Monday, July 25, 2011

Winter Daisy


10th June, early morning

Join me as we trace the slow opening of another Australian native - the everlasting/paper/straw daisy. This native will likely be more well known to those outside Australia than the banksia and grevilleas I have shown to date.


8th June, mid morning

These are best grown spring through autumn in a sunny spot, well drained/sandy soil. January 18th this year marked the tentative beginning of my blogging journey. That day I took these photos of everlasting daisies which were thriving in the heat of our Australian summer, close to where the daisy above is now growing. I planted the current daisy as a seedling in Autumn, in a damper spot which receives little sun during winter. Such a little battler, this plant struggled on, brightening a dull spot in our yard despite the adverse circumstances.


10th June, midday. A few hours after the first photo, top of post.

These photos cover a seven week time span. Each night the daisy would close tightly shut, repeating a slow opening as the sunshine gradually reached this spot in the garden for a short time in the middle of the day. Some days were cloudy and wet, some even frosty.


11th June, later afternoon.

There is an eight day gap between the rich, luscious flower photographed above and the somewhat desiccated photo of the same flower below. I'm guessing this must have been when the weather turned noticeably colder and dry. The next three photos were taken on the same day.


19th June


19th June


19th June

 Three more days pass......


22nd June


Another three days......


25th June

Eleven days more......


6th July


6th July

18 days later....... brings us to now.


24th July


25th July


24th July

Still marvellously beautiful in it's own way. This really shows the proper flowers as the pink "petals" are not true petals, but rather bracts, or leaf like structures, as is the case generally with all daisies.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the progression of this flower. I have really enjoyed watching it's beauty  slowly changing and developing over the weeks. These plants only last a few months however the flowers can be picked and dried (upside down), then lasting for years. The original wild everlasting daisies are apparently perennials and mostly have yellow flowers.

Update: I have now completed a new photo series highlighting the daily opening of the daisies.

Sharing at Macro Monday The Creative Exchange,  Communal Global Sweet Shot Tuesday,
  Good Life Wednesday,  Simple Pleasures, Photo Story Friday, In The Studio
 and Weekend Flowers (voted third place).



70 comments:

Robyn said...

Such a gorgeous flower! Looking to plant something in some planters, so will definitely look into these!

Sivinden said...

Yes, this flower looks familiar to me too. Wonderful pictures of the progression and interesting about the petals.

jocodeane said...

What a fun sequence.
You have such patience to follow it through like this. And they are getting more beautiful every day. They probably last a few years, no?

Sara said...

These are amazing photos! I love that you followed them as they opened. Love the macros at the end! Gorgeous shots!

Nadege, said...

Just like magic, I love the colors in first image on July 6th.

Karin M. said...

...eine großartige Serie....deine Fotos sind fantastisch....ich bin begeistert...
LG: Karin

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

I'm so pleased you also enjoy watching the changing beauty of unfolding flowers. Thank you for being interesting and encouraging in your lovely comments.

Heart n Soul said...

Oh WOW!!! ... seriously Fab-u-Lus :)

Unknown said...

So Pretty!!! Great job with the pictures!!! They are really beautiful! With our crazy heat right now, winter sounds good! Of course when winter comes, I get tired of summer!

Marianne said...

Ganz wundervoll, bei uns heißt sie Strohblume.

Herzlichst ♥ Marianne

Jill said...

Gorgeous shots of such a beautiful flower. Loved this.

Lynette said...

oh, my! What a treat to watch this progression. :D

Jill Wellington said...

These are just lovely! Put a big smile on my face this morning. Thanks for brightening my day!

Lisa Gordon said...

What a gorgeous series of photographs this is! It is so nice to see all of the wonderful stages of this beautiful flower.

Thank you so much for sharing these today at The Creative Exchange.

Have a great day!

lisa.

EMily said...

Absolutely stunning. I love how you have showed the whole process of the flowers opening!

Karen said...

Brilliant!

Ashley Sisk said...

I don't think I've ever seen one of these but it's brilliant!

Reena said...

Such a remarkable flower .... loved seeing the progression! And lasts for years!

Ms. Becky said...

thank you for sharing the evolution of a flower's bud opening and maturing. this was a pure pleasure.

Linnea said...

What a beauty and beautifully photographed.

Linda said...

I have never seen these before - they are gorgeous!! What great shots!

Rosie Grey said...

These are so absolutely stunning and what a great idea to show the whole process - thanks so much for sharing the beauty of this!

Unknown said...

I love the way you captured every stage!

Pat said...

What a wonderful series showing the different stages of this lovely flower's development! Great photography!

Isabel Soriano said...

Que hermoso reportaje, desde que es un brote hasta una bellisima flor.
Una maravilla.
Un abrazo

Anna said...

Thanks for taking us on this magical journey!!!! We are blessed with so many wonders in the beauty outdoors. Your captures are all very striking!

Tammy said...

I love the progression! What a gorgeous flower.

genie said...

You have done here what I think is “The Dream Series.” What you have done by showing us the progression of this daisy is awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is absolutely wonderful. I learned so much from just studying your photos. It was one fascinating experience for me. You have to get the blue ribbon this week for this collection. Wonderful! Genie

Andrea said...

beautiful!!

tracie c. said...

Hi, just lovely photography!
I am coming in from Communal Global... glad I found you!
I grew these flowers years ago not knowing what they were, what a surprise! In The States they call them 'straw flowers' they don't even feel real.

Heather @ Simple Wives said...

Wow, those are just stunning!!!

Journey Photographic said...

These are simply beautiful. You've done a great job photographing them.

Hope said...

what a gorgeous awaking.. beautiful and ever so stunning captures and presentation...

{cuppakim} said...

that is so incredible. i have never seen anything like that!

well, maybe i have, but was never around long enough to notice. what a great way to document.

Scott said...

Wow! Amazing flower. I kept scrolling down and thinking I like that one best and then I would see another and the flower looked even better. Very nicely done.

Unknown said...

So gorgeous! Love that you showed the blooming process.

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

What a truly spectacular series of photographs. Beautiful subject, but more importantly, and incredible series of shots.

Unknown said...

Beautiful, interesting post.

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

Oh my goodness... these are fantastic!! That is one gorgeous flower. Love watching it grow! :)

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

Fantastic! I have never seen such stunning pics! Thanks a bunch for sharing:) Love your beautiful space.
Hope to see you on my blog:)

NatureFootstep said...

wow, I´m impressed. :) You have done a great job showing the progress of the flowers. Thanks for sharing. :)

Nayana said...

wow.....OMG moment. so beautiful...love it.

Unknown said...

Love looking in on the slow process of a awakening flower. Makes me so want to slow down and enjoy all the things around me, slow or not.

Debbie said...

That is stunning, and it was so fun to watch it open. You have given me a desire to do something like that.

I've never seen a flower quite like it. It's beautiful in its entirety and the individual parts are all so different. The yellow in the close up looks like of like spaghetti.

Ms.Daisy said...

Stunning pictures of the opening of this flower over a span of several weeks time. Loved seeing this.


~Jean

Susan said...

Oh how beautiful. I love the progression.

Liz said...

Absolutely beautiful!! It's so amazing to capture the beauty of God's creation!
Thank you for sharing.

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Amazing how one flower can put on such a show! Beautiful! Have a great day. Tammy

Barbara Neubeck said...

Hello,
Your photo story is magnificient.I want to say all the things everyone else has said.Stunning and breath taking....
God Bless
Barb from Australia

Angela Pea said...

What beautiful photos!

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

Oh gosh! Magnificent!

Anonymous said...

Look at that beauty! Just gorgeous - thank you for sharing such loveliness :)

Maria

Unknown said...

amazing! i love it!

visiting from Weekend flowers!

http://point-shoot-vhen.blogspot.com/2011/07/365191-193.html

hope to see you there too, thanks!

Joyful said...

It's so magnificent how you captured the different stages of blossoming. Very beautiful macros.

Anonymous said...

Really like this. Following from weekend flowers. Appreciate you coming by and following also.
Ohio Outdoors

Unknown said...

A truly fantastic series of photos!

abeachcottage said...

Lovely shots! Glad you added your link to Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays and shared them.

Anonymous said...

Oh My Gosh! Those are amazingly beautiful! They are "Oh WOW!"

Nikki (Sarah) said...

wow...the whole process of coming into its own is amazing...sort of like all of us...

Goodies for a pleasant life said...

Great gallery of flowers! Thanks for sharing with *Weekendflowers*. :) Have a nice weekend! LG Tina

Marla said...

Beautiful shots. :)

Marla @ www.blueskiesphotoblog.com

Kathleen said...

Absolutely beautiful!

Cindy said...

Wow, I wonder if these would grow in Texas! I think it is sort of funny that our seasons are opposite...I don't know if I could ever get used to calling "January" a summer month! I so enjoy your sharing...coming from Studio JRU as always...

Raindrops and Daisies said...

Beautiful, rally beautiful.

JodeneShaw said...

Thank you for sharing your beautiful flower progression photos. It is so good to slow down and enjoy God's creativity. Thank you for joining In the Studio this week!

Jennifer said...

So beautiful! Thanks for a glimpse of your world :)

Dimple said...

What a beautiful series of shots! I enjoyed it very much.

Mel_Cole said...

wow. congrats for another remarkable growth from your hands. its a beautiful daisy. i like how you shot it and it glows.

my weekend flower @ love home grow garden

Pia said...

Your photo series is so wonderful. Great work! The beauty of the flowers could not better be captured. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

How beautiful!

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