The botanical garden of the Technical University in Brunswick is just across the street and it is always worth a visit. Either to study, to relax or to go on a photo hunt. And this is what I did the other day. Undisputed star among all the flowers was the huge artichoke (Cynara cardunculus) in bloom. Loved by bees, bumblebees and visitors alike. Its big violet blossoms offer an exciting range of structures and contrasts, even the unopened buds look interesting. For those who know artichokes only from pizza carchofi, artichokes are being cultivated for the thick edible bases of their flowers. Buds and blossom are also very decorative accessories in your flower bouquet.
The big flowers of the thistle-like artichoke attract plenty of pollinators and serve as a reliable source for good close up shots of insects. The radial symmety of the spiky flowers reminded me of magnified images of microscopic algea and plancton. Thus I tried to mimic a scanning electron microscope recording with the pictures I got. You can slide the bar from left to right to adjust the size of each image. Amazing, isn’t it?!
Lesnik Photos 