Sunday, August 15, 2010

Fairy Flowers

Who says there are no fairies?  I've seen evidence to the contrary!  First of all, the more magical the environment, the more likely there are to be magical things within it! 

I've emerged from bug hell this summer into a beautiful landscape that occurs this time of year here in the desert Southwest:  Monsoon Season.  The normally dry desert transforms into a lush paradise, if only for a few weeks.   And as in most desert climates, the flowers and foliage tend to be tiny...more to conserve moisture, I am supposing.  These tiny little flowers, leaves, grasses, etc, are enchanting, at least to my eyes.  I'd like to share with you some of the images I've taken of such flowers on my  evening walks down my dirt road after supper.  Then the air is cool and often, a thunderhead is brewing to the east.   So, to set the stage, here is a photo taken just the other evening, around 7:30pm.   Pretty magical, wouldn't you agree?


I should probably clarify that all of the photos are taken with my Droid phone camera.   Often the focus is on the background grasses rather than the flower, because this is a phone, afterall!  Also, because it is dusk, many of the flowers are folding up.  I should go out during the day to capture their full beauty, but the daily temps deter me from that exploration. 

I also need to say that I don't know the names of most of these little plants.  However, that doesn't stop me from admiring them.  I hope you will too!   (My comments on the photos are underneath the posted photos.




            What can I say?  Fairy pink, delicate, so tiny, so detailed!  I love the little stamens!



Look at the sweet little unopened pods on this plant, like Chinese lanterns.  Bear in mind their diminutive size;  these flowers are under 1/2 inch in diameter.

        They have a rather orchid like look, don't they!


The petals on these tiny flowers have a cottony texture.  Notice too, their unopened counterparts on the right hand side....a tiny ball of clustered knots.  Each knot is a petal waiting to be born!


I do know the name of this one:  Fairy Duster!   Of course it is!


This one is my favorite.  The flowers are barely 1/2 " across, and just so precious!  They look like tiny pom poms!  I can see stitching their portrait with a single strand of floss. 

 I know the name of these flowers too.  They are wild verbena, and look very much like the ones you can purchase in a nursery.  Often the clusters get very dense, just mounds of purple/pink!  Love them!

I don't know the name of these, but really now!  FOUR petals?  And how cute are they!
Again, I don't know the name, but so cute, eh?  Those stamens call for bullion stitches, for sure, if you were to stitch them!

                                                      A classic daisy, 1 inch across.



This photo is blurry, but I had to post it.  Believe it or not, this is the unopened bud of the daisy flower featured above.  It is barely 1/4" in diameter, and who would ever guess that color would end up as yellow and white?


Last, but not least, this photo features the flowers of the manzanita tree.  This is not a recent photo, but I decided to include it here because I've long thought of these precious little bells as fairy flowers.  This particular tree is next to my house, and there are many more on the property. 

I hope you've enjoyed "taking this walk" with me today.  The hunt for fairy flowers is just beginning though, as each day, I will be seeing more and more varieties of seasonal wildflowers appearing.   I'll be documenting my discoveries, and perhaps, posting more photos in the future. 
Keep your eyes peeled for ones in your area!

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the beautiful pictures of these precious flowers. Everything in my yard is very big - redwood trees in the back and succulents in the front. Your desert looks like a magical place, at least in this season. I don't think I have ever seen a 4 petaled flower. Do you stitch them?

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  2. Hi Victoria,

    I have not stitched these 4 petaled flowers, although they would certainly lend themselves to any number of easy stitches. Actually, when I found them the other evening, that was the first time I had ever seen them.

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