Purple Irises

This bed of purple Iris flowers was in full bloom when we saw it.  The dark green leaves and rich purple flowers seem to go on for ever.

Mourning Cloak

This Mourning Cloak butterfly stops to rest and feed in a patch of tiny, purple wild flowers.  I encountered it while hiking with a friend this spring in the Great Dismal Swamp near Suffolk, VA.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

A Zebra Swallowtail butterfly feeds on henbit and buttercups along the Washington Ditch in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge near Suffolk, Virginia.

Foraging Finch

This male house finch was busy searching the ground for sunflower seeds under a bird feeder when I captured this image.

Tulip Bloom

Of course tulips are at their peak while the flowers are still slightly closed.  This purple tulip, at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, looked pasted its prime but I thought the vibrant colors had a beauty all their own.  While it no longer had that new tulip shape, the open flower revealed a lovely contrast between the yellow pollen and the deep purple and blue flower pedals.

Orchid Show

These orchids were on display at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA.  Inside an arboretum, their delicate, colorful blooms offered a refreshing break from the bleak, cold weather outside when we visited in February.

Mistflower After the Rain

I came upon these mistflowers in a meadow, after a rain storm in early September.  The rain drops weighed down the flowers and made them difficult to identify.  Regardless, these wildflowers provided the meadow with a pop of purple color.

Blue

This picture was taken after a rain shower in the early evening of a warm September day.  Between the rain dripping off the porcelain vine berries and the bright, mixed colors of the ripening fruit I couldn’t resist getting a few photos of them.