Old and New, New and Old

As you’ll know if you’re a regular visitor, I am all about nature when it comes to photography. So when I saw this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge was “Old & New” I immediately started thinking about how I can apply this to nature, and the types of photos I like to take. I began to think about the contrast between a new young plant, and an old fully grown plant and between a new fresh flower and an old seed-head. So here are my thoughts and photos …

Red Campion (Silene dioica)

I took this photo yesterday, and it’s beginning to show both new and old in one photo. There are still fresh bright flowers, but there are also flowers that are finished, and the seeds will be starting to grow.

In this next one taken a couple of years ago the contrast is even more marked. We have a fresh flower in the front, and in the background there are fully developed seed heads ready to spread their seed.

If you wanted to see the seed heads more clearly here you go:

Columbine

Columbines (Aquilegia vulgaris) are fabulously architectural flowers, and their flower buds are equally striking. A couple of years back I was lucky enough to get some shots of fresh new Columbine buds adorned with beautiful raindrops:

When the buds are a little older and further developed you can see their ‘horns’ more easily:

And then, of course, when they are older still, you get the beautiful, complex flower:

Hips, Haws & Sloes

Another area where there is a marked contrast between young and old is fruit. By looking at a flower you probably wouldn’t have any idea what the fruits will look like later in the year. So to demonstrate, we have some hips, some haws and some sloes …

Hips are what we call the fruits of roses. I am particularly fond of our wildflower called the Dog Rose (Rosa canina) which has lovely red shiny hips, which are quite a contrast to the delicate pastel coloured flowers:

Haws are what we call the fruit of Hawthorn (Crategus monogyna). They are bright red too, but more rounded. Hawthorn flowers are white, sometimes with some pink, and don’t look anything like their haws:

Sloes are the fruit of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). They’re quite different to the hips and haws, as they’re dark blue, almost black when ripe and much more plump. Blackthorn flowers are similar to Hawthorn, but the fruits not so much.

And more…

Here are a few more contrasting flowers and seeds/fruit giving you some more old and new:

I could go on all day, showing you more new and old nature, but perhaps I should actually get this posted so I can go and look at other people’s posts for this challenge! 🙂