Folks, I wanted so badly to do justice to morning glory in the studio. A chaotic, octopus-like mass of this crazy climbing vine had claimed a stretch of ditch a few miles from my house and grabbed my eye every time I drove by it […]
Morning Glory
Tag: Ditch Flower
Elderberry (Berries)
Shooting elderberries in bloom was so rewarding (and instructive) that I eagerly looked forward to spending more time with them when their berries formed. All the lessons learned from my first go-‘round still applied at this stage in the elderberry lifecycle – yep, elderberry branches […]
Partridge Pea
Frustration, thy name is partridge pea: this seemingly-innocent flower is my white whale, my nemesis, my kryptonite. Even after attempting to photograph it more times than I care to reveal, the only thing I know for sure about it is that it grows in a […]
Wild Bergamot
Poor wild bergamot. These unfortunate flowers look like a 7th grade bad perm: awkward and a little disheveled. It’s a shame. Wild bergamot – also known as wild beebalm – is an agreeable lavender color and popular with bees and all kinds of other insects. […]
Common Ironweed
Butterflies of Iowa, rejoice! Come the last week of July, common ironweed bursts into purple-fuchsia bloom to attract your eyes and fill your bellies. Of course, this year it attracted my eyes too, so I shooed the butterflies away from a few stalks to bring […]
Poison Hemlock
Early in this photography project, before most of the plants had been identified, a concerned friend asked if one specimen could possibly be giant hogweed. I was pretty sure it wasn’t … almost sure … umm, not sure enough. So I googled up giant hogweed […]
Red Clover
I can’t look at red clover without smiling. Seriously, take another look at it. I’ll bet you’re smiling too. Clover is a friend to everyone in the country. It used to be planted for use in hay before alfalfa came into favor but still lives […]
Brown Eyed Susan
When someone says “wildflower,” there’s a pretty good chance you think of a brown eyed Susan. These are probably the most well-known prairie flower, and for good reason – you can hardly travel a back road in Iowa in mid-summer without passing so many brown […]
Brome Grass
This grass is as common as it comes: you’ll see it in ditches, pastures, building sites, just about everywhere. Are we taking its artistic form for granted? Definitely. Take another look: Brome grass’s stems are a brilliant Kelly green that softens into a delicate cream […]
Hoary Vervain
Several decades in the past, Vacation Bible School was a highlight of my summers: my sister and I spent the week at our church feasting on frosted animal crackers and red Kool-Aid, crafting crosses out of yarn and tongue depressors, and learning Bible songs that […]