Luna Hibiscus Seed Pod

It had just stopped raining, and I just had to go out and shoot something. So, my son and I went looking at their pretty much spent Fall garden. I was looking for water drops to shoot to try to capture the garden in a water drop. That's one thing I've never been able to accomplish. It just never works out well for me. I finally did it, but that's not the photo I decided to post tonight. It'll show up in a later post, so if you want to see it, you'll have to check my blog out often so you don't miss it.

These Luna Hibiscus seed pods were just begging to be photographed. The water drops on the leaves, and that deep purple color with the light green pods just captured my eye. It helped that the lighting was perfect for this kind of shot as well.

I hope you like it as much as I do. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Indian Blanket Flower

While playing around with my macro lens at Veterans' Memorial Garden at the Safety Harbor Marina a couple weeks ago, I came across this beautiful Indian Blanket Flower and couldn't resist a closeup of the stamen. (Click on the photo to see better detail.)

This flower is also known as Blanket Flower or it's proper name is Gaillardia. The scientific name is Gaillardia aristata. It is in the Compositae family and named after Gaillard de Marentonneau, a French magistrate and patron of botany.

Gaillardia is a herbaceous perennial that comes in many varieties; but this one is my favorite. I love the colors and the fact that they can be found most anywhere in Florida. I've even seen them growing wild on the side of the road. They are one of my favorite flowers and they're right up there with Day Lilies.