August 11, 2010

Ask a Question - Flower Identification

The task for Day 25 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge is to ask a question of your readers. Lucky for me, this one came up at a great time when I actually have a question that I'm hoping you'll be able to help with!

One of my hobbies is photography. Right now, I only have a Cannon Powershot point and shoot, but I'm hoping that someday in the near future I'll be the owner of a digital SLR. One of my favorite subjects is flowers. I am actually amazed at the quality of some of the photos I've gotten out of my beat up little silver camera. Here are a couple of my favorites:

2007-02-19 006 cropped

DSCF3245

IMG_4432a

IMG_4578a

Recently I decided that I wanted to identify all of the flowers I've taken photos of. Oh my goodness, I didn't know what an undertaking it would be. I have tons of photos of Dahlias and Rhododendrons, but lots of other flowers that I'm not sure about.

In the past 2 weeks I've probably spent about 6 hours online trying to identify different flowers. There have been a few upsides. First, I've found some great resources for identifying flowers online. Second, I've actually managed to identify a few of my photos, including:

Cornflowers

Flowers (879)

Columbine

Flowers (839)

Thirdly, I have learned an important lesson - when photographing blossoms, always take a photo of the whole plant that includes the leaves. This would make identifying some of these flowers SO much easier. But, I am absolutely stuck on a few of them, and I'm hoping that SOMEONE out there will be able to help! Here are some of the ones that still have me stumped:

1
DSCF0854

2
IMG_4672

3
IMG_4680

4
IMG_4590a

5
IMG_4412a

6
IMG_4418

7
Flowers (876)

8
075

9
Flowers (486)

10
Flowers (492)

11
Flowers (663)

12
Flowers (887)

13
035 (2)

14
032 (2)

15
041 (2)

Any ideas?

20 comments:

Cheryld said...

Hi! I'm visiting from the 31DBBB BlogFrog post. I'm so sorry that I can't help you identify the flowers--I know nothing about flowers! However, I can tell you that your photographs are amazing! They're so beautiful. The colors are just unreal.

Moneyandrisk said...

Ack, I used to know most of these back when I was obsessively gardening. #13 is love lies bleeding I believe, Amaranthus.

The petals on #3 looks like a varietal of cornflower.

#14 might be hibiscus. Too brain dead to remember #10

Eobihfrank said...

Hello,
Visiting from Day 25 of the the 31DBBB Challenge. The top of page are Lilies. I know you didn't add them to the list.
1 & 2 look like irises to me (Iris fulva #2), 10 is penstemon/beardtongue, 11 is geranium, 13 is Amaranthus, 14 is a hibiscus ... well I tried. Great exercise.
Best,
Eliz

Cate said...

Hello!
I came over from #31DBBB. What gorgeous pictures!
6 looks to me like tall garden phlox - I have some of a slightly lighter pink in my garden. 3 looks like it could be a blanket flower. 10 looks like foxglove - the way the flowers are stacked on a stem - but I haven't seen it in that color before.
Hope that helps! :)
Cate

Margaret Almon said...

#3 Looks like dianthus to me, and #8 reminds me of a zinnia or dahlia, and the last one, #15, looks amaranth or astilbe. Very cool photos, especially #5 with the furry flower bud.

burghbaby said...

#11 is a (true) Geranium, although some people call them Cranesbill.

shannon said...

I have no idea what they are, but your pics are fabulous! #10 is such a pretty flower!

MonkeyBeans said...

I'm no flower expert, but #1 is definately a StarGazer Lily...they are my favorite flowers :)

MonkeyBeans said...

Sorry, i didn't mean #1, i meant the first picture in your post

Ediehope said...

I think 7 is a lupine after the flowers have dropped off.

Nessa said...

I don't really know much about flowers but your shots are wonderful.

Marie Young said...

Great pics! I think #4 may be a mallow.

Thefrugalfreegal said...

Awesome shots!!! I love dahlias. I just took a few pics yesterday with my Nikon of my morning glories! :) I love photography also! Following your blog!
http://frugalfreegal.blogspot.com

vickie said...

I'm here from the 31DBBB (which will probably take me about 90 days to finish LOL). Off the top, I think #1 is a Hellebore, #3 is a Coreopsis, #9 is a Clarkia and # 11 is a Hardy Geranium. I'm a Master Gardner, so I could probably figure the rest out with a little time.
I also have a Cannon Point and Shoot, and I love the quality of pictures I get with the zoom feature more than my Nikon SLR's. It's great for flowers and I love it also, for my jewelry shots. I'm posting some flower photos on blog next Wednesday if you want to check them out. Thanks for the fun question!

Theresa C said...

Awesome photos!!

Theresa C said...

Awesome photos!!!

Colleen Gonzalez said...

Your photos are gorgeous! Sorry I'm no help. I know rose and daisy!

Colleen Gonzalez said...

Your photos are gorgeous! I'm sorry I can't be any help to you. I only know rose and daisy!

Rachael1013 said...

Thanks to everyone who commented! This has been really helpful, and I'll keep it in mind in the future.

Barking Mad said...

Rachael,

confession time. I didn't read the entire post, or the comments. I'm far too enamored of the 2nd photo. That mauve/pinkish flower is an amazing capture. Would it be crass of me to ask for a copy of it? I'd be willing to pay for it. I absolutely am in LOVE with it.

Again, beautiful capture!!!!!!