17 Jun 2012

The last flower

Last poppy flower

So, here it is.  The only poppy flower I'm likely to see in the veg patch this year.  Extremely windy weather made conditions for taking photos quite tricky but, having spotted that this very last flower had opened, I knew I had to grab the opportunity to record it with a photo.

You can see that the petals have already suffered by being battered around but I'm pleased to get this shot, regardless. It was taken in the early evening, the skies were gloomy and rain threatened so lighting conditions were pretty dire! I had to use a very fast shutter speed combined with flash to freeze the flower as it was whipped around in the wind, together with lots of patience and balancing steadily for this hand held shot! A macro of the centre would have been nice but impossible, given the conditions.  I haven't been down to the garden yet today but I expect the flower is now just a stalk.

This will have to do until next year.

6 comments:

  1. At last a poppy picture - what a gorgeous apricot colour. My oriental poppy is bright orange (a gift) doesn't really fit in with my garden colour scheme but I don't think it will last long enough to be an eyesore.

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    1. You have a colour scheme for your garden? Mine is totally random but maybe one day I'll be organised to have some thought behind the planting! Funnily enough, I wanted red poppies when I planted it but I'm quite pleased with it now! I just hope that it lasts a bit longer next year, I didn't think I'd ever get this photo!

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  2. Lovely picture! Sadly the rain and wind does take it's toll on these flowers. I've been surprised to see mine last as well as they did, and have spotted others around the allotment site.

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    1. Thank you Flighty. Yes, it's a pity the show is over so quickly, maybe if the weather was kinder the flowers would last longer - after all, poppies are not indigenous to the UK are they? How lucky for you that yours have lasted - I must have a check on a neighbour's poppies in her allotment garden here on the estate and see how her red ones are faring.

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  3. Poppies are one of my favourites. I sympathise with the extreme photography conditions. The gusty, strong winds made photography on our holiday difficult, especially on top of the cliffs. It was hard enough to stand up let alone capture the little coastal wildflowers. The poppy is such a beautiful colour, at least you managed to capture it.

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    1. I've recently read your excellent post on the coastal wildflowers you encountered, Welly. I was very interested to read of the way that coastal poppies have adapted to survive in the harsh seaside conditions and thought at the time that I could do with a few of those in my garden!

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