Globe Thistle and bees

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Globe Thistle and bees

July 2, 2013 by Mike Powell

One of my favorite plants in my neighbors’ garden is the Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro), a magical plant that has fantastic balls of tiny flowers tinged with blue, purple, and pink and has the additional benefit of attracting bees.

The plant’s spherical shape makes it a little tough to photograph and creates real issues with depth of field, but I managed to get a few shots that highlight both the shape and texture of the plants and the activity of the bees that were gathering pollen from them.

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged bee, Echinops ritro, globe thistle, thistle | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on July 2, 2013 at 8:10 pm | Reply Jenny

beautiful photos!!!
- on July 2, 2013 at 8:14 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Jenny. I am fortunate to have neighbors with a great garden and the bees were cooperative.
on July 3, 2013 at 6:49 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

These are fine shots. Globe thistle blooms early there!
- on July 3, 2013 at 7:02 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. Many of the globe thistle blooms are now faded, in fact. I think we are generally about a month or so ahead of you in terms of a growing season.
on July 3, 2013 at 3:41 pm | Reply Bren

Lovely photos Mike
- on July 3, 2013 at 6:41 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I’ve been photographing so many insects recently that I thought I should include the flowers occasionally.
on July 3, 2013 at 5:32 pm | Reply Jeremy Sell

Not only are these great bee-on-flower photos, the geometry is captivating.
- on July 3, 2013 at 6:40 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Jeremy. I love the flowery balls of flowers of the globe thistle. Their structure is pretty complex and very colorful (and the bees are a bonus).