On the way to Quabbin Park this past Saturday, I noticed a lot of Black-eyed Susans-Rudbeckia hirta, aka Black-eyed Coneflower, in a parking area. When the park never opened, at least after an hour had passed from the 6 a.m. opening schedule, I gave up and headed back to the flowers.
And, of course, a closeup
I had wanted to spend some time with these flowers a week ago but found them sparse where I visited so Saturday’s shoot was not exactly second choice. I hoped to find some in the park but likely would have stopped here just the same.
These are native pretty much everywhere in the U.S. but not considered so anywhere in MA save one county by GoBotany. They show it as native in Berkshire County only.
These are immensely cheering.. thank you Steve!
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I am very happy you found cheer in these, Liz. Thank you. 🙂
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Beautiful
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Thank you, Sri.
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…and all the petals are intact, not questioning whether she loves you or not.
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I’ve always believed her so spared the daisies and black-eyed susans their finery.
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Wonderful shots, Steve. I like how you chose to photograph these flowers in so many different ways. Although I am usually a macro guy, I am really drawn to the impressionist feel of the background of the the middle photo and am happy that you did not choose to crop it closer.
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Thanks, Mike. These are all “macros” as the 180 was the lens in each of them. Having shot these many times, I was looking to have different presentations and having the background as you see here was a goal as I approached the field.
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As you said about the distribution of this species, your post could just as well have come from a Steve in Texas.
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They are indeed a ubiquitous U.S. flower.
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Have you ever photographed the dark seed heads that black-eyed Susans leave behind? They look something like miniature pine cones.
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Embarrassingly, no I have not..but I will soon.
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I did the other day, which is why it was on my mind.
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Very nice. Brings a smile to my face. The detail and the dew develop a delicious delicacy.
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I am always happy when an image brings a smile. Thanks, Mike.
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GoBotany needs to update their listing, I guess. As far as I know, it is native. Interesting to note that the tetraploid Gloriosa Daisy was bred by a professor at Smith in the 50s. Home grown!
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Great detail in the wet flower…I’m guessing from the time of day that it’s probably dew rather than rain. 🙂
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I wish it had been rain but dew is the correct answer. 🙂 If it were today then rain it would be as we had quite a bit overnight.
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I especially like the second photo. I love a nice mixed bouquet, and that one fits the bill perfectly. The touch of lavender is especially nice.
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Thanks. I looked around at a few compositions of just that…bouquets…and liked this the better of the several I made. I was very happy for the background daisy fleabanes and purple clover.
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The mixed bouquet provides mellow magic and your closeup, of course, does the details proud.
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I had in mind to present the flower in a few ways and am happy with the results. Thanks, Gary.
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Very nice and cheerful Steve!
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Thanks, Reed.
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Rudbeckia hirta always used to make me so happy. I never saw lots of it, and as the years went on it seems to me that there were fewer and fewer Black-eyed Susan’s in the fields and roadsides outside New York City. I don’t know of anywhere around here where I could ee them – maybe on the other side of the mountains, which has a completely different ecology. I enjoyed seeing these Steve, thanks!
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Glad that you enjoyed them, Lynn. I generally don’t see them as numerous as they were here, aside from areas where wildflowers are purposely seeded, like highway medians. This was a nice find and I’ll go back again for the cones as Steve suggested above. The USDA range map shows them in WA but that doesn’t describe locations within the state.
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Ahh, so you don’t’ see as many either. Sad. I looked it up and I still doubt they’re in this area but in any case, they were introduced here from further east – they’re not native to the state. Maybe the cones will persist into the first snowfall – think how cool that could look! 🙂
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