are unmistakable! (Please scroll down to see a close up of one of the opening buds, isn't it lovely and strange looking?! It's like a slipper! I also included a picture of the Purple Deadnettle flower to compare. From Wikipedia: Henbit Deadnettle is a species of Lamium native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. It is a low-growing annual plant growing to 10-25 cm tall, with soft, finely hairy stems. The leaves are opposite, rounded, 2-3 cm diameter, with a lobed margin. The flowers are pink to purple, 1.5-2 cm long. It flowers very early in the spring even in northern areas, and for most of the winter and the early spring in warmer areas such as the Mediterranean region. It propagates freely by seed and is regarded as a minor weed. Sometimes entire fields will be reddish-purple with its flowers before spring plowing. Where common, is an important nectar and pollen plant for bees, especially honeybees, where it helps start the spring buildup. It is widely naturalised in eastern North America and elsewhere, where it is often considered to be an invasive weed. However, its edibility and readiness to grow in many climes often mean it is permitted to grow when other 'weeds' are not. The leaves, stem, and flowers of the plant are edible and are faintly reminiscent of spinach. The specific name refers to the amplexicaul leaves (leaves grasping the stem).

Don't they look like they're singing their hearts out?! I wanted to find a really wonderful acapella video to share, but while I was looking, I found this and it's just so awesome that I hope you'll check it out too! :D Mike Tompkins: Acapella Rolling in the Deep This is a picture of a whole Purple Deadnettle plant. I am happy with the shallow dof on this image, but I think that overall, it really doesn't compare with the picture I took last year, which won a First Place at the Jackson County Fair!! :D

Last year I discovered the beautiful Purple Deadnettle flower, which was #40 in my Flowers of Spring & Summer project and I managed to get one of my favorite flower pictures! However, I was sad because I wasn't able to get a proper close-up of the amazing blossoms it has. This time I was READY! I got to practice on the smaller species, Henbit Deadnettle, and eventually I nailed the blossom shot of this tricky flower. I saw the Purple Deadnettles blooming a couple of days ago and this morning I descended on the flowers like a mad scientist, intent on getting a picture I would be happy with. This picture is what I was hoping for, showing translucence through the petals and the delicate, elegant appearance of this stunning little flower!