There’s nothing like a bit of nature to centre the mind and soothe the spirit. And that includes the odd flower.
Amongst my favourite decorative plants at the moment are Cosmos; long-flowering, hardy, easy-to-grow annuals that self-sow, attract bees, butterflies and look pretty cool in a casual, wildflowerly sort of way.
I like form and texture of the plants which are sort of open and a bit chaotic. The flowers of the latest batch, which have self-seeded in our garden over the past few years, have pleasantly chilled hues that don’t overwhelm the eye or the camera sensor.
They were the subject of some video profile tests I did in April and I came to understand their popularity. Not surprisingly, the internet is replete with images of Cosmos flowers.
But of course, not replete enough. Here are a few more to help make up that perpetual shortfall.
A Cosmos bud from last year’s crop. There’s a pleasing aesthetic to Cosmos buds – they’re like a flower before the flower. Another below from this year’s crop, beginning to open.
White Cosmos flower complete with worker bee 29856-486b, or ‘Barry’ as they call him back at the hive. A professional photographer friend of mine says the key is to get the bee’s eyes in focus. Can’t really see the eyes clearly as they’re in shadow, and let’s be honest – he’s just not shiny enough in general; so no greeting cards from this one I’m afraid.
This shot tickled my fancy. This little guy is fully loaded with pollen – face, legs & abdomen. It’s not so clear in this version, but in the crispy full resolution/high quality original there’s a shower of pollen being kicked up as he takes off, captured by the rather speedy shutter. (I’m noticing how soft these images look compared to originals – they almost look out of focus. I guess they’re getting compressed twice by the time they’re uploaded which is probably excessive. Remind me to dial that back.)
Another rare shot of a bee on a flower. This time however, we’ve managed to capture at least one eye glistening in the sunlight, in good focus. And look at the shimmering wings. #winning
This is probably my favourite shot of the page. I like how it captures the chaotic beauty of Cosmos plants and the generally happy, sunshiny vibe.
The Monarch is one of a few we raised indoors this year as the European wasps were out in force, decimating the Monarch caterpillar population. This was the second day after it emerged from its chrysalis. It fed enthusiastically on the Cosmos flowers and after a few faltering attempts took to the air and gracefully flew off into the blue yonder.
Hey friend – you made it this far! Statistically, that’s a real achievement; you’re a true juggernaut of web page reading. If you liked these images there’s more where they came from. We also publish videos on Youtube from time to time.
If you’d like to use these, or any other images on this site commercially, do get in touch.