wildflowers

Violet Wood Sorrel /  by Todd Henson

A soft view of violet wood sorrel

I absolutely love the color these violet wood sorrel add to the woodland trails where we find them. The violet against the greens around them is such a wonderful combination. And their delicate nature can really be enhanced by the softness of a very shallow depth of field. I found these in the middle of May 2022 and I look forward to finding more next year and of sharing them with you.

A small cluster of violet wood sorrel

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Venus’ Pride /  by Todd Henson

Venus’ Pride

Looking back through the photos I’ve created this year I realize I skipped over showing you some of the spring wildflowers. So I thought today we would look back at some examples of Venus’ Pride, also known as large bluets, that I found in late May and early June. They are small and delicate looking, and have multiple flowers clustered in the inflorescence. Some of those I’ve photographed appear almost completely white with just hints of color, while others do show off some nice coloration. I hope you enjoy them.

Hanging with Venus’ Pride

Groupings of Venus’ Pride

A cluster of Venus’ Pride

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Behold the Blue-eyed Grass /  by Todd Henson

Blue-eyed grass. Isn’t that a beautiful pattern where the blue and yellow meet?

This spring I found many examples of what has become a favorite flower of mine, blue-eyed grass. I find it fascinating it’s called grass as it’s really a member of the iris family, which helps explain the lovely flowers it produces.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the bright blue-eyed grass flower against the darker brown of another plant.

I sometimes struggled to photograph these flowers. I love the pattern formed of the transition from yellow to blue inside the flower and so I often wanted to focus on that. I loved the shapes of the petals and so I wanted to highlight those. And as often happens, I was drawn to the anthers so I sometimes focused on those. With the lens I was using and the distances I was at and, of course, the breeze, I often had a very shallow depth of field so I needed to choose what I wanted in focus as I just couldn’t get it all. If the breeze hadn’t been there perhaps I could have done some focus-stacking, but not this time around. This did give the opportunity, though, to really focus in on those single elements. And I do very much enjoy a very shallow depth of field.

Here I tried to include both the flower and the green bud of blue-eyed grass, though the but is out of focus.

A different arrangement of flower and bud of blue-eyed grass.

I don’t know what specific species of blue-eyed grass I photographed, or even whether they are all of the same. There are several species here in Virginia and many more can be found all over the United States and Canada. Check out Linda Leinen’s Lingering Bits of Spring to see examples of dwarf blue-eyes grass and annual blue-eyes grass found in Texas. Head over to Stephen Gingold’s Friday Night Flower Night to see an example of eastern blue-eyed grass in Massachusetts. And visit Alexander Kunz’s Sisyrinchium bellum to see an example of western blue-eyed grass in California.

A closeup of the beautiful anthers of blue-eyed grass.

I created these photographs on May 25th of 2022, all in the same general location. In fact, this is the same location where I photographed pink lady’s slipper orchids. It can be a very productive location and I look forward to more opportunities in the future to photograph these amazing little flowers. I hope you’ve enjoyed some of these views of blue-eyed grass. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Here I really liked how close the blue-eyed grass grew to the branch, almost as if it were a part of it.

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