cool pic... could be hummers also ... ken

So pretty. I don't get my neighbors. We live in this woodland & they cut every stem, rake every leaf, pick up every stick, bag it & throw it out. I kid one of them & say "I see a leaf by your driveway"... I'm different - if there's anything left in the spring I put it on my compost pile.

@peren- Yes, I enjoy the dictamnus seed heads as well. When they are dry I can finally touch them. ;-)

@ken- Thanks. and yes, I thought of hummers as well.

@nicholsworth- I had a neighbor who for years was meticulous about keeping a clean yard. When they moved away, the opposite moved in. Sometimes meticulous isn't so bad. lol

tj

Love those little penguins, I don't have many pics of seed heads, at least not as attractive as the ones shown so far. I do have one of the seedpods on a cardiocrinum tho...

Rorschach test on this Iris domestica - formerly Belamcanda chinensis. What do you see? lol!

Love the patterns!

Tsugajunkie- when the dictamnus seed heads are dry, they are fun to touch as the seed heads will eject the seeds. :)

Some of my favorite patterns are when new foliage is just unfurling...

@aftermidnight. Your cardiocrinum seedheads look like watermelons growing upright. I like it.
@peren- Very nice iris. I see why some folks call them an orchid iris. As for the ink blot test, all I'm seeing is a lightning strike on the petal at 2 o'clock. I don't think Rorschach would be too impressed with me. lol

@fata- Great unfurlings. Your first pic looks like a pair of egrets in flight.

tj

peren.all - all I see is a gorgeous plant that I don't have but would take in a heartbeat.

Tsuga- I didn't see the egrets until you mentioned it. Thanks! :)

Nicholsworth, Iris domestica/Belamcanda chinensis (often still listed with this name) reproduces easily by seed, so if you know someone with it, you can start some without problems by begging a few seeds.

Thx NHBabs. Gonna try to read about it. Just something I've never had. So many plants not enough time...

Hosta are known for sporting but, alas this went back to a normal Gold Standard the next year.

tj

Sometimes plants (in this case Malus sargentii) are just an easel for another pattern:

And, sometimes even during the loss of a branch plants can be beautiful:

Great texture on the Malus, hortster. Looked nearly 3D when enlarged.

tj

tj The sport is striking. It is a good thing that GS is a great Hosta in its own right. I think the first one that sported and (reverted) for me was Francee. I was so excited to see streaking and then gone. Now I will take pics of these when they occur.

nicholsworth I hope you can find a sunny spot in your beautiful woodland garden for it. Here is another pic since it fits the theme. Iris domestica in 4 stages - buds, flowers, spent flowers and seedpods. Google for the 5th stage, the reason another common name is Blackberry Lily.

Great pics Annette, Fata and hortster!

Not usually a fan of sedum flowers, but if you look close they take on a new appearance.

tj

Even the grasses, such as this Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal Grass) spike, take on a graceful beauty, when viewed close up.

Could not agree more tj and jekeesl.

Andropogon gerardii with pollen sacs dangling.

Great thread! Such beautiful examples of patterns in the plant world.

Salvia

Nigella

I liked the echo in patterns between the sweet peas and overhead city wires here:

Very nice Nigella pic. Looks like a Tesla coil.

tj

Here's a close shot of Eryngium yuccifolium.

just glancing as you walk is not enough...you miss so much...love the close up photos

Abies koreana 'Kahout's Icebreaker'

Had to sneak a conifer in somehow.

tj

And I for one am happy you did! Very nice!

The veins look like flowers and leaves etched onto the surface of Asarum europaeum - European Ginger.

That is a great pattern, peren. A snappy ginger, so to speak.

tj

A few of my yard favorites:

Wild Azalea ( Canescens )

Rhododendron

Hydrangea

Painted ferns

Oak leaf Hydrangea

Cant go wrong with purple coneflowers

Hortster's pic reminded me of a icing we had in 2011. The ice would slide off the gardenia leaf and form a perfect ice leaf.

Old Forester - Love your ice sculptures!!! My pic is an insect or animal pruning job. Laughed when I saw it.

I like feathered patterns in flowers.

Rose 'Carefree Delight'

Paeonia mollis

Hellebore X hybridus