blogging, Environment

Friendly Friday Blog Challenge – Wildflowers

Forestwood

Keukenhof is spectacular in bloom, Toowoomba is stunning during the Carnival of Flowers, as is Japan in Cherry Blossom season, but right now I’m thinking of Wildflowers, especially those that grow in the most unlikely or unusual places.

  • tulips
    Street light pop up in Helsinki
  • Growing beside a bridge footing in Norway

To say, I was initially surprised, to spot blossoms hard-to-grow-in-Australia, growing spontaneously, by the road in the coldest of countries, was an understatement!

These beauties were busting their glorious blaze of colour beside a street light in Helsinki, beside a bridge support, or vacant hillside in Norway, or idly cheering up an industrial lot in Denmark; their location was a mere afterthought of nature, thriving as they were, with ne’er a green finger or hint of fertilizer, in sight.

  • Marine industry site near the fjord

Knowing their time was short, these blooms took full advantage of the extended summer sunlight, exploding into intense hues that had me gawping at their vibrant intensity. Even simple grasses and weeds seemed aesthetic.

Enchanting architecture and backdrops increased the aesthetic appeal of the wildflowers.

Wildflowers on the roof in Sunnfjord, Norway

What are these flowers called? Does anyone know them? They were almost buried in a patch of grass in a disused paddock.

Here in my country, the native flowers are showing their best winter coat.

Unusually for Australia, parts of our country are in a snap Covid lockdown and due to that fact and it being winter, it’s more difficult to get out and appreciate the world, but not impossible, and there’s always the archives, isn’t there? The native blooms such as Banksia, Swamp Mahogany and Xanthostemon put on a display.

  • Banksia
  • burst of colour

WordPress has added a feature in the image photo block where by you can add a tonal colour to your photos, using shadows or highlights. Why not try this out this fortnight? It is a blogging challenge is something in which both hemispheres of the world can participate, no matter the season.

Friendly Friday Blog Challenge Prompt – Wildflowers

Breaking News – Third Host for the Friendly Friday Blog Challenge Team

Sandy and I have been having a ball hosting the Friendly Friday Challenge, we’re really excited to welcome Sarah from the blog, Travel with Me, to our Blogging Challenge team, as host, every six weeks. Sarah is a blogger who loves landscape, architecture, wildlife and street photography. Here is a little more about Sarah:

Those of us with the means and inclination to, [travel], are rewarded with amazing opportunities to learn about different cultures, different landscapes, different environments. And in seeing those differences I think we discover something very important, which is that however different our lifestyles, at heart people have more in common than you might think. We learn to value diversity, to respect other viewpoints and to rejoice in our similarities ~ Sarah

www.toonsarah-travels.blog/who-am-i/

Sarah will be posting the next Friendly Friday prompt in two weeks time, ie. Friday 16th July, over at her blog, Travel with Me. She will concentrate on a particular theme for her prompts. Are you curious to see what that theme might be? Sarah will be posting clues on her blog, next week, so keep an eye out for that post.

Find the next challenge at: toonsarah-travels.blog/

Instructions for Joining the Friendly Friday Blogging Challenge

  • Write and publish a post inspired by the prompt, remembering this is a challenge not restricted to photography only. It can be a recipe, story, (fiction or non-fiction), or art in visuals or words: For this prompt it might be a snippet or anecdote of somewhere you visited or even an image of a pressed wildflower you may have received long ago. You are only limited by your imagination.
  • Please remember to Tag your post – ‘Friendly Friday.’
  • Include a ping-back* to this blog post adding a comment, (with the url of your published post), here on this post.

*NB. You must ping-back to this WordPress post itself, as link or ping-backs to the home page of a WordPress blog doesn’t trigger a notification to the host blogger. That’s why posting a comment here is good practice, so that your hosts can always find your post.

This Friendly Friday Wildflower Challenge runs until 15th July.

Friendly Friday Challenge 16th July – Host Blogger Sarah at Travel with Me

Friendly Friday Challenge 30th July – Host Blogger Sandy at The Sandy Chronicles.

Further instructions on joining in are found on the Friendly Friday Blog Challenge Page.

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

82 thoughts on “Friendly Friday Blog Challenge – Wildflowers”

  1. Love your wildflowers! The small pink ones are called Bladder Campion or Maidentears (Silene Vulgaris). I had to look them up the other day for a crossword puzzle 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you, Maria! A fancy name for a fancy flower. Maidentears it is. I just googled it. Native to Europe and sometimes eaten, it said. I wonder what it would taste like? Not that I am keen to try. There are different varieties, then?

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thank you, Jane.
      I had a hard time choosing just one or two from my archives. The old log buildings make a great background if you can get the right angle. The ones that are painted black with red windows are even better for floral photographs.

      Like

  5. I love the wildflowers of Australia and have been on a few breaks to the North of Perth to see them. Your photos are amazing, I’ll have to repost some of mine for this challenge. Great to see Sarah also hosting.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I hear fantastic stories of the wildflowers in the South west corner. I have not seen them myself, as I was there in winter, but the reactions of those who have certainly support that suggestion. I look forward to seeing your re-posts, Alison. The south west corner has some crazy percentage of the world’s rarest plants. They have evolved in total isolation due to our central deserts and are totally unique. That is something very special and worthy of conservation. Looking forward to your post.

      Like

    1. Stunning beauty, Thattamma? Yes indeed. Wildflowers seem to have an aura that reminds me of freedom, liberation and carefree times, picnics in the grassy fields, lazy days on holidays. You get the idea?

      Liked by 1 person

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  18. Amanda, the colors are so vivid? What is that small building by the fjord? Is that for covered fishing or small boat storage? Keith

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    1. Yes, Keith. I believe it could have been a boat house or used for storing fishing equipment. These types of structures are frequently seen throughout Scandinavia.

      Like

  19. I, too, love wildflowers, and even though Maine is cold in the winter, there are many flowers that flourish here. I think I’ve written this before, but I’ll write it again: So wish I could join in the challenges. My writing keeps me too busy. Sigh.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ah, Laurie, I understand. The fact that you pop in here and leave a comment, means a lot to me. You can always post a photo along with one of your other posts, and link to the challenge that way.

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. Much appreciated, Sofia. I had my fingers crossed that you might post something for this wildflower challenge as I was looking forward to a contribution from yourself. Can’t wait to see it.

      Liked by 1 person

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  26. I love wildflowers, especially those I see from my morning run, growing crazily beside the river, and open fields. They are suc a lovely sight.Nobody tenders them , but they just pop up everywhere.
    The unknown flowers I have often seen in the mountains, I also dunno how its called, they are lovely.I´ve seen a bunch of them near the Krimml waterfalls.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. What a sight they must be, beside the waterfall! So beautiful, unkempt and natural! You are indeed fortunate to see that on your morning run! The natural world never ceases to amaze me with its instinctive harmony of colour and surprises!

      Liked by 1 person

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      4. Fantastic flowers! Love them. I have a Mexican sage that has a long purple blossom that is smaller but looks similar. I just cut some and put them in a vase to remind me of the lupins in Finland and Norway.

        Liked by 1 person

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    1. I just had a lovely read of your post, Reija! Gorgeous flowers in unexpected places. The best serendipity of all. Thanks for the thumbs up. I loved visiting Finland and would go back in a heartbeat, in any season. Do you miss the country too?
      Thanks ever so much for joining in the Friendly Friday Challenge.

      Like

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    1. If you haven’t been to Australia, you probably have not come across them. The Scandinavians ones are more widespread across the northern hemisphere, or so I believe. Nature really is amazing. This morning I saw a pink sunrise, a highlighted backdrop to a dark red and green tree hibiscus and I thought what an awesome colour combination. Nature never gets colour harmonies wrong, does it? I will pop over and check out your entry. Thanks ever so much for joining in with Friendly Friday.

      Liked by 1 person

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