My Bleeding Heart

Another highlight on my balcony in spring is the bleeding heart or Lamprocapnos spectabilis. It is popular in gardens for its pink and white heart-shaped flowers that contrasts nicely with its light green stems and leaves. It is also easily cultivated and shows up reliably in spring. It’s not native to Europe but to the temperate regions of Eastern Asia (e.g.: Korea, Japan, China and Siberia). I usually prefer to have plants on my balcony that belong to our native flora, but this flower is just too pretty in pink to not have it around. It is toxic and should be handled with care. Many parts of the plants are quite thin and when the sun shines through them, you can capture beautiful effects and bright-dark contrasts.

Pretty Pulsatilla

One of my favourite flowers on my balcony is the pasque flower or Pulsatilla. Its big violet flower heads reliably show up in spring and provide nectar, pollen and shelter for bees and bumblebees. Also they are very pretty and decorative and they have a nice long flowering period. They also come in different shades like ruby red and white. Pasque flowers are a popular motiv for photographers because the whole plant is densely covered with soft little white hairs. Those hairs scatter light and produce beautiful effects if images are taken from the right angle, especially in the light of early mornings or at dawn. Here, I was too lazy to get up early, but I could use a black background to achieve a contrasting effect.

In the wild pasque flowers grow on sunny, calcium-rich soils and are under protection in Central Europe. They are toxic and have been used as traditional medical plants.

I love the complementary contrast of violet and bright yellow. In the images above the hairs are not readily visible due to the brighter background.

Peak of Summer II

These are the same images as in Peak of Summer I, but here I chose a more faded look that fits more the nature of the withered flowers. I especially like the contrast between the pink and yellow flowers and the gray wood. It looks pretty vintage, too. Which style do you like best? Let me know!

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I am actually not so sure about the vignettes, it makes the images look a bit too artifical, doesn’t it?

Peak of Summer I

The other day I went on the balcony and cut some of the withered flowers. It usually makes the plants produce more flowers and keep them in bloom. As the cut floweres lay there on the wooden table they really spoke to me. It was a hot, sunny day and the air was still and dry. Although it just turned July, it felt like the end of summer had come already knocking. The flowers on the table were the first massengers of the inevitable decay, yet, still beautiful in their own melancholic way. I got my camera and took some close ups and I am quite happy with the results. The dahlia, roses and lavender are withered but their colours are not yet faded. Pretty much like us humans sometimes. 😉

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What do you think? Do you like fading flowers?