An earlier stage

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The last view was a dry one, and there’ll be two more of those ahead, so to interrupt what might otherwise seem like a drought, I thought I’d take a step back into freshness and show you a stage in the life of a basket-flower that I skipped: this is how a bud begins to open. Notice parts of two dark stamen columns emerging from the pink at the top; from what you saw yesterday, you know that plenty more of them are packed inside waiting to come out and release white pollen at their tips.

Writing of basket-flowers in her 1928 book Texas Wild Flowers, Ellen D. Schulz said: “The artistic buds add much to their beauty.” I agree with her, and I hope you do as well.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman

Drying out

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This picture from May 21 in Burnet County, about 45 minutes northwest of Austin, shows two types of drying out. In the background are ashe juniper trees, Juniperus ashei, some of which were killed by last year’s drought. In the foreground you see a dense colony of basket-flowers, Centaurea americana, drying out in their usual way after flowering for several weeks. As fond as I am of fresh basket-flowers, for reasons that you understand from the last few posts, I also find the sepia tones of a dry colony appealing.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman