A Magical Transformation of Nature

When the flower is the artist

I have been fascinated by the variety and beauty of flowers for a few years now. But I never paid attention to them once they withered. The moment a flower dropped its blossoms it lost my attention.

But then I posted pictures of this lovely Anemone a few weeks ago when Louise Peacock commented on my piece. She just recommended keeping a lookout for them when they are done blooming.

She said the withered flowers are a great photography object. I had no idea what to expect and forgot already where in the village I took these pictures. But as luck was on my side, one of my neighbors had some of them presented in the garden towards the roadside.

My first discovery was therefore finding this anemone in a second color. After seeing them in purple I found now the white ones as well.

But no sign of the spectacular photographic objects Louise was talking about.

Or am I mistaken?

Once the petals dropped, the flower enters a second phase of presenting its very own artwork. A totally different display of beauty.

The blossom first closes within itself before she opens up all those fine string-like seeds.

She opens up and explodes into a furry ball.

Or a spiky flower head.

Or how Louise described it as “a silky looking fringe”.

Now, I do understand what she was talking about. This is incredible.

Incredibly beautiful.

Looking at this flower head now from close by, it reminds me of a fairytale. A fairytale-like life, somewhere deep in the forests. I am no fiction writer but if there’s one out there reading this, feel free to take these magical beauties as an inspiration for your next piece.

Thank you so much Louise Peacock for inspiring me to this post.

All photographs ©Anne Bonfert. All rights reserved.

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