Bract Photos

Monday, April 1, 2013
Ladybug Daisy
Recently I found some aphids on the blossoms of one of my cacti. Rather than spray or use soap we went down to the hardware store and got a little box of lady bugs. Most of the nurseries or home and garden stores keep them in little refrigerators, kind of dormant just waiting for an assignment. Mine had two jobs... get the bugs, and look pretty for the camera while doing it.

Thursday, March 14, 2013
Strawberry Blossom
Closeup of a Strawberry Blossom at Terra Sol Nursery in Goleta, California.

Monday, December 5, 2011
Amaryllis Christmas Flower
Blooming amaryllis flower. This is the biggest Amaryllis I have ever seen. The bulb is amazing, and as the first bud started to work it's way out I could see there were going to be quite a few blossoms. I loved the curves of the blossoms as they opened, and my timing was perfect. A few minutes after this shot was taken the inflorescence was completely open and the five buds were all pointing in different directions.

Friday, September 19, 2008
Shadowy Bougainvillea
Most of the time the best lighting is not the direct lighting.
At the same time I took this there was quite a bit of sun
on the other side of the bush. Those shots were great, but
this was my favorite.
It's probably a good thing I can entertain myself in the back
yard so easily. When the banks all go out of business
I can probably still afford my hobby. 'Course I'm going to need to
look at some old Gilligan's Island episodes to design my
bike generator to keep the web server on.

Saturday, September 6, 2008
Gulf Fritillary in the Back Yard
Our babies are growing up! A couple of years ago we got a couple of vines, (a Passion Flower and a Mandevilla) to try to coax the beautiful butterflies to stay in our back yard. They almost wiped out the Passion Flower completely the first year. This year the original vines are each about four times the original size, and we have two additional Passion Flowers about the same size. That was finally enough to support the caterpillar crop this year. This is one of four butterflies that we suspect were recently caterpillars in the Passion Flowers and now spend most of the days fluttering and playing in the back yard.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Tropical Swirl
I like how this rose caught that drop of water in the top. This is another shot from the backyard. Yeah, I know, it's a theme lately "the Back Yard". But my hound hurt her foot and I did not get my birthday trip to Monterey yet. Maybe later this month! Oooh the flowers that are blooming there this time of year!

Sunday, March 25, 2007
Bouganvilla
There is always something blooming around here!
Which is great for someone who loves to take
flower pictures. This is the Bougainvillea that we have coaxed
over our back fence, it's always happy. So happy in fact
I just had to tuck all it's new growth in so the gardeners
don't come by and cut it.
As I recall, last year this time
I almost had to change the name of the site
to "The Calla Lily of the Day," since they go wild this
time of year too. Fortunately, this
year we planted some spring bulbs out front and they
are looking good already so I'll have lots of subjects
to keep things interesting. Now all I need is more time to play with my cameras.
Too bad that won't grow as easily. :-D

Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Yellow Canna Bract
This is another Canna that my mom sent me as a bulb about 10 years ago. It has bloomed a couple of times each year for the last few years but it never had such a cool leaf or bract around the flowers like this. Even in the back yard there are always new surprises.

Thursday, November 23, 2006
Bougainvillea
One of the important tasks I had to do to get ready for the
holiday was clean up our giant Bougainvillea.
When we moved in, we noticed this plant peeking under our fence.
On the outside of the fence they keep it trimmed back so often it can barely
bloom. We decided to coax it over to our side.
It is now in a huge arch over our fence and it is
constantly covered in blooms.
I think it appreciates the chance to grow.
Rather than trim it, I tuck the new growth in and tie it so it goes in the
direction we want it to. I do this about once a month which is just often
enough that the new growth has not quite wooded over yet so I can
still train it to go where I want without breaking it.
My wife fed it with a high phosphorus fertilizer (10-50-10)
one time that is supposed to promote blooms, and it really worked!

Monday, September 25, 2006
Pink and White Bougainvillea
The Bougainvillea are going wild around here right now. This one is in a hanging basket in my neighbor's yard.

Thursday, August 31, 2006
Daisy Study
I really like this shot because, not only can
you make out the individual flowers in the center
of the daisy, but you can see the different stages
of their development. In the center they have not
opened yet, but has you move out you can see the stages
of the flowers' development.
This is not the first time I have enjoyed
the structure of a daisy on the photo of the day.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Backyard Rose Bud
Well most of our tomatoes have faded in the hot weather.
But the roses are still happy! This one is just about to burst.
I really enjoy close up photography. The green covering of the bud is made of
modified leaves called bracts. But I never really appreciated the tiny little
leaves sticking out from the edges of the bracts before.
There is a lot of beauty out there!

Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Bougainvillea Sunlight
This is a nice Bougainvillea that was growing on the outside of our fence. We have been coaxing it up into an archway over our gate. It is starting to bloom like crazy and it is quite a site especially in the evenings when the light shines through it.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Bougainvillea Bracts Close-up
This is one of those plants like a Poinsettia.
The red things are actually technically more like
leaves than actual flowers, they are called "Bracts." The real
flower is a small white bloom that comes out from
the center of the groups of red leaves. You can see
a couple of the buds in this photo.
Although they are not technically part of the flower
the bracts serve an important role in the pollination
of the plant. They act as kind of a beacon
for pollinators that might otherwise miss the small
white flowers as they fly by.
Daisies are another type of plant
with a similar structure. What is commonly called a
daisy flower is actually a cluster of small flowers
(called the Capitulum) surrounded by bracts.
In this image the
bracts are white and the capitulum is yellow.