ColorChallenge - Sunday Purple - Butterfly Bush - Photography
Seems like Sunday often ends up being my day of choice to add something to @kalemandra's photography #colorchallenge since today is "Sunday Purple," and there are lots of purple parts of nature that keep presenting themselves!
As I was taking a walk this evening, I noticed our "butterfly bush" is now in full bloom... and it's really quite spectacular.
Close-up of Buddleia flowers-- note the orange centers, which attract insects
Also known as Buddleia, butterfly bushes are named thusly because they evidently have just the right combination of fragrance and color to attract butterflies.
Typical butterfly bush blooms
Ironically, I didn't manage to get any pictures of butterflies with the flowers as it was quite breezy today... and the flowers flashed in and out of the sun, which I think they find a little offputting.
However, I did want to show how the blooms-- even though they look pure purple from a distance-- actually have bright orange centers. For me, part of the joy of macro photography is precisely making little discoveries like that!
If you're interested in some great photography from some of Steemit's finest, I also suggest checking out the supporting @colorchallenge page! There, you will also more explanatory posts about the challenge, as well as a number of resteems of participants' posts.
How about YOU? Have you any plants in your garden or nearby that seem particularly attractive to butterflies? Do you do macro photography? Have you ever made any interesting/unusual discoveries "through the lens," seeing things you didn't realize were there till you got a close-up? Leave a comment-- share your own experiences and feedback!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Posted 20170806 20:42 PDT
When I was growing up in MN we had a very large backyard and my parents loved ot plant. We had a garden where we grew carrots, potato, and pumpkins. I would also be stuck during the colder fall months hosing them down with water late at night freezing! I would set up a slide and slide them down into a pool of water for cleaning
Besides that, the whole back of the house had different kinds of flowers, Everything from rose bushes, to lilies, and more flowers then know the name for. The buffer flyes sure loved them. Every year we go to some massive outdoor event that sold every single flower you could think of that could be grown in MN. My parents would fill the car full of everything they could get their hands on. We even had to carry boxes of flowers in our laps as well as they drove home. By the time we got home everyone was just coved in dirt and the car had to be cleaned from dirt getting everywhere!
Sounds similar to how I grew up... my parents were very proud of their garden and we had all sorts of plants that "weren't supposed to" be able to grow in Denmark... but they did. We had a huge vegetable garden and my mom kept a big patch with flowers as her "cutting garden."
It really wasn't until many years later I fully started appreciating the value of having "fresh things" in the house, and especially cut flowers during the "season." For the last few years, we have been "reclaiming" more and more lawn to grow useful and decorative things instead...
Beautifully photographed @denmarkguy. I haven't seen a butterfly bush or even heard of it before. But it looks like the sort of plant that really would attract butterflies to it.
I love how flowers that appear to be just one color are not just that one color. Nature has a beautiful way of being able to blend colors harmoniously ~ In your flowers from the yellow to the pink/violet.
Thanks @allyinspirit!
They seem to vary considerably, depending on where in the world you are. We ones we had in Denmark when I was little were pure purple. Some of the varietals with orange and purple together can be quite spectacular:
today in my garden whats blooming i did not cut my Buddleia davidii butterfly bush back in January and now it has taken over!
Very pretty! This is pretty much what happened to this one, as well. It wasn't cut back for winter... and now it's close to becoming a small tree.
ohh.. this is sad
Wow that is huge in Denmark....Our butterfly bush in Florida is nothing like that,
Let me see if I can find a pic ...
Our tropicals are lush but many of the varieties that are so magnificent elsewhere are quite modified here by our extreme heat. I have one in my yard but the flowers are even smaller than those in this picture. It is late or I would go take a picture.
Melissa
Credit: Ifus. University of Florida horticulture handbook
This particular butterfly bush is actually growing in our garden here in Washington state... I know it's a bit confusing, because I just posted about Denmark... where I was born and raised, but I've lived in the US (mostly) since 1981.
Most varieties are smaller-- the one in our yard is almost a tree-- it's about 10 feet tall now. We live in a strange climate zone... 40 miles from "rainy Seattle" and 60 miles from "even rainier Forks" in what's known locally as "the blue hole" where it's mild and we get lots of sun. We also have a 50-foot eucalyptus tree and a couple of California redwoods.
lovely, Sounds like the microclimates in Ecuador! Our expat dream!
Cheers,
I actually never seen this kind of flowers before as I live in a tropical country , the colors are so smooth and good filled the frame.
I don't know if they grow in Malaysia, although some varieties are native to South-East Asia.
Maybe they do grow in Malaysia, probably in highlands only.
We have it in our garden and the colour is almost tha same:)
It seems there are quite a few different types, depending on where you are... some of the "cultivated" kinds are also yellow and orange and white.
Amazing...I am in love with the flower
Thanks!
you are most welcome
I love this colour purple. Great photo. Keep up the great work on the colorchallenge! 😉
Thank you!
Wow...nice post with beautiful and very colorful pics from @denmarkguy
I always like nature and flower photograpy...
Wel done and nice camera shot...
Superb work...
Upvoted...
Cheers!...
Thank you!
Very Nice ! Butterfly bush looks awesome.
Thank you!