Photograph Works

Two Flowers For A Sunday

Both from the Botanic Garden here is Cambridge – an unusual colour in a poppy and the flower of Magnolia Grandiflora,

As you can see, the poppy head was leaning a little, which accounts for all the stamens nestled in the cup formed of the leaves.

The Grandiflora is an evergreen – which as someone pointed out to me is probably the reason that it flowers months after other magnolias. What remains a mystery is why it makes such big blossoms – they are wider than the spread of my hand. Maybe there is competition in its native habitat in the south east United States of America – in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

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9 responses to “Two Flowers For A Sunday”

  1. sharonsiconictravelphotographyblog

    Beautiful shots!

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  2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    I see your poppy blossom has started developing a seed pod David… D’you ever ‘help’ move seed around?

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    1. David Bennett

      We have poppies in the garden, and in previous years when they ripened I collected the heads and stalks, put them in a plastic bag and shake. Then when the time was propitious (with leeway given for me having very little idea of when that is exactly) I sprinkled them about.
      As an aside – this year I didn’t do a thing in the early Spring – I let everything do what it wanted – no weeding, no nothing. I don’t know whether I have been blind in previous years but I am amazed in a nice way just how much comes out of the ground from ‘nothing’.

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      1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

        lol, David! I believe you’ve just discovered the trick of ‘working with Nature’; )

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        1. David Bennett

          It’s true. I have been influenced by others describing it, and local councils seeing the benefits and leaving parks part wild. My inclinations have changed as new things seem ‘correct’.

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          1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

            lol, don’t you mean ‘old things’ seem correct?; ) Not funny really, but these Wild Fires burning here in Canada are a very good example of what happens when humans interfere with Nature in ignorance…
            In centuries past, many small fires – when left to burn themselves out naturally – kept woodland spread at bay, returned nutrients to the earth and allowed Tall-Grass Prairie grasses survive (and in turn feed the herds of species like Deer and Bison).
            Native North Americans practiced preventative ‘controlled burns’ to encourage these natural cycles and locally, what’s now known as Rice Lake was originally called ‘Pemadashdakota’ which translates to ‘Lake of the Burning Plains’ because of these same proactive practices and is once again being actively encouraged to return to its previous status as tallgrass prairie and oak savanna habitats:
            https://www.ricelakeplains.ca

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            1. David Bennett

              Yes, I am familiar with controlled burning to create firebreaks. Do the authorities not make firebreaks now? I recall former President Trump talked about how firebreaks on the forest floor in California were no longer maintained, so fires jumped. Maybe the baggage that he came with meant that he wasn’t taken as seriously as he might have been. I remember he talked about withholding Federal funds unless the State authorities put money into keeping the fire risks within bounds.

              I am sorry about the wildfires in Canada, not least for the selfish reason that we have plans to visit Washington DC, and the AQI there a few days ago was horrible. Have you suffered from the air pollution from the latest fires?

              I read that 160 million tons of carbon were added to the atmosphere because of the Canadian wildfires. Still, I don’t know what the overall effect is. Perhaps the particulates swirl north and cover the ice sheet and reduce its reflectivity. Or perhaps the particulates in the air reduce air temperatures and help keep global warming at bay.

              I don’t know how working with Nature works in mass societies. That said, I have a view that starts with how we all relate – and if that was more communal and directed to supporting one another, then that some of the environmental problems would abate naturally.

              We allow cars and lorries to burn fossil fuels knowing that the exhaust gases and particulates are slowly killing people. But even knowing it, we don’t change.

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              1. Deb Weyrich-Cody

                Only time for a very small response here, sorry… Re: particulates swirl(ing) north’ Sorry David, but (to my reasoning) I fear this situation already involves the accompanying heat, gases & soot(‘particulates’) and the heat being produced by these fires is having a massive effect on normal wind patterns across the continent. Hoping this/these links will function for you there? Jet Stream: https://earth.nullschool.net & https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/24/el-nino-how-the-weather-event-is-affecting-global-heating-in-2023
                “working with Nature… mass societies” requires education – a connection to the Earth and an awareness of her (‘normal’!) cycles – Ignorance is our worst enemy!

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            2. David Bennett

              We have a different problem in the UK – sheep cutting everything to a fine sward and stopping any kind of growth. We need belts around forest areas that would allow regeneration to expand naturally.

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