Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: flower cluster

Something tells me that maybe this photo is being seen as my main photo today, instead of the rabbit image. Have had to spend less time on my computer and Flickr the last couple of days, as I have been feeling dizzy and nauseous for some reason. Unfortunately, I had to miss the funeral of a good friend's son yesterday morning and cancel a very important vaccination appointment in the afternoon. Today, I have to try and make it as far as a Bank, to sign some very urgent forms and letter in connection with my late Daughter's estate. I have to first clear the snow and ice off my car and I'm really not sure I'm going to be able to make it. So very annoying! Looks like I might have to miss the first Christmas Bird Count, too - hopefully, not more than that. On 30 June 2016, I just made it in time for a botany visit to our main naturalist leader's home and garden. He and his wife have an amazing garden, full of so many kinds of flowers, including a good variety of native plants. One of my favourites is Showy Milkweed - love the cluster of individual flowers growing on a rounded head. These plants have spread over a lot of the front garden. All they need now is for Monarch butterflies to fly a bit further north than they usually do and discover this little bit of butterfly heaven. In 2012, though, it was very unusual, as people were seeing a few of these amazing butterflies in Alberta, including in Calgary. I even got to see and photograph a few Monarch caterpillars in this garden in July 2012, for the very first and last time. Milkweed does not normally grow in Calgary, though we have seen a plant or two growing in the wild at one location in the city. "Monarchs only use milkweed for their eggs - no other plant will do. There is a good reason for this. Milkweed is poisonous and the caterpillars absorb the poison into their bodies, thus making them immune to predators." From edmontonnaturalizationgroup. The National Geographic has an amazing, fascinating video of the life story of these spectacular butterflies - couldn't find a link to it, unfortunately. edmontonnaturalizationgroup.org/blog/2012/08/13/wildflowe... ""Pollination in this genus is accomplished in an unusual manner, as the pollen is grouped into complex structures called pollinia (or "pollen sacs"), rather than being individual grains, as is typical for plant pollen. The flower petals are smooth and rigid, and the feet of visiting insects (predominantly large wasps, such as spider wasps, which visit the plants for nectar) slip into notches in the flowers, where the sticky bases of the pollinia attach to the feet, pulling the pollen sacs free when the pollinator flies off. Bees, including honey bees only gather nectar from milkweed flowers, and are generally not effective pollinators despite the frequency of visitation. Species in the Asclepias genus grow their seeds in pods. These seed pods contain soft filaments known as either silk or floss. The filaments are attached to individual seeds. When the seed pod ripens, the seeds are blown by the wind, each carried by several filaments." From Wikipedia. Our leader also has a large vegetable garden. One thing that always fascinates me is the Egyptian Walking Onion. Each one seems to take on its own artistic shape and I love to photograph these - both fascinating and quite beautiful. In the afternoon of this day, we experienced a huge rain and hail storm. Fortunately, it cleared up in time to go on Don Stiles' annual evening Bluebird route trip. I always look forward to going with Don on his nest box route, checking on a few of the boxes and finding either Bluebird or Tree Swallow eggs or babies. Don records all the information about numbers and dates, and also demonstrates how he carefully bands the young birds. Thanks, as always, Don, for an enjoyable evening outing and thank you for all the many, many years (must be somewhere around 35?) you have spent helping to preserve our beautiful Bluebirds. We all enjoyed seeing the various other bird species during the evening, too.

The very tall, yellow-flowered plant in this photo is Lovage, a member of the Carrot family. "“Lovage is an erect, herbaceous, perennial plant growing to 1.8–2.5 m (5.9–8.2 ft) tall, with a basal rosette of leaves and stems with further leaves, the flowers being produced in umbels at the top of the stems. The stems and leaves are shiny glabrous green to yellow-green and smell somewhat similar to celery when crushed. The leaves can be used in salads, or to make soup or season broths, and the roots can be eaten as a vegetable or grated for use in salads. Its flavor and smell is somewhat similar to celery. The seeds can be used as a spice, similar to fennel seeds. In the UK, an alcoholic lovage cordial is traditionally mixed with brandy in the ratio of 2:1 as a winter drink.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovage On 30 June 2016, I just made it in time for a botany visit to our main naturalist leader's home and garden. He and his wife have an amazing garden, full of so many kinds of flowers, including a good variety of native plants. One of my favourites is Showy Milkweed - love the cluster of individual flowers growing on a rounded head. These plants have spread over a lot of the front garden. All they need now is for Monarch butterflies to fly a bit further north than they usually do and discover this little bit of butterfly heaven. In 2012, though, it was very unusual, as people were seeing a few of these amazing butterflies in Alberta, including in Calgary. I even got to see and photograph a few Monarch caterpillars in this garden, for the very first and last time. Our leader also has a large vegetable garden. One thing that always fascinates me is the Egyptian Walking Onion. Each one seems to take on its own artistic shape and I love to photograph these - both fascinating and quite beautiful. In the afternoon of this day, we experienced a huge rain and hail storm. Fortunately, it cleared up in time to go on Don Stiles' annual evening Bluebird route trip. I always look forward to going with Don on his nest box route, checking on a few of the boxes and finding either Bluebird or Tree Swallow eggs or babies. Don records all the information about numbers and dates, and also demonstrates how he carefully bands the young birds. Thanks, as always, Don, for an enjoyable evening outing and thank you for all the many, many years (must be somewhere around 35?) you have spent helping to preserve our beautiful Bluebirds. We all enjoyed seeing the various other bird species during the evening, too.

The upload problem on Flickr seems to have been solved - for now. Couldn't upload my daily three very early this morning and I have been out for the whole day. Got home late afternoon/early evening and discovered that, yay, I could upload my photos. Kind of too late in the day really, but thought I would post them anyway. Yesterday evening, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day today. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. The highlight for me was when we saw Strawberries and Cream fungi / Hynellum peckii, my favourite fungi. Quite a few of them, too. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for today, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 30 June 2016, I just made it in time for a botany visit to our main naturalist leader's home and garden. He and his wife have an amazing garden, full of so many kinds of flowers, including a good variety of native plants. One of my favourites is Showy Milkweed - love the cluster of individual flowers growing on a rounded head. These plants have spread over a lot of the front garden. All they need now is for Monarch butterflies to fly a bit further north than they usually do and discover this little bit of butterfly heaven. In 2012, though, it was very unusual, as people were seeing a few of these amazing butterflies in Alberta, including in Calgary. I even got to see and photograph a few Monarch caterpillars in this garden in July 2012, for the very first and last time. Milkweed does not normally grow in Calgary, though we have seen a plant or two growing in the wild at one location in the city. "Monarchs only use milkweed for their eggs - no other plant will do. There is a good reason for this. Milkweed is poisonous and the caterpillars absorb the poison into their bodies, thus making them immune to predators." From edmontonnaturalizationgroup. The National Geographic has an amazing, fascinating video of the life story of these spectacular butterflies - couldn't find a link to it, unfortunately. edmontonnaturalizationgroup.org/blog/2012/08/13/wildflowe... ""Pollination in this genus is accomplished in an unusual manner, as the pollen is grouped into complex structures called pollinia (or "pollen sacs"), rather than being individual grains, as is typical for plant pollen. The flower petals are smooth and rigid, and the feet of visiting insects (predominantly large wasps, such as spider wasps, which visit the plants for nectar) slip into notches in the flowers, where the sticky bases of the pollinia attach to the feet, pulling the pollen sacs free when the pollinator flies off. Bees, including honey bees only gather nectar from milkweed flowers, and are generally not effective pollinators despite the frequency of visitation. Species in the Asclepias genus grow their seeds in pods. These seed pods contain soft filaments known as either silk or floss. The filaments are attached to individual seeds. When the seed pod ripens, the seeds are blown by the wind, each carried by several filaments." From Wikipedia. Our leader also has a large vegetable garden. One thing that always fascinates me is the Egyptian Walking Onion. Each one seems to take on its own artistic shape and I love to photograph these - both fascinating and quite beautiful. In the afternoon of this day, we experienced a huge rain and hail storm. Fortunately, it cleared up in time to go on Don Stiles' annual evening Bluebird route trip. I always look forward to going with Don on his nest box route, checking on a few of the boxes and finding either Bluebird or Tree Swallow eggs or babies. Don records all the information about numbers and dates, and also demonstrates how he carefully bands the young birds. Thanks, as always, Don, for an enjoyable evening outing and thank you for all the many, many years (must be somewhere around 35?) you have spent helping to preserve our beautiful Bluebirds. We all enjoyed seeing the various other bird species during the evening, too.

Ten days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including several shrubs/trees covered in blossom. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise, but there were a number in various colours. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. Also a few clusters of these vibrant Elephant Ears / Bergenia cordifolia. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks, hopefully. Bergenia, also called elephant-eared saxifrage or elephant's ears, is a genus of ten species of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae. It is native to central Asia, from Afghanistan to China and the Himalayan region. “Bergenia are incredibly hardy, and reliably evergreen throughout nearly the entire continent. Plants form a low clump of bold, leathery green leaves, which often turn bronze during winter. Short stems of magenta-pink flowers rise above the shiny foliage in mid spring. The winter leaves are a valuable addition to cut flower bouquets. Most effective when mass planted or used as an edging along a walkway.” From perennials.com. www.perennials.com/plants/bergenia-cordifolia.html We desperately need rain, though. In fact, this week's botany walk was changed from a natural area to the Reader Rock Garden, as either the wildflowers were already over or else they just hadn't grown because everywhere is so dry. I wouldn't be surprised if this year is a bad one for wildfires. Already, the massive fire in Fort McMurray and surrounding areas has been devastating to many thousands (80,000?) of people. They need rain so badly.

This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden two weeks ago, on 13 May 2015, when I called in after a volunteer shift. Quite a few flower species are in bloom now, which is such a joy. Blossom trees were full of their tiny flower clusters, though when I visited the garden again yesterday, 27 May, the blossom trees were well past their prime. I can't tell one blossom tree from another, so I'm not sure of the ID for these white flowers.

This photo shows two flower heads of Early Yellow Locoweed, growing near the path along the Bow River, in the Pine Creek Water Treatment Plant area. These pale yellow flowers grow in clusters at the end of a stem and are growing in so many places at this time of year. It blooms May to June on prairie grassland, dry hillsides and roadsides. It is a member of the Pea family. Taken on 3 June 2014, when I actually got as far as going on a botany walk. I've been missing almost all the walks, partly because of a very painful back, plus the inflammation of my rotator cuffs (shoulders), plus muscle relaxant pills to treat this, that have knocked me out recently, AND I just can't get motivated to get out, lol. This weekend, though, I must make the effort. This time last year, we had no idea that we were in for devastating flooding, with the Alberta Flood of the Century, around 22 June. Missed pretty well all the wildflowers last year, as almost all the parks and natural areas in the city were closed all summer. Likewise outside the city, too, out in the mountains.

This hanging stem of flowers is about three feet long and just beautiful. There are maybe a dozen of these enormous hanging clusters in the Calgary Zoo Conservatory. Breathtaking! "The jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) is a native of the tropical forests of the Philippines. Its flowers are the color of jade, and hang in bunches up to 90 cm long; each clawlike flower is about 7½ cm long. In its native Philippines, the jade vine's flowers are pollinated by bats. S. macrobotrys is prized in tropical and subtropical gardens for its showy flowers which are a highly unusual blue-green. It is usually grown over a pergola so that the flowers may hang down below where they can be seen easily. In South Africa the jade vine is mainly restricted to the warm humid strip of coastal Natal but grows in a few frost-free spots inland." From Wikipedia.

This was a new plant found two days ago, on our climb down into Horseshoe Canyon, near Drumheller, north east of Calgary. The whole, solitary plant (a dense, spike-like cluster), was maybe three inches tall and this is a macro of just a few of the very tiny flowers in the cluster. This is native to North America. In a United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, for Dinosaur Provincial Park, also in the Badlands of Alberta, the following was reported: "Threatened species, or those at the limit of their biogeographic range, include Orobanche ludoviciana ..."

These two TINY flowers are part of an elongated cluster of white flowers on a tall stem. This was the first time we'd seen one of these amazing native wild orchids. Found along the Picklejar Lakes trail in one location, on 6th August. The height of Bog Candle, Platanthera dilatata, (also called Tall White Bog Orchid) is 15-65 cm. The raceme (flower cluster) has 12 - 60 of these tiny flowers. Flowers are white, and vanilla or clove scented. The scent while down low, taking macro photos, was heavenly : ) I was out for seven hours today at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park (south west of the city) with a few friends, finding, Lichens , Mosses and Fungi. I was so tired out that I had a late supper and woke up around 1:15 a.m. still sitting in front of the TV! Three consecutive days of fresh air have totally wiped me out - yet again! Only a very few more weeks left and the season for everything that grows will be over. It's the beginning of the end : (

We've had far too many days in a row of dull, gloomy days (plus some rain and snow), so I needed a shot of bright colour : ) I think these are Egyptian Stars, and were seen in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo.

This member of the Mustard family, Dame's-rocket, was introduced from Europe as a garden flower. Now it has spread to roadsides and open forests. When we spent a morning walking at Strathcona Ravines Park (within the city) a few days ago, we came across a number of areas of this invasive, but very pretty, flower growing on the hillsides. I always love to see the colour, especially against the green foliage.

I liked the soft colours of both the flower cluster and the bokeh in this image : ) This is Early Yellow Locoweed, a native wildflower which blooms May to June on prairie grassland, dry hillsides and roadsides. It is a member of the Pea family.