Between dry leaves dull and brown a little flower stretching towards the light
Sunlight
Category: Flowers
Calluna vulgaris
Ling or Calluna vulgaris is a beautiful late summer flower growing in Norwegian pine forests and in the mountains. The evergreen shrub can be over 50 years old and sometimes it cover large areas. When it is in full bloom it is just like a pink carpet covering the ground.
Orchids in Norway
I always thought of orchids as an exotic flower, so I think it is fantastic that there is wild orchids to be found in Norway too. They may not be quite as beautiful as the ones you find in more tropic areas, but they are beautiful in their own way.
In the forest close to were I live you can find one of the most common orchids growing in Norway, Dactylorhiza maculata also known as heath spotted or moorland spotted orchid.
Marsh violet
The latin name of this little wild flower is Violeta palustris. It is very small, but I think the pale lilac color of the petals is very delicate and make the little flower stand out from the green grass it is surrounded with.
Trollius europaeus
Walking in the forest in early summer you can find a lot of beautiful flowers and one of them is the yellow Trollius europaeus. In Norway it is called “flower ball”. It mostly grows next to a water source like a little creek, a swamp or nearby a pond.
When I went for a walk looking for this yellow flower ball I found it just beside a little creek and on some of the flowers there was a little visitor, a spider. I think the spider is a raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus), probably a young one due to the green color of the legs.
Star of the forest
Arctic starflower or Lysimacia europaea is a common wild flower in Norway. The Norwegian name is “star of the forest”. This beautiful flower grows all over Norway in both the forest and highlands.
I think it is a very beautiful flower and every year I take new macro-shots of it and I never get fully satisfied with the results. Below is the two best shots from this summer.
Star of the forest
woodland dressed in green moss
silent
just the sound of light wind through the trees
little white flowers on the forest floor
shines
like stars in the night
-annef-
Spring
Strange times theses days with covid-19 ruling our lives. Working remote and not seing any of our friends as often as we used to makes our life quite different from a normal everyday life. Luckily nature goes on with normal procedures like spring. This year I think I have enjoyed spring more than ever due to the situation with the earlier mentioned virus. In nature I can relax and do some of the things I love the most, like photography and walk my dog, Charlie Brown. My earlier mentioned trip to China was cancelled due to the corona-situation, så there will be no post from China. Maybe later, I am not sure because so much has changed since February.
It has been a long time since I posted and a long time since I posted macro-shots, but todays post I have a few macro shots to share together with my beloved sheltie; Charlie Brown 🙂
Blue anemone hepatica – blue
…..and pink
The first spring flower in Norway is often Anemone hepatica, it normally is blue or white but sometimes you can find pink versions too.
Wood anemone
Charlie Brown looking for squirrels
Anemone nemorosa comes a few weeks later than Anemone hepatica but is just as beautiful. My sheltie, Charlie, always look after squirrels when we go for forest walks.
Butterflies
A few days ago when I came home form work our little garden was crowded with butterflies. All summer it has been crowded with bumble bees and flower bees but now they was accompanied with butterflies. The flower beds contain mostly lavender and oregano. I rushed inside to get my camera and got to work, I was lying flat on the ground hoping the neighbors wouldn’t see me 😉
I was able to shoot three different species, there were four but butterflies don’t pose for the photographer so I had to be satisfied with the three of them, all so beautiful.
Anne Floa 