The Color Purple

The orchid is one of the most beautiful, if not delicate, flowers in the world. For this week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge Purple we decided to use a photo of an orchid that we took last summer at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Obviously we prefer to capture flowers in their natural environment, but these were just too beautiful to ignore. There is a place for zoos and botanical gardens, bringing the beauty of the world to those who are not able to travel the world. We find the same inspiration in travel shows and books that describe the wonder of the world that we may never see, but hope to visit one day, if we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity.

Purple Orchid

And from our most recent hiking trip into the mountains of Colorado.

Beautiful Wildflower

The Wildflowers of Colorado

Yellow Wildflowers

One of our favorite things about hiking during the summer in Colorado are all of the beautiful wildflowers. It doesn’t matter if we’re hiking in the mountains or just taking one of the various trails that run through the neighborhoods, there are wildflowers everywhere. There are so many different varieties and each are beautiful in their own ways. We especially like seeing them in the ruggedness of the mountains as it brings a splash of color to contrast all of the deep greens and browns.

Flowers on Boulders
Flowers by the Lake
Purple Flower
Red Bell Flower

Unfortunately, the growing season here is very short, so you can only find the wildflowers blooming from June through August. When they are blooming, though, they can be quite spectacular. They also bring with them some beautiful butterflies as well as bees. It is that time of year now when the nights start to get a little colder and there is a hint of autumn in the air already. Soon the wildflowers in the mountains will be covered with snow and go dormant until they return next summer.

Tiny Red Flowers
More Yellow Wildflowers
Pretty Blue Wildflower
By the Trail

We are hoping to get in a few more hikes before the wildflowers are gone and the scenery is replaced with changing of the leaves, which is also truly spectacular.

Rugged Beauty
Simply Wild
Purple Flowers

 

Daily Post Photo Challenge – Vibrant

For this particular challenge, we chose a picture that our youngest daughter took back in 2004.  It was just a rose in our backyard, but we’ve always loved the way she caught the colors.  It almost feels 3D with the flower almost jumping out of the picture.  We hope that you find it to be as vibrant as we do 🙂

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/vibrant/